Mission Moment: A Change in Perspective

While working with hundreds of Shepherd Center patients over the years as Delta Air Lines’ program manager for disabilities, David Martin never imagined that one day he would be one of them. 

For 20 years, David conducted Shepherd Center’s monthly tours of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Delta aircraft there. He showed participants what to expect, from ticketing to boarding, and let them practice transferring from wheelchairs to airplane seats so they would have the confidence to travel independently. David, now retired, also helped Matt Edens, CTRS, Shepherd Center’s sports teams coordinator, manage Shepherd’s adaptive sports teams’ travel to competitions in other cities. 

“It very quickly became apparent to me that this was a great investment of my time, and that the things we were doing at the airport were meaningful and made a difference,” David says. He also immediately recognized that Shepherd Center’s commitment to the partnership with Delta was part of a culture that emphasizes giving every patient the best possible life post-treatment. “From the very beginning, walking onto the Shepherd campus, I knew this was a very, very special place,” he says.

His own journey to Shepherd as a patient began in November 2023, with tingling in his fingers and feet. That sensation is a common first sign of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves. Soon, he was unable to move his legs, could not speak, and was put on a ventilator to breathe. When he entered Shepherd Center, “I was in pretty rough shape,” he says. His wife, Bonnie, says she “cried all day—because I was so happy that he was there.” 

After a week of rehabilitation, David moved from intensive care to the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Unit. On the day he transferred, Alana Shepherd visited him and told him she expected him to participate in the first possible Delta airport outing—this time from Shepherd’s perspective. He did just that on February 21, 2024. David says his time at Shepherd was “the absolute best and the worst thing. It was the worst thing because of what I put my family through. And it was the best thing because I got to see Shepherd Center from the other side. It helps put your values in order. It helps you prioritize what’s important and what’s inconsequential.”

Written by Gayle White

This story is an excerpt from “Mission Moments: 50 Years of Rebuilding Lives One Moment at a Time,” a book celebrating Shepherd’s 50th anniversary in 2025. You can explore the full eBook or purchase a hardcover copy here.