Local wounded veterans need help getting to medical appointments, so the Temecula Valley Woman’s Club is trying to come to the rescue.

When Nanette Jimenez, the president elect of the Temecula Valley Woman’s Club (TVWC), learned that there was a serious need for an adaptive vehicle to transport our injured warriors here at home, Jimenez spearheaded a team effort to focus on a fundraiser for a new vehicle.

A group of the TVWC is dedicated to a fundraiser for the Warrior Foundation to meet this need.

The adaptive van acquisition is planned to include a lift, be low to the ground and accommodate two wheel-chaired passengers for all wounded military members.

The van is planned to be in use for eight years and shuttle approximately 10,000 riders over that time period.

The teamwork connection

Jimenez was connected with Sandy Lehmkunler, director of the Warrior Foundation – which works in conjunction with the Navy League of the United States, San Diego Counsel – to begin the direction and foundation of the fundraiser.

“We all work as a team. This is one of the most valuable projects, especially for the ultimate sacrifices of these young people and all that they have done to protect our freedoms,” Jimenez urged.

“It’s awesome when people get together for a good cause. It’s so exciting to be part of a team that is this dedicated and this enthusiastic. Our women’s club is very good at displaying championship teamwork for our respected community.”

Lehmkunler stated, “The Navy League is our conduit as a nonprofit for the adaptive van fundraiser to transport our warriors to the Navy Medical Center in San Diego, Balboa Medical Center [and] to and from the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton.

“We need your help. Our warriors have told us case-by-case their mission on this war: ‘Don’t worry about the national security. We’re here to solve the situation on terrorism.’

“Our warriors are serious about the fight against terrorism. We should be serious about them. We’re about to give the greatest generation in our history a run for its money.”

A patient’s perspective

on transition

Lindsay Sides, a retired lance corporal and combat correspondent, is the program support assistant for the National Veterans’ Summer Sports Clinic at the La Jolla Veterans’ Affairs Office.

“Transportation is so vital [to the therapy process],” she said, “not only physically, but emotionally. They’ve got to get out there and integrate with society. It’s a good thing therapeutically for our warriors to start learning new challenges such as reentry into the community.”

Sides spoke from experience. She spent six months at the Navy Medical Center in a wheelchair recovering from a hip replacement, after being transferred for logistical purposes from the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton. “I needed help getting to therapy, so they moved me closer,” she said.

Retired machine gunner Sgt. Mike Garcia served in tours one, two and four of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In November of 2004 at the attack on Fallujiah he was peppered with shrapnel.

“One of the pieces hit my helmet,” he recalled. “Doctors said it was equivalent to being hit in the head two times by a baseball bat.

“A lot of us have head injuries. I have a hard time remembering things like where I am and what the question was that you just asked me. Ma’am, what was the question again?”

I repeated, “Transportation? How important is it for an injured warrior such as yourself and the others?”

Garcia didn’t hesitate. “Getting from point A to point B is very necessary. It’s hard for us to travel; some of us aren’t able to drive when we have memory loss or routinely get dizzy to the point of being physically nauseated,” he commented, apologizing sincerely that his comment doesn’t ruin anybody’s meal.

The gala fundraiser

On the evening of Nov. 21 the TVWC will be hosting a festive dinner with military color guard, music and dancing at Keyways Winery. Tickets are $100.

This will be the kick-off of the club’s annual Home Tour on Nov. 22-23, during which guests may tour three festively decorated homes in the wine country. Tickets $30 (day of the tour $35).

For more information on all of TVWC’s activities, visit www.tvwc.com. For more information on the Warrior Foundation, visit www.warriorfoundation.com.

Correction

Donations for the Temecula Valley Woman’s Club’s Wounded Veteran’s Van Project should be sent directly to the TVWC, P.O. Box 1370, Temecula, CA 92593. Write in the memo “Van.”