time. I literally lay in bed and counted to 60 seconds because that was all
the energy I had left to do. It’s
important that I got through that,
and now, whatever I have to do in
my life, it’s never going to be that
tough again. It’s never going to be as
tough as learning to walk again … I
think now that is something that
fortifies me as I face new challenges
in my life.
Q: What are your views on civilians with disabilities’ access to
medical care?
A: There’s one thing that I think is
an absolutely important thing for
me to do … to make sure that other
Americans have access to all of the
medical technology that exists, and
then it becomes their decision in
how they want to live their lives.
They’re not limited by technology,
and that is one of the reasons I
decided to run for Congress,
Personal Status: Married
Current Occupation:
Democratic Congressional
candidate in Illinois.
Election is Nov. 7.
Military Career: Holds
rank of major in the
Illinois Army National
Guard. Started her career
in ROTC as a graduate
student and later was
commissioned to the
Army Reserve, where she
became a helicopter pilot.
because I would come home to
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
in that wonderful environment and
was never self-conscious that I didn’t
have legs because I was surrounded
by 40 other guys who were missing
limbs as well. And so I wandered
around wearing short pants with my
artificial legs and it never occurred
to me, really. When I came home
on the plane I didn’t try to cover
myself up because I never really
thought about it and it’s who I am.
But I would be stopped in the
airport by people who really were
interested in my artificial limbs
because they had a loved one who
needs [an artificial limb] like my
right leg, which is a C-leg. It’s about
$80,000 to $100,000 for one leg,
and civilian health insurance consid-
ers it a luxury, so they won’t pay for
it. It’s got a computer chip in the
knee … people would stop me and
ask me because they were saving per-
sonal money to buy that for their
brother or dad or
sister. And I just
thought it’s inher-
ently unfair in
this country with
how wealthy we
are and how tech-
nologically
advanced we are
that there are peo-
ple who don’t
have access to
medical equip-
ment that exists
already, and that’s
not right.
A: I had incredible care at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center. The
minute I opened my eyes, my husband could look at me and say,
“You want to run again, you’ll be
able to run again.” That preparation
for entering into the real world was
tremendous. The doctors who came
to visit me, right at the beginning,
said, “What do you want to do?” I
said, I would like to walk again and
I would like to fly again. And they
were like, “Well, that’s nice, but
you’re signed up to the New York
Marathon a year from now.”
Q: How has your perception of
leadership evolved over the last
two years?
Tammy Duckworth at a Glance:
Place of Birth: Thailand legs and shattered her
right arm in the Iraq war
Age:
38 while co-piloting a Black
Hawk helicopter.
Education: Bachelor’s
degree in political science
from University of Hawaii;
master’s degree in
international affairs from
George Washington
University; Ph.D. candidate, political science,
Northern Illinois University
(left studies to fight in
Iraq).
Critical Moment: Nov.
12, 2004, she lost both
Family’s Military
History: Her late father,
Franklin, fought as a U.S.
Marine in World War II
and Vietnam.
Q: How do you
feel about the
preparation
process for
wounded veterans as they re-enter the mainstream world?
A: For me, continuing to be an officer and continuing to be a leader at
Walter Reed was incredibly important
because it got my butt out of bed a lot
of days when I didn’t want to, but I
knew if I wimped out it would give an
excuse for the 19-year-old private to
wimp out. We have a saying in the
army: “You don’t make your men do
what you’re not willing to do yourself.” If you want them to scrub the
bathroom, you need to scrub the
bathroom at least once so that they
see you’re willing to do it.
This country is incredible … I
can even run for Congress—the fact
that I have the medical technology
accessible to me to do this. I think
about President Roosevelt and when
he ran for president as a disabled
American and what that meant,
and how different it is for me and
for him. There’s a lot of pictures of
me out there in my wheelchair or
sometimes walking with my cane,
but it doesn’t matter anymore. The
message isn’t so much about “Hey,
look at me, I’m disabled,” it’s
“I’m going to fight for you in
Washington and fix the problems
we have in this country.” DI
