In the Steam Room

Steam filled the room, blurring the face of the man who came in and sat down next to me. As always, the intimacy in the steam room encourages conversation between strangers and friends alike. It flows out as swiftly as the sweat pouring out of the heated up bodies.

I grew up with Finnish saunas in the north woods of Minnesota. Saturday saunas were standard among cabin owners, Finnish or not. With those saunas the wood was heated for about eight hours before pouring water over the rocks, unlike the steam rooms at our Plunge health club, which creates heat almost instantly, without the time consuming effort of pouring water over heated rocks. A user need spend no effort on heat preparation, allowing the entire time for enjoying the relaxing heat and the conversation.

The beginning words are casual...weather and water. These topics are usually followed by who, where, etc. The man who had just seated himself next to me said he came from Colorado and was living at the Dom. Oh, a veteran, and the topic slid to our domiciliary on the hill of which we are so proud. He was a patient in one of the programs.

"How did you happen to come to our VA?" I asked.

"My counselor at Fort Collins told me that I should come to the Hot Springs VA, and I am happy that I did. It is a great facility."

I warmed at his words. I have heard these so often in the past few years. "I could not make it through the program at other VA's. I came here and it is the best program. I believe I will make it here."

Yes, it is hard to believe that our VA has been going through so many cuts over the past years. The slow bleed has drained the Dom of many counselors and doctors, but those who remain manage, somehow, to maintain the excellence our VA has always shown for many years in treating the physcal and emotionl needs of countless veterans from many states beginning with the Civil War veterans and up to the present retuning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"They know me by name. They do not treat me like a number as is done in the larger VA hospitals. Here I receive respect and treatment tailored to my needs."

I hear this high praise almost every time I talk to a veteran, but it is in the steam room, sauna or the hot tubs where veterans join me in healing and sharing. Our health club at Evans Plunge heals more than aching bodies.