Memorial for a Veteran

They came from Idaho, Colorado, Nebraska and Hot Springs. Family and friends came to pay last respects to a veteran, a fitness trainer, business owner, son, nephew and beloved friend. He had lived in Hot Springs for only a few years, but he left an indelible mark on many...some for fitness and health, others for inspiration and moral support.

He had been through the programs at our VA, opened a fitness studio and offered his story in my book, Reveille in Hot Springs, in order to do his part to help us save our VA. During the memorial service tears fell freely as many of us attempted in some way to express our feelings about this remarkable young man who left us too soon. The following was my testimonial to his memory:

We have come to pay tribute to a very special person, a young man who was much loved by this veteran community, not only for his incredible gifts for assisting many of us on a road to better health, but also for his caring for each one he met and impressed with his intelligence, acceptance and abundant sharing of his love.

I first met Wade in late February of 2013. I was in the editing process for my book about our battle to save our VA in Hot Springs when I received an email from my editor. "You don't have any stories that bring us inside the domiciliary that many of the veterans are passionate about saving. You need to find a veteran who can tell what goes on in the treatment program at your VA."

Wade eagerly stepped up to the plate. He wanted to save our VA where it was, in the town that had embraced him and made him feel safe. He was proud of his part in this battle. He felt that he would live on forever with his story he had shared.

Not only will he live on in this book, but he will live on in all of us clients who, under his encouragement and guidance, have improved our health. I began working with Wade as my personal trainer in September of 2013. I was blessed to have had an entire year under his unique training, unlike any physical training available anywhere else. He sized up each client and adapted a program to meet the needs of each one.

My request had one focus.....I wanted to walk again, do the River Walk, including the stairs up to the museum and I also wanted to be able to get onto the motorcycle behind my husband and ride as we had one years before. I wanted to be back to my former self before my surgeries.

Two summers before I came to Wade I had had three surgeries within a month and, without my fully realizing it, had lost muscle tone and could only walk a few blocks before fatigue set in. Steps had become impossible without hanging on to a railing.

Last Tuesday, September 9th, I was especially eager to keep my appointment. I wanted to share the news that I had walked the entire path and made it up the stairs for the first time since the surgeries. I also had made it on Bob's motorcycle. Wade never got to hear my news, which I knew would have delighted him, but since last week, every time I take the stairs, I find myself saying, "I am doing this, Wade. I will keep on with all you taught me." When I feel like whining, "I can't,", I remember Wade's quick encouraging, "But you can!"

This is one client who will never forget.