(emotional music)
Karla: I was in the U.S. Air Force, from 1982 to '86.
My first base was in McChord Air Force Base
in Tacoma, Washington.
I then went to Malstrom Air Force Base
in Great Falls, Montana, and then my last one
was Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas.
While I was still working, there were a couple of incidences
where I was walking with my colleagues somewhere.
We were talking and just walking normally
and then I'd go splat, on the ground.
I was not out, so to speak, at work.
I hadn't told anybody I had MS.
I just didn't want them to know
'cause I didn't know what their reaction would be.
Jennifer: They don't wanna go out in their communities
if they feel like people are staring at them.
Karla: I didn't wanna be a spectacle.
Jennifer: So they choose just to be, you know,
be by themselves.
Karla: My world really become the four walls here.
I became non-existent practically.
When I first came to the VA,
I was very reclusive, even there.
Dr Pacheco: She was shy.
She, we hardly saw her.
Karla: Someone told me, a couple of years later,
that when people used to say hello to me,
they said I barely even nodded to them,
and that was really closed off.
It's interesting because all my life I've been outgoing.
But the MS kind of put the brakes on things, I guess.
(vibrant music)
Dr Pacheco: What I want you to do.
One of the things that we tried to look at is,
helping to improve quality of life.
I think that's the business we're in.
I am able to take care of that in conjunction
with an inter-disciplinary team.
We have social services, we have physical therapists,
occupational therapists,
we have recreational therapy, aquatic therapy.
At the end of it all, the goal is to have
us be able to provide everything that a patients
mind, body and environment would need.
Karla: In 2015, the Wheelchair Games came to Dallas.
So Dr Pacheco wanted everybody to participate.
My first response about being on the team
is that I'm not athletic, I'm not gonna make the team.
Because in my mind, it's like going after
a basketball when you're in high school.
And they told me, "Oh, no, no, no, anybody can play."
Tammy: All right, now when you pull down,
think about bringing your elbows towards your side,
keep your palms forward, okay.
I provide the strengthening and conditioning
for our Veterans who are participating in
the adapted wheelchair sports.
Recreational therapy then takes the individual
and practices the actual sport.
Feel the burn, push.
Nice.
Participating in the strengthening and conditioning program
really brought her out of her shell.
She did not know that she could perform these activities.
Karla: And so it was fun to see how I progressed.
Tammy: How does that feel?
Karla: That's good.
It was also fun to realize that I really do have biceps.
You know, I knew I had them but I'd never seen them.
And I finally developed some because I was working
with the strength coach, and I'm very proud of that.
Izzy: The first time I met Karla, she was pretty timid.
As far as adaptive sports, she kind of didn't know
what was going on, so it took a while for her to catch on
but everybody made her feel really welcome.
It's an experience to be able to coach her,
just because she's so willing to learn.
She's so willing to give her all.
Because even if she messes up a thousand times,
it doesn't matter until she gets it right, you know.
That's what makes a athlete.
Karla: At the first year that I was in the games,
I was very surprised that I actually medalled.
I received, I think, two golds and a silver that year,
which was stunning, it was fun doing that.
It's fun being a part, a part of the group, you know.
Izzy: We have guys that have been going for,
10-plus years to the games, you know.
And they love seeing her, you know.
They love seeing her just give it her all.
Karla: There's something kind of infectious about it,
being at the games and being with all the other people
and the competitors and I finally felt like
and feel like I'm an athlete.
Dr Pacheco: I remember the very first time
I saw Karla after the games.
She came in and asked to see me to show off her medals
and to thank me for insisting that she join the games.
Jennifer: Karla realizing that she could participate
in these games and win built her self-esteem.
She realized, I can do it.
And because of my diagnosis, it's not setting me back.
Karla: A couple of years ago, I was a poster child.
I was on the promotional materials.
That was amazing, I got off the plane
and there was posters with me on it.
Posters throughout the city.
And I wouldn't have done any of that,
if I hadn't started with the VA,
getting out and doing things with the other Veterans
and the rec therapists.
I wouldn't have had the confidence
to do something like that.
(dynamic music)
Hey Jeff, what's up?
Jeff: Karla, hi sweety.
I'm trying to get into the wheelchair games we're doing.
Karla: Oh yeah.
In order to go to the games,
they want you to volunteer.
Dr Pacheco: Karla started to volunteer
at our internet cafe in our recreational therapy lounge.
Karla: Okay, there you go.
And that helped me to kind of develop friendships
with a lot of different vets,
to the point that if I'm not there for a couple weeks,
I thought that we were friends.
Jeff: We are.
Karla: People are like, "Where were you?
We've been looking for you and asking for ya."
Which is kind of nice that people are concerned about me.
Izzy: Karla is a big advocate of anything recreation,
anything sports, anything that she's learning now.
Anything that's here on the unit, that's being offered,
she wants people to know about it.
Karla: I'm involved with the MS support group.
I was skeptical about joining that group,
but they're warm, engaging and inviting,
and I've really developed some good friendships.
We've been practicing bocce ball in the gym
on a Tuesday afternoon so come by sometime.
Dr Pacheco: Social support is a very important piece
of our care for patients with multiple sclerosis.
(upbeat music)
Karla: I think it's important to stay involved
and not allow yourself to become a recluse.
Just sitting back and watching the world
go by on your cellphone.
That closes you off and I think that makes your life
a little dimmer, a little smaller.
Dr Pacheco: I've seen a lot of changes in Karla
through the years.
Karla has blossomed.
She is no longer the shy, introverted patient
that she used to be.
She volunteers.
She interacts with a lot of our other Veterans.
She also has used her voice as a platform
for change for Veterans.
Karla: Dr Pacheco has been pivotal in changing me.
Getting me to go out and do things.
She's a really good cheerleader,
good provider and encourager.
Dr Pacheco: I think her interaction
with the other Veterans
has allowed her to find something to do
outside of her home and find purpose in her life.
Izzy: She was at this point of her life, way down.
And now, because of her involvement in what's being offered,
she's gotten all the way over here now.
What else can someone ask for?
And this is my job, you know?
This is what I do for a living, like,
sometimes it feels like I don't even come to work.
Karla: The VA provides incredible resources.
They fulfill needs that you don't realize you have.
They have for me.
And I know that they would do it for other people as well.
Dr Pacheco: It's very fulfilling for us as providers
to see that we've actually made a difference.
Karla: So I think it's important for Veterans
to not just stay in the corner,
but to come out and step out into the center
and live their life.