the Can Do Spirit
Removing Barriers & Fostering Independence for Disabled Veterans
the Can Do Spirit
Removing Barriers & Fostering Independence for Disabled Veterans
About the Can Do Spirit
Our New Normal
The Can Do Spirit was born after Tim Webb & Rose Galen (co-founders) struggled for 4 years to learn how to live in their New Normal. After a terrible accident in 2013 left Tim paralyzed from the chest down, his daily battle to regain mobility & independence sprouted a true understanding of the tribulations faced by survivors of catastrophic accidents.
Through the heartache, financial depletion & continued hurtles, Tim & Rose have pushed forward to develop an organization dedicated to helping others through their journey. Their collective knowledge, passion & commitment to making a difference in the lives of Veterans, their families, & their caregivers with hardships after life changing accidents is what The Can Do Spirit is all about.
Tim & Roses Journey
Early morning in October 2013, while riding his motorcycle to work, Tim Webb was forced off the road by a commercial truck pulling a double-trailer. The driver left Tim for dead at the bottom of a embankment, tangled in barbed wire, paralyzed from the chest down. Over an hour passed before he was found by his partner Rose Galen, & was life flighted to a nearby trauma hospital.
Tim's first lifesaving surgery was nearly 18 hours & was considered by the attending surgeon as the “worst spinal cord injury” he had ever seen someone live through. He remained on a ventilator in the neuro-trauma unit fighting to survive. After two major surgeries to stabilize his neck & spine with two 18” implants, a horrible post-surgical infection & countless grueling hours of physical therapy Tim had only just begun his journey of recovery.
After 3 months in the hospital, Tim was released to the care of Rose to continue his healing at home. The process of adjusting to life within new perimeters began when attempting to move Tim from the transport van to the house. Tim & Rose's home was not built to accommodate a wheelchair; the doors were too narrow with rough transitions, there was no accessible shower, & every household comfort was just out of reach.
Tim was sent home with a manual wheel chair & enough medical supplies for a single weekend. He was given orders for a trapeze, a hoyer lift & a hospital bed which was not delivered for weeks. Luckily, Rose had been a nurse for over 20 years & could not continue working due to the amount of care Tim needed. The home health services approved were only a couple of visits by support staff, who took note of their needs, but were slow to deliver due to the complexities and conditions surrounding his accident.
Rose, even with her expertise in healthcare, soon realized the biggest problem was that the hospital and support staff did not properly prepare her, as Tim's caregiver, with the tools & resources necessary to be successful in his recovery & aftercare. She felt that hospital was lacking in direction, support & available affiliations to organizations who could provide adequate support for patients & their caregivers when recovering in home with catastrophic injuries.
After 7 long months – 3 at home, 7 since the accident– with the mounting pressure of personal bills, mortgage payments, copays, & medical supplies costs (not covered by insurance) they had gone through their savings when they were connected to the Veteran’s Health Administration (VA) through a local affiliation. Even though Tim is a Veteran with almost 10 years of service, he had never had the need to call upon the services of the VA healthcare system & their help from the start could have saved them thousands.
They quickly found out that because Tim’s accident was not service related, there was no support available to Rose as his in-home caregiver & no support for his 10-year-old son. There was no program to help navigate through medical paperwork or filing for unemployment. No help with transportation or emotional/psychological support. There was no organized network of programs to help Rose on her journey into this New Normal with Tim.
These support systems are necessary for the success of all Veterans & their caregiver/families when living at home while recovering from injury. Over the last 4 years Tim & Rose have survived & thrived with the help of the VA, community outreach, & the love and support of their families. They have found only a few obscure programs in this time that can help a Veteran’s caregiver/family with their needs, when the accident happened after discharge.
That is where the Can Do Spirit was forged. We do not feel that anyone should struggle while recovering from a catastrophic injury, let alone our Veterans. Their service and sacrifice calls for support programs that allow the Veteran & their caregiver/families a sense of ease without expense to their comfort, independence & dignity.
Our Mission is to support Veterans & their caregiver/families when transitioning home after a catastrophic accident by removing barriers to fostering independence in a non-institutional environment. Reducing cost & congestion to the VA & Medicare system, while empowering our Veterans to thrive in their New Normal.