Veteran goes from homeless and bedbound to independent again

When Navy Veteran Stephen Gomez was first admitted to the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center’s Community Living Center (CLC), he weighed less than 90 pounds. He didn’t have a place to live, was bedbound and couldn’t lift his head to look anyone in the eye.

Now, just 17 months later, Gomez can walk again, lives independently and has his own apartment in a brand-new Veteran’s community in the Antelope Valley, Danny’s Home for Heroes. This remarkable recovery was the result of hard work, persistence and the CLC staff never giving up on him.

“They are complete angels over there,” said Gomez. “I wasn’t the easiest guy to work with when I got there because everything hurt. But they worked with me and worked with me. I can’t give them enough praise.”

Overcoming hardship

When Gomez joined the Navy in 1969, his background as a musician led to a stint in the Drum and Bugle Corps. He also trained as a dental technician in the service, and when he was discharged in 1973, he started working with dentists in the San Diego area.

Life went on, and he got married and had two children. A divorce followed 14 years later. Things started changing in his life, he said, which led to spending some time in prison. “I got myself there, nobody else to blame.”

After he got out, Gomez used the experience to get his life back on track and started playing drums professionally in San Diego, opening for popular groups like the Ohio Players.

When his father, an Army Veteran who served in WWII, fell ill, Gomez dropped everything to take care of him. “I wanted to be close to him. I would take him to his visits at West LA VA. We enjoyed spending time with each other until he passed away,” said Gomez.

After his father passed, life took a turn for the worse. “I was losing hope,” he said.

Over the next several years, he sustained multiple injuries that put him in and out of the hospital, including a broken back. When he got sick again, a VA representative recognized that his health was failing, and he wasn’t able to properly care for himself. That’s when he was admitted to the CLC.

Embracing Age-Friendly care

Most of the Veterans who live at the Sepulveda CLC are older, and Geriatric CLC Attending Physician Dr. Mai Pham is particularly passionate about providing what’s known as “age-friendly care.”

The CLC is an Age-Friendly Health System, meaning it has received recognition for its dedication to caring for older Veterans like Gomez. Pham said that this approach to care played a large role in Gomez’s recovery. “It is so important because it brings together all of the elements that are required to improve the quality of life for a Veteran,” she said.

At his intake, when Pham asked Gomez what mattered to him, he said he wanted to live independently again in the Antelope Valley. “At the time, with his condition, you would have said that was almost impossible,” she said.

But knowing what Gomez wanted allowed his providers to work toward that goal, and ultimately help him achieve it.

‘He was really angry’

As an occupational therapist, Air Force Veteran Paul Hardy helps Veterans regain their ability to perform the activities of daily living—“everything you would do from the time you wake up until you go to bed.”

Despite Hardy’s best efforts to engage him, Gomez didn’t show any interest and seemed frustrated and withdrawn.

But one day, Hardy had some art kits on hand and thought to ask Gomez if he’d like one. Gomez lit up at the idea.

From there he started doing art regularly and struck up a passion for making Native American dolls. “It had me getting my motor skills back together and kind of reviving who I am,” said Gomez.

Hardy and Gomez worked on many other activities together, including practicing the piano.

“The more he engaged in some of these activities he used to do before, a light kind of came on,” said Hardy. “He started taking care of himself better, getting himself dressed. Step by step he was able to do more and more.”

‘Like angels do’

Physical therapy was another key component. CLC Physical Therapist Joey Huynh worked closely with Gomez for more than a year.

Once Gomez started walking, things really turned a corner, said Huynh. “He became really motivated, compliant, and did everything he could.”

Gomez described his care team as “strict when they had to be,” but “very warm and loving and caring of everybody… They stuck with me and showed me some discipline, which I needed,” he said. “They worked really hard with me, like angels do.”

‘It’s amazing’

Fast forward to his discharge and Gomez walked out of the CLC at 135 pounds. He’s healthy, has a vehicle and loves living at Danny’s Home for Heroes.

“I have a beautiful apartment. It’s a state-of-the-art place,” Gomez said of his new home. “I’m really happy here.”

The CLC team is delighted to see Gomez doing so well. From time to time he stops by to visit and express his gratitude. “He really blossomed, he really changed,” said Hardy. “Now he’s out in the world. It’s amazing.”

“They helped me see what mattered to me more than what I saw what mattered to me,” said Gomez. “I was in such a down place, I just felt like nothing was going to work out for me. They proved to me that things do work out.”