Pete Edwards’ Nordic Walking Poles help wounded war heroes walk again

Glen Arbor Sun

Wounded Iraq war veteran and Traverse City resident Michelle Rudzitis drove to Mount Adams in Washington state earlier this year for three days of solo hiking, camping and collecting her thoughts— two and a half years after a roadside bomb in Baghdad severed her left leg and nearly killed her. Rudzitis took a pair of Nordic Walking Poles given to her by Glen Arbor resident, and local running and ski coach, Pete Edwards.

The custom-made, one-piece polls strapped to her hands and didn’t put pressure on her wrists. Spikes at the base of the polls dug into the ground, allowing Rudzitis, 34, to walk on uneven terrain. She prefers them over canes and other support devices she has tried since coming home. “With the poles I can swing my arms and do normal motions,” said Rudzitis. “They’re especially helpful for walking up hills.”

Ever since Nordic Walking instructor Edwards received a letter three years ago from Wade Walrond, a Senior Station Manager with the American Red Cross at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., thanking Edwards’ website, www.SkiWalking.com, for donated walking poles, the Lake Street resident has been targeting America’s wounded warriors with his popular product.

“When the first two military orders come through, I just felt bad charging them,” said Edwards. “It didn’t seem right to take money (from wounded veterans) or to get a military contract.”

Edwards predicts that a couple dozen wounded veterans are currently using his poles. He hopes to increase that amount into the hundreds within the next year. Edwards will visit Fort Carson in Colorado this month, and he expects to demonstrate his product to doctors and nurses at Walter Reed in August.

This spring, his wife Lissa and his son Keefer visited Walter Reed, and Keefer gave wounded veterans, including Jeanette Nieves of Brooklyn, N.Y., a demonstration on how to use the walking polls. As of press time, Nieves and several of her comrades in arms were awaiting their custom-made poles, and she should have received them just before Fourth of July weekend.

“They help you walk like normal without too much weight on one side or the other,” said Nieves, 45, who was wounded in Iraq in 2006. “They work better than a cane because a cane doesn’t allow you much leverage.”

Not just for skiers

For Edwards, the appeal of his poles to wounded veterans was one of hundreds of confirmations that one-piece Nordic Walking poles are safer, lighter and much more durable than twist-locking adjustable-length, telescoping or collapsible poles. He discovered five years ago that Nordic Walking Poles were not just for expert skiers deprived of snow, but doubled as an aid for those with balance and stability issues.

Edwards started volunteering to host free Nordic Walking Clinics at Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Diabetes support group meetings. Three years ago he donated dozens of pairs of durable, one-piece Nordic Walking poles to Walter Reed. He has also shipped free Nordic Walking poles directly to injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Family members, doctors and physical therapists have been amazed by the improvement in their posture, balance, stability and gate.

For over 25 years Edwards has coached local runners and skiers. His skiers have used the poles to ski walk and bound hills during the warmer months. After a knee injury ended Edwards’ own marathon-running career, his Nordic Walking Poles saved the day — allowing him to continually walking and running without pain.

Using Nordic Walking Poles custom-made to one’s height automatically helps a person’s walking posture and radically reduces stress to the shins, knees, hips and back. Nordic Walking is low impact and yet provides a highly effective workout — burning more calories and working more muscle groups than regular walking. For the reason, Nordic Walking has been the fastest growing fitness activity in Europe for several years. Over seven million Europeans walk with poles — both in the city and in rural areas.

People who use canes or walkers often find that Nordic Walking Poles are much more comfortable and stable. Feedback from amputees and others with head trauma or balance issues indicates that poles dramatically improve balance and stability.

Walking again, with God’s help

Since Michelle Rudzitis began using the Nordic Walking Poles, she and Pete and Lissa Edwards have become good friends, and she visits them often in Glen Arbor.

Rudzitis’ war story is particularly painful. On Jan. 22, 2007, she was on patrol in a Humvee in the Iraqi capital when a roadside bomb exploded, sending copper slugs and shrapnel into the vehicle. She and her gunner were severely wounded, and the driver and interpreter were killed instantly.

When Rudzitis arrived at a military hospital, she had no pulse and was technically dead. She lost her left leg above the knee, and the right leg was badly damaged by shrapnel. Rods and pins were inserted to hold its bones together.

The fact that she’s alive today is a miracle.

Ironically, before the mission a colonel had ordered her unit to remove the five inches of protective glass from the doors of their vehicle because the glass could allegedly shatter and hurt them. But Rudzitis attests that another patrol with glass in the doors of their Humvee were also hit by a roadside bomb, and the glass stopped a copper slug, probably saving lives.

“I’d rather have a leg full of glass now than not have any left leg at all,” she said.

Rudzitis, who was promoted to staff sergeant after the attack and before her retirement, spent seven and a half months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, an experience she called “horrible … out-patient care leaves a lot to be desired.”

“It’s no wonder why many of our veterans are homeless,” she added. “Many don’t get care they need.”

The journey through hell didn’t end when she returned home to northern Michigan. Until recently, her interactions with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have put her through one trial after another. Rudzitis still gets mail telling her that she’s not completely covered for all of her medical expenses, including frequent doctors visits and prescriptions for ongoing physical and mental pain. She often pays $30 or $40 out of her pocket for co-payments.

Once or twice a week she feels deathly ill, sick to her stomach, and can’t get out of bed. She has issues with stuttering and memory loss, as well as vision and hearing loss. Not to mention Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But on her road to recovery, at least Rudzitis has a sturdy companion when she goes hiking or stares up at a beautiful mountain. She attests that Pete’s Nordic Walking Poles have helped her immensely.

Rudzitis believes that she was brought back to life by the grace of God.

And now she can walk again too.