Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/398416
"He Takes Me Apart and He Puts Me Back Together" The godfather of this group of wounded warriors who come to see David is Major Richard Burkett, Jr. He's the reason so many from Walter Reed have found their way to David's doorstep, and he is David's biggest advocate. "As far as I'm concerned, there is no better massage therapist on the planet," Richard says. "He takes me apart and he puts me back together." Which is no small feat. Richard's injuries were extensive after surviving a military plane crash in April 2012 while supporting a mission in Africa. "We hit the ground, nose down. The control panel slammed into my chest and crushed it, and my legs were almost completely severed. All the ligaments across my left knee were cut. The artery was still attached and the tendons were still intact, but all the rest of the soft tissue was gone. There was a lot of bleeding and a lot of things were not where they were supposed to be." His copilot also survived the crash, but two other crew members did not. Richard, the aircraft commander, remained conscious as he was pulled from the wreckage. He told the Marine who was tending to him, "If I wasn't in shock, this would hurt like hell." The Marine replied, "Well, sir, if you can't feel it, I want you to know it's killing me." After four days of intensive care in Germany, Richard was transported to Walter Reed, where doctors told him there was a good chance he could keep both legs. "Initially, I was doing really well." But the vascular system in one of the skin fl aps used to reattach the right foot did not heal. "The leg just started breaking down and the doctors said, 'There's really no more we can do.'" Richard's game plan changed. By the time he got through the medical and psych evaluations as a precursor to the amputation, this 15-year Marine admits he was suffering. "My leg was in so much pain, I was ready to cut it off myself. My foot was dying from the inside out. It was agonizing, crushing pain." David was there for Richard before, during, and after the amputation, visiting his hospital room and offering whatever hands-on work he could. David was also there for him when a surgeon performed a total knee replacement on the left leg months later, and when doctors went back into the knee two more times to tackle a MRSA infection. With more than 30 surgeries under his belt, Richard has had to start over each time as he deals with his new body. "It's painful, it's humbling, it's kind of scary, it's aggravating. To know that not long ago I could run to the moon and back and still have the energy to beat up 10 Taliban, and now, just dangling my feet over the side of the hospital bed is killing me. I went through limb salvage for 14 months, then a leg amputation, then a knee replacement, and then another. I've had to learn how to walk three different times. I don't wish it on anybody. But to have a guy like David come to my hospital room and give me massage—well, they just don't make guys like David." It was David's willingness to address the pain with deep-tissue work and trigger-point therapy that had Richard singing his praises. "The relaxation part of massage is fi ne, but as far as applying pressure and really working the knots out, these other therapists I've tried couldn't do it, or chose not to." 60 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 did not heal. "The leg just started breaking down and really no more we can do.'" and psych evaluations as a precursor to the amputation, this 15-year Marine admits myself. My foot was dying from the inside out. It was agonizing, crushing pain." and after the amputation, visiting his hospital room and Major Richard Burkett before his April 2012 plane crash.