FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Soldiers assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at
Brooke Army Medical Center on Fort Sam Houston often have to deal with more
than just the business of soldiering. Many deal with chronic pain and medical
appointments along with their daily routine.
Sgt. 1st Class
Samantha Goldenstein, WTB reception noncommissioned officer, understands
this better than most people do because she also has chronic pain.
“I’ve been a warrior
in transition, so I understand the frustration Soldiers experience when they
are trying to heal and deal with all the other stuff they have on a daily
basis,” she said.
Goldenstein suffers from femoroacetabular impingement, a
condition that affects her hip joints.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons,
femoroacetabular impingement, or FAI, is a condition where the bones of the hip
are abnormally shaped. Because they do not fit together perfectly, the hipbones
rub against each other and cause damage to the joint.
“My hips are pretty much destroyed at this point,”
Goldenstein said. “I’ve had two surgeries already and the doctors told me I
will need total hip replacement in the future.”
Once an avid long-distance runner, Goldenstein could not run
as much as she did before. Adaptive cycling helped fill a void and helped
reduce her pain.
“I did a couple of trips with Ride to Recovery and really
got into cycling,” she said. “That was my jumpstart into the adaptive sports
realm.”
Goldenstein became an adaptive sports site coordinator at
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
“It was a good fit because of my fitness background,” she
explained. She has a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and nutrition
from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Goldenstein and Army veteran Dave Smith currently run the
adaptive cycling program at Fort Sam Houston.
One Soldier, Capt. Michael Rash, appreciates Goldenstein’s
dedication and guidance.
“She’s focused on the cycling performance, teaching us how
to stay in our lines or how to do certain things while we are cycling,” Rash
said. “She inspires you, keeps you going and keeps pushing you.”
Rash received internal injuries from a bomb blast in 2007
and since then, he hasn’t been able to do the things he did before his injury.
“I couldn’t run, do push-ups or sit-ups after the injury,”
he said. “Riding a bike has changed my life. I was able to get back out and get
physically active doing something, besides sitting around and gaining weight
from not being able to be active.”
He said other wounded service members inspire him. He gave
an example of a recent ride he was on where the weather conditions were very
poor and he was hurting badly.
“A quadruple amputee riding an upright bike rode past me. I
told myself, ‘If that guy can do this, I’ve got to do this.’ It’s seeing people
like that who inspire me to keep going,” he said.
Rash has participated in multiple training events with
Goldenstein as part of the WTB. He said he also enjoys the social aspect of
cycling, like being able to interact with other injured service members.
“I may not always understand their injuries,” Goldenstein
said, “but they know I’m not just this random person asking them jump on a bike
and ride.”
The Soldiers cycle about two hours Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Most trips are about 20 miles, but a couple of days a month the group goes on
longer rides of 40 miles or more.
Cycling is one of many adaptive sports activities Soldiers
can participate in while recovering at Fort Sam Houston.