JUDGE MANEY DAV’s veteran of the year honored for overcoming adversity, helping others find redemption By Matt Saintsing ‘All because of ’ P att Maney comes from a proud family tradition of military service stretching back to the French and Indian War, so his path to join the Army Reserve in 1971 was well laid before him. What Maney couldn’t foresee, though, was the massive improvised explosive device blast that ripped through his armored vehicle in Afghanistan three decades later. And even less clear was the end point of the long, arduous path to recover from his injuries, including a broken nose, 27 cracked teeth, cartilage tears in both of his shoulders, sprained knees, nerve damage and a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). In 2005, about 50 miles outside of Kabul, Maney’s life changed in a literal flash. As an Army judge advocate general working as a political adviser to an Afghanistan Reconstruction Group, he was on a mission to find drinkable water when the explosion occurred. “The blast went off immediately in front of the vehicle instead of under it,” said Maney. “We got blown into the air, then we fell down into the crater as we kept going forward.” Though everyone survived the attack, Maney’s hard road to recovery was about to begin. His most serious injury, the TBI, took away much of his cognitive abilities. “He became a 56-year-old 6-year-old, and I had to learn how to deal with him and help him,” Caroline said. “I was his full-time caregiver, and he needed assistance daily to get him from place to place.” A veil of uncertainty shrouded Maney’s recovery, and his and Caroline’s future. Would he be able to return to the bench as a judge? Could he ever work again? These questions and others wouldn’t be answered until after dozens of hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions, a treatment that forces blood to absorb more oxygen. The results were astounding. Maney noticed a difference after a few weeks. “One of my doctors said, ‘You’re speaking in full sentences, and you’re maintaining eye contact,” recalled Maney. After a regimen of therapy sessions, multiple surgeries and 80 hyperbaric oxygen dives, Maney retired in 2007 as a brigadier general from the Army Reserve. His work with helping veterans, however, was just getting started. Maney first contacted DAV at Walter Reed in 2006, while going through a Medical Evaluation Board. The Army had found him unfit for duty but concluded he had no long-term disabilities. “DAV took it from ‘you’re out of the Army; have a nice day’ to ‘you’re out of the Army, but you’re going to 10 DAV MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2019 | DAV.ORG
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‘All because of JUDGE MANEY’
Matt Saintsing
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