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    One…two…three…six million steps and counting for Omaha Veteran

    One…two…three…six million steps and counting for Omaha Veteran

    Courtesy Photo | One step to six million-plus steps along the route in 2017 made by Army Veteran Keith...... read more read more

    OMAHA, NE, UNITED STATES

    07.06.2018

    Story by Jennifer Scales 

    Columbia VA Health Care System

    Though his running days are allegedly over, walking five to six million steps in the shoes of Army Veteran Keith Wingad is the next best thing.

    With knees that may need to be replaced in the future, this 66-year-old Veteran walks with a mission for his military brothers and sisters who cannot do so anymore.

    What started as a lighthearted statement from his daughter Jennie, a former Miami-Dade County public defender, is now a yearly trek for Wingad. The reason? They are various, according to Wingad.

    He wants to raise awareness of injured Veterans who returned from combat suffering debilitating injuries, whether they be physical or mental.

    Wingad’s own physical form needs to be altered, by way of replacement knees. But he has delayed getting them done.

    “By not getting my knees fixed, I am constantly reminded of my fellow Veterans who may be in some type of physical pain or suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders). My pain brings credibility to their pain and the personal tolls they face,” Wingad said.

    Facing initial skepticism, Wingad remained determined to hike the 2000-plus mile hike on the Appalachian Trail.

    His first walk on the Appalachian began April 2017 and was completed November 2017. Being 65 at that time, he was by far, one of the oldest ones on the trail. But there are always hikers along the route who watch out for each other.

    Wingad shared one of the many incidents on the trail, one in which he met a young hiker whom he didn’t know. He and the hiker walked the same pace for a distance, but when Wingad began to slow down, the other hiker kept going, but assured him he would save a spot for him in the next shelter along the path. Sure enough, when Wingad arrived at the 10-person shelter which was full to over-capacity with 12 persons, the young hiker had indeed saved a spot for Wingad to rest for the night.

    Wingad believes the decision to make the hike was divinely inspired.

    “The decision to hike on bad knees was not really mine, it just came to me. Plus it’s like an elephant in the room when the topic of my knees comes up when I see a doctor,” Wingad said. “But I trust in the VA (Veterans Affairs). They will fix me up.”

    According to Wingad, one of his VA physicians, Dr. Jennifer Green, told him that he has his own agenda on how he wants to get his medical help. Wingad agrees with her that the prescription would be to get replacement knees.

    “But the VA is open to helping me find a way to be an inspiration and to accomplish the hike. Within their medical ethics and programs, they are remarkable. The Omaha VA Medical Center has seen beyond the value of giving a person like me better knees. They have helped me explore other possibilities and remedies.”

    Wingad continued, “This is a testament to deal with other problems or issues a person may have.” With a wink, Wingad added, “They are my co-conspirators.”

    Since his days from going to law school, being a pilot and commander of Huey’s, OH-58’s and Chinook Army Guard pilots, Wingad states he has been seen in five different VA facilities since his medical retirement. But the Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System has been best. “Omaha has given me the greatest service, the greatest care. I don’t plan on going anywhere else for my medical needs.”

    One would be hard pressed to find a staff member who does not reciprocate the same feelings for Wingad.

    Silile Dube, a licensed practical nurse in Omaha considers Wingad to be an inspiration. “He is goal driven and one of the strongest persons I have ever encountered. I say this because days leading up to his walk, he came in with a health concern that could interfere with it. I could even sense a thin thread of fear as we chatted with his wife Mary, but the determination in Wingad’s speech and demeanor came through. He said if he had to use crutches to walk, he was going to do it for the disabled Veterans and children who are in a worse situation than himself.”

    NWIHCS staff physician Nathan Birch lays the positive results back at the feet of Wingad. “Keith is one of the many reasons I love working with Veterans. To be honest, his results are 100 percent due to his own efforts,” Birch said. “He has the ‘get it done-mission first’ and ‘if there’s not a way, then let’s make a way’ attitude. His message is great for those in the service of this country as well as those in the healing services.”

    “Hiking is not what you think it is,” Wingad said. The trail is rugged, there are rocks and roots everywhere. It’s not always enjoyable.”

    One valuable piece of equipment gear Wingad appreciates is the water purification unit. “It was a $300 investment, but well worth it,” he said. “Water is critical during a hike. When you don’t find a spigot along the camping trails, you have to use the streams and rivers for your water source. And you know there is all kind of run off from other animals and humans using the same, so I rest my case.”

    You need to keep your gear light, Wingad added. “Even an 8-oz knife becomes heavy after a time, and you will end up putting it in the hikers’ containers found along the route. In those, you will find all the items we may have had good intentions of keeping, but couldn’t do so because of the weight.”

    “Be prepared for your feet to grow in size also. As you walk, your feet slide in your shoes, as you make those five to six million steps,” Wingad said.

    When pitching his tent or laying out under the stars in a safe location, Wingad shares the night hours with the trail’s four-legged residents, ranging from deer, moose, bears and porcupines. Or even those without legs which slither and slide along the path also.

    “Under the night sky, or when I’m walking out on the trail alone, one can get a sense of clarity and settle down to the pace of being human,” Wingad said. “Out in that open space, I realize there is a humanness to all of us---we have failures, we’re scared, we need care…and yet we are all the same.”

    We all have tragedies, Wingad adds. “We have landmines in our life. Getting clarity and hiking brings some meaning for me. If I was not hiking, I would be doing something else that would be service oriented.”

    Getting replacement knees has become secondary to Wingad now. “I’m more worried about the military person who says they can’t do something anymore or are ready to give up on themselves.”

    That’s why Wingad says the Omaha VAMC has also made a difference for him. “I can’t speak for other VA’s, but I’m a real Veteran who has experienced the care Omaha has given me with more than just a smile. They have an ear that listens and they hear beyond the words that are being spoken…an ear that is open to what a Veteran is saying and knowing they may have an underlying need and understands that need.”

    Preparation for the next trail-hike adventure, scheduled for the spring of 2019, is already underway. For Wingad, this comes in the form of mental acuity, working out on the treadmill, and walking around the town of Omaha.

    Persons are welcome to meet Wingad along the way or even join him on the next hike which will take him on four trails along the Pacific Crest, John Muir Trail, Lake Tahoe Rim, and the Vermont Trail.

    Contact information can be found on Facebook page of the Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 07.06.2018
    Date Posted: 07.06.2018 16:35
    Story ID: 283472
    Location: OMAHA, NE, US

    Web Views: 262
    Downloads: 0

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