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Wally Moore: Building a New Life and a Future for MedStar NRH
For years, Wally Moore enjoyed the ritual of hunting season in West Virginia. So in November 2007, the vigorous 79-year-old made his usual trip to the lodge in Berkley Springs to prepare for the weeks ahead. But a simple walk in the nearby woods turned his annual pilgrimage into disaster. Wally lost his balance and fell, hitting his head against a tree and breaking his neck. He lay on the ground conscious—but paralyzed.
"Thank goodness he wasn't alone," says his grateful wife, Liz. "Mr. Whisner—"Whiz"—the lodge manager was with him. If Whiz hadn't been there to go for help, Wally might have died alone in the woods."
Whiz called 911 from a nearby house, and Wally was transported to a local hospital, which wasn't equipped to handle such a serious trauma. So an emergency helicopter was called into action and 35 minutes later, Wally arrived at a Washington, D.C., trauma center. As his wife, family, friends and neighbors rallied to his side, Wally had neurosurgery to fuse together two cervical bones—the C4 and C5 vertebrae in his neck.
Despite surgery and strong doses of medication to reduce swelling, Wally was still paralyzed. The Moores knew that if he was to regain any movement, Wally would need the best available rehabilitation and that the next weeks and months would be critical to his recovery. On the advice of friends, Wally was transferred to National Rehabilitation Hospital (MedStar NRH) just four days after surgery. Neither Liz nor Wally was familiar with the hospital until they needed its special care, but today they are enthusiastic members of the MedStar NRH fan club
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"Wally and I can't say enough good things about this hospital. All it does is rehab and it is one of the country's finest," Liz says. "How fortunate we are to have it here in Washington!"
During three months of intensive inpatient therapy, Wally relearned the simple functions of daily living. "It was sometimes agonizingly slow, but he worked hard every day and the MedStar NRH staff was amazing," Liz says. The hard work paid off. By the time he was released, Wally was walking with assistance. Inpatient care was followed by months of five-day-a-week outpatient therapy in the MedStar NRH Transitions Program. Today, 80-year-old Wally continues to strengthen his body through swimming and other exercise at a local hospital gym. "He won't be denied," says his wife of 55 years. "He has grit and determination and a very positive attitude."
Wally calls the last year "a great learning experience. Something like this teaches you to never give up," he says. "I may enjoy life differently now, but with even greater appreciation. Without hesitation, I would call MedStar NRH the best hospital anywhere for helping people build a new life."
It wasn't long after his own hospitalization that a very grateful Moore knew he wanted to give back. "MedStar NRH delivers sophisticated rehab care, 24 hours a day, and it's costly," he says. "The hospital needs donors so that it can keep providing high-level services. I decided a planned gift made the most financial sense for me and MedStar NRH." He named the hospital the beneficiary of a charitable gift annuity, which will provide an income to the Moores during their lifetime, with the principal ultimately transferred to MedStar NRH. Now as a charter member of the hospital's Renoir Society, Moore calls a planned gift "a wonderful way of giving and receiving. It's just one way I can say 'thank you' to MedStar NRH for giving me back my life."
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