Everyone knows the “you are a stranger only once” guy, caring heart, good soul and 1,000-watt personality. The fella who can strike up – and carry on – a conversation with anyone.
You are a stranger only once with Omaha, Nebraska’s David Lee.
“Dave is so much fun to have in the clinic,’’ Vicki Watton, PT, DPT, Clinic Manager at Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Elkhorn, Neb. outlet, said of the outgoing, laugh-a-minute Lee, who served two decades as an actuary (professional who applies advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to assess and manage risk and uncertainty in various fields, particularly in insurance, finance, and retirement planning) with insurance giant Mutual of Omaha, then spent many years running his own consulting firm.
“There’s some sort of dad joke (or two) everyday (from Lee), and most days a funny T-shirt. Dave is also extremely motivated to keep pushing his limits and get back to his hobbies (my favorite hobby of his is that he is a clown and loves walking in parades),’’ added Watton, a gifted, compassionate, and dedicated therapist. “His motivation even has him leading an exercise class with his wife and zooming with his daughters most days of the week, which helps him push his home exercise program and have fun with his family. He loves trying to take some of the exercise progressions from therapy to try to stump/progress the exercise class to challenge his family.’’
A standout track sprinter, who starred at Cleveland State University, Lee also captured a gold medal in the 400-meter relay competing for the United States at the Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1973. He joined Douglas Finkle, Emanuel Rosenberg, and Wayne Brownstein in setting a Games record in the event, held at Tel Aviv, Israel. Lee also served as a track assistant coach at Gross Catholic High School at Bellevue, Neb.
Rock Valley’s Elkhorn clinic and Lee have been first-name friendly for years, a result of Lee’s passion for running. The ever-upbeat 77-year-old has enjoyed a gym membership at the Elkhorn clinic, benefitting greatly through the years from its AlterG Anti-gravity treadmill and its differential air pressure technology used to reduce the weight load on one’s legs as you restore strength, range of motion, and balance.
Recently, though, Lee suffered a fall, resulting in a fracture of his right hip. The injury required a partial hip replacement, and Lee turning to – and counting on — Rock Valley to return him to his active lifestyle.
“Dave has been a patient during this round for about 2-3 months but has been a gym member especially focusing on our anti-gravity treadmill for years,’’ Watton said. “His goals were to avoid any total knee replacement surgeries and continue what he loves, and by continuing strengthening and offloading during his running he has been able to meet both of those goals.”
“Since his partial hip replacement, we’ve been focusing on building up the hip strength again to help support both his hip and help his bilateral chronic knee pain from osteoarthritis,’’ Watton added. “Dave is making phenomenal progress, and I have no doubt he will get back to doing what he loves. Our goal is to keep pushing more with walking tolerance and overall strengthening to get him back to what he loves.’’
Lee says Rock Valley played a huge role in his overall health and well-being prior to hip replacement and has guided him through therapy post-surgery.
“I began doing it (running on the anti-gravity treadmill) when it was Stodden Physical Therapy and just continued when Stodden joined Rock Valley,’’ Lee said. “It’s been great for me physically and mentally, allowing me to do something I could not do outside of that treadmill (sprint work).
“Everyone at Rock Valley has been wonderful to work with and has been important in my recovery,’’ Lee said about Watton and the Elkhorn/Rock Valley team. “I trust them.’’
In true, make-others-smile fashion, Lee is part of a local clown troupe, playing in hospitals, senior residences, and walking – and entertaining in parades.
“I love walking in parades,’’ added Lee. “I get a kick out of making people smile and laugh. I love working with the Shriners. I love being around people. I can’t say enough wonderful things about how Rock Valley has been there to help me and prepare me to get back to doing things like that, things I genuinely enjoy.’’
By: Johnny Marx, Rock Valley Storyteller