Thank you for the opportunity to speak about this. There have been a couple, but the one that really stands out was actually from last fall. As part of my injuries, I discovered I had hip pain and ultimately it was determined that I had hip dysplasia. I was fortunate enough not to have arthritis, but in order to prevent that, the only treatment was surgery. It's major orthopaedic surgery called a periacetabular osteotomy, and they were cutting my pelvis in three spots, rotating it and pulling it together with multiple screws.
Because, as you can see, my shoulder issues, I can't use crutches or do other types of weight bearing through my arms so I was going to need a wheelchair. I was also going to need assistance and rehab was going to be complicated. Last September I had surgery and was immediately referred by the hospital physiotherapist to the rehabilitation centre complex orthopaedic rehab program. I was assessed by the psychiatrist and he told me that I was too complex. I was stunned. My mental health struggled. For the rest of that day I was.... If I was too complex for them, where was I going to go? What was I going to do?
One thing I wanted to mention with this opportunity is that I said, “What am I supposed to do?” He said, “The military can treat you.” I said, “I'm not in the military anymore.” He said, “Then Veterans Affairs can treat you.”