By Lori Newman Brooke Army Medical Center
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas, December 2, 2015 — Soldiers
assigned to Brooke Army Medical Center’s Warrior Transition Battalion here
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.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Samantha Goldenstein, the WTB reception
noncommissioned officer in charge, understands this better than most.
Goldenstein suffers from femoroacetabular impingement, a
condition that affects her hip joints.
“I’ve been a warrior in transition, so I understand the
frustration soldiers experience when they are trying to heal and all the other
stuff they have to deal with on a daily basis,” Goldenstein said.
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic 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.”
Adaptive Sports Program
Once an avid long-distance runner, adaptive cycling helped
Goldenstein fill a void and 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, Missouri.
“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 here.
Army Capt. Michael Rash said he 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 bike has changed my life. I was able to get back out and get
physically active; doing something besides sitting and gaining weight from not
being able to be active.”
Rash 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 quad 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 here. He said he also enjoys the social aspect
of cycling and interacting 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.
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