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Description - Run, Don't Walk by Adele Levine

In her years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, physical therapist Adele Levine rehabilitated soldiers admitted in worse and worse shape. As body armor and advanced trauma care helped save the lives--if not the limbs--of American troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, Walter Reed quickly became the world leader in amputee care. But no matter the injury, physical therapy began the moment the soldiers emerged from surgery.

Days at Walter Reed were intense, chaotic, and heartbreaking, but they were also filled with fierce camaraderie and unlikely comedy. Working in a glassed-in fishbowl gymnasium, Levine, her colleagues, and their combat-injured patients were on display at every moment to tour groups, politicians, and celebrities. Some would tear up openly at the sight--but inside the glass and out of earshot, the PTs and the rowdy patients cracked jokes, played pranks, and compared stumps.

With dazzling storytelling, Run, Don't Walk brings to life a motley array of characters who leap from the page, including- a retired lieutenant colonel who stays up late at night baking cake after cake, and the militant dietitian who is always after him; a surgeon who only speaks in farm analogies; a therapy dog gone rogue; and Levine's toughest patient, the wild, defiant Cosmo, who comes in with one leg amputated and his other leg shattered.

Run, Don't Walk is also an elegy for Walter Reed- a bustling, larger-than-life place, haunting and beautiful, where modern trauma surgeons and state-of-the-art technology stood adjacent to the historic hundred-year-old buildings of America's oldest Army hospital. There, Levine reveals the poignancy and rigors of rehab--from the indomitable medevac flight from the battlefield to a soldier's first steps on new legs, determined not just to walk again but to run.

Deeply humane and absorbing, Run, Don't Walk illuminates the pain of loss, the joy of recovery, and the redemptive power of humor in the face of any challenge. It takes us inside a fast-paced, fascinating world we have never seen before.
M*A*S*HmeetsScrubsin a sharply observant, darkly funny, and totally unique debut memoir from physical therapist Adele Levine.

In her six years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Adele Levine rehabilitated soldiers admitted in worse and worse shape. As body armor and advanced trauma care helped save the lives-if not the limbs-of American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, Walter Reed quickly became the world leader in amputee rehabilitation. But no matter the injury, physical therapy began the moment the soldiers emerged from surgery.

Days at Walter Reed were intense, chaotic, consuming, and heartbreaking, but they were also filled with camaraderie and humor. Working in a glassed-in fishbowl gymnasium, Levine, her colleagues, and their combat-injured patients were on display at every moment to tour groups, politicians, and celebrities. Some would shudder openly at the sight-but inside the glass and out of earshot, the PTs and the patients cracked jokes, played pranks, and compared stumps.

With dazzling storytelling,Run, Don't Walkintroduces a motley array of oddball characters including- Jim, a retired lieutenant-colonel who stays up late at night baking cake after cake, and the militant dietitian who is always after him; a surgeon who only speaks in farm analogies; a therapy dog gone rogue; -and Levine's toughest patient, the wild, defiant Cosmo, who comes in with one leg amputated and his other leg shattered.

Entertaining, engrossing, and ultimately inspiring,Run, Don't Walkis a fascinating look into a hidden world.

Buy Run, Don't Walk by Adele Levine from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, BooksDirect.

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