Former Army sergeant left paralyzed after car accident advocates for disabled veterans

Sedalia resident Robert Werner is set to wheel across the finish line in Bothwell Regional Health Center’s Lub Dub Run on May 1.

Werner, 51, is a former Army sergeant and member of the Army Presidential Honor Guard. He also served as a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Today, Werner is confined to a wheelchair, paralyzed from the chest down, as a result of a November 1991 vehicle accident. Werner was only 33 years old at the time of the accident. Werner said he remembers the windshield shattering and lying in the freezing rain until help arrived.

He had broken ribs, a broken clavicle and a collapsed lung when he arrived at the hospital. Pneumonia kept the doctors from performing much needed operations.

“I should have been dead,” he said.

Werner lost the use of his legs and spent the next three years fighting pain.

“My pain was so severe,” he said. “My goal was to survive the next 15 minutes.” Werner said the first thing that went through his mind was that he would never ride a motorcycle or horse again.

Today, Werner is a tireless advocate for disabled veterans and he spends up to six hours a day writing letters and e-mails, conducting research and making phone calls to raise funds and awareness for the group. “My compassion is for anybody,” he said, “but I am bent on the disabled.”

By wheeling his way through the 10K run, Werner hopes people will understand and accept people as individuals.

“We are all alike,” he said. “I have never met a person who doesn’t have some sort of handicap whether it be emotional or physical.”

While Werner hopes to raise awareness for the disabled through his participation in the 10K, he also wants to help the hospital where he was born 51 years ago.

“I have had many heart attacks over the years,” he said. “In March and April of 2009 I attended cardiac rehabilitation at Bothwell Regional Health Center.”

Werner said the rehab was challenging for himself and unit members to provide a good cardiovascular workout because he was confined to a wheelchair.

“There are arm cycles, but they did little for what I needed most to obtain,” he said.

And the bicycle-style units were difficult because he had to transfer to the machine and be strapped into place.

“This workout machine is outstanding for its purpose,” he said, “however, since I have no ability to use my legs I am not able to benefit from all of the equipment’s’ purpose.”

Werner said he has located a machine, called the Vita Glide Pro, which can be used for a cardiovascular workout by the wheelchair bound. The machine costs $2,100 and Werner hopes to raise those funds to have the workout machine placed in Bothwell’s new cancer and cardiovascular center when it is completed. “People like me should not have to travel to other cities or states to get adequate rehabilitation services,” he said.

Although Werner hasn’t been feeling well for the past five weeks and he is dreading the hills and streets involved in the Lub Dub Run course, he said he will complete the race.

“I’m pushing for a cause,” he said.

The Lub Dub Run will be held at 8 a.m. May 1 at BHRC. The entry fee is $25 and the event will feature 10k and 5k runs and a 5k walk. Both courses, which are paved with some hills, are a single loop beginning at the hospital.

Since the course is open to traffic, headphones, strollers and pets will not be allowed. Aid stations will be provided.