David Martin: Learning to Fly, Again

Twenty-four years ago, David Martin, then Delta Air Lines’ disability access manager, helped establish Shepherd Center’s airport outing program.

“For a lot of people with life-changing injuries, the idea of navigating an airport and traveling again can be overwhelming,” David says. “Every month, for years, I had the pleasure of helping Shepherd Center patients come to the airport and learn what to expect when traveling with a disability. You could see them realize that if they can figure out how to do that, they can do anything.”

What David never envisioned was that he would one day find himself on the other side of the experience he’d created — as a Shepherd Center patient.

“I always knew Shepherd Center was special but to go full circle and see it from a patient perspective took my appreciation to another level,” David says.

Last November, David, now 68 and retired, and his wife Bonnie were preparing to host a large family Thanksgiving at their home in Tyrone, Georgia. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, David caught a couple of viruses, which didn’t seem out of the ordinary at first. But then he started having severe tingling in his feet and hands. Walking soon became difficult.

On Thanksgiving morning, he went to Piedmont Fayette Hospital’s Emergency Room. He was soon airlifted to Piedmont Atlanta, where he eventually received a rare diagnosis: Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). The neuropathy he experienced resulted from one of Guillain-Barré’s trademark symptoms — his own immune system attacking his nerve endings.

“I had never heard of GBS before,” David says. “I was healthy, swimming 100 laps a day. Then, very quickly, my body turned on itself. I deteriorated to the point that I couldn’t stand, couldn’t move my legs or arms. I even had to have a ventilator to breathe.”

On December 14, David transferred to Shepherd Center’s Comprehensive Rehabilitation Unit. In the CRU, a robust care team of medical professionals and rehabilitation specialists care for patients with complex medical conditions, working together to treat patients’ medical needs and get them safely and quickly into rehabilitation work— even if they’re still using a ventilator, as David was.

One of the things David most appreciated was that his care team, from day one, involved him in all of his care planning.

“That immediately put me at ease,” David says. “I knew what was coming next and had a role in everything. Their question for me was always, ‘What do you want to accomplish?’ That made all the difference. I had a sense of hope.’”

He also had an unexpected visitor on his first day.

“[Shepherd Center co-founder] Alana Shepherd walks in and says, ‘You know you’re going on the airport outing, right?’” David says with a laugh. “I told her, ‘No question about it.’”

David describes that outing as surreal. He also came away with new perspectives and insights that he has since shared with Shepherd Center’s Recreational Therapy Program to further improve the patient experience.

As for his own journey, David’s progress came quickly in the CRU. Within seven weeks, he was walking without any assistance. He also used the Shepherd pool to start swimming laps again. And he credits occupational therapist, Megan Terukina, SCI, PRN, with a brilliant idea to enhance his birthday meal last January: inviting David to whip up a batch of his “famous” mashed potatoes in the accessible kitchen within Shepherd Center’s “I Can” studio.

“My wife is a very good cook. She rules the kitchen,” David is quick to note before gleefully adding, “But not the mashed potatoes!”

Since going home, David has returned several times to Shepherd Center to talk with fellow patients he got to know, as well as patients new to the program. He’s also spoken at Shepherd Center’s board of directors and advancement team meetings, sharing his dual-perspective insights with them.

“Guillain-Barré is the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” David explains. “It stole four months of my life and changed me physically, but it also gave me a clear perspective on what’s important. I want to make sure I’m paying it all forward now.”

Written by Phillip Jordan