Veterans Day is a time to celebrate our nation’s greatest heroes – those who sacrificed and fought for our country. Dr. Daniel Valaik, orthopedic surgeon, is one of those people. A former Navy SEAL and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Dr. Valaik generously gave over 30 years of his time to the military – initially at SEAL Team 2 in Little Creek, Virginia and later in his career as a surgeon at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Dr. Valaik learned about the Navy SEALS while attending the U.S. Naval Academy in the 1980s. Back then, the movies and books about Navy SEALs did not really exist like they do today so the Naval Academy was his first exposure. Upon graduating, he went on to serve as a Navy SEAL for six years where he learned the valuable lesson of teamwork.
“I loved being a Navy SEAL. Working with an elite group of like-minded men to accomplish a challenging mission in defense of our country was something I will always be proud of. I deployed throughout the world from Europe to the Mediterranean and to northern Africa, among other places,” recalls Dr. Valaik.
After serving as a Navy SEAL, Dr. Valaik always considered the field of medicine so when the opportunity presented itself, he began the daunting yet rewarding endeavor of becoming a physician. He and his wife just started a family so he credits much of his success directly to his wife’s efforts and support during such a busy time in their lives and career. Serving in the military and going to medical school is definitely a family commitment. It is also a financial commitment in which Dr. Valaik was grateful for the support from the Navy.
The Navy SEAL theme of teamwork translated considerably to life in orthopedic surgery. Dr. Valaik explains, “The only way to be successful as a Navy SEAL is through teamwork. Likewise, in surgery, it takes a team of people to have a successful surgical outcome. We need medical doctors, anesthesia doctors, nurses, physical therapists and surgeons to all work together to provide the best outcome for our patients.”
Some of his proudest moments in the military and working with great teams were actually the last six years of his career, where he served as Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Tens of thousands of U.S. service men and women were injured during our wars with Iraq and Afghanistan and the majority of those battlefield injuries were taken care of at Walter Reed Hospital.
“I really felt that all of my military and medical training had prepared me for this moment. Working in orthopedic surgery, I had already seen and taken care of serious injuries from motorcycle accidents and gunshot wounds. The war injuries from the improvised explosive devices or IED‘s, led to some of the worst orthopedic injuries that I had ever seen,” Dr. Valaik remembers.
Amazingly, with their team of orthopedic surgeons, trauma surgeons, nurses and therapists, they were able to save the lives and limbs of so many of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who had defended our country during those wars.
Of course, after treating thousands of patients, surely one patient’s story will stand out among the rest. Dr. Valaik remembers a patient named Bryce who was sent by MEDEVAC to Walter Reed. They both shared the same alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy. Bryce played football and Dr. Valaik was on the water polo and swim teams there.
While serving as a Marine in Iraq, Bryce was shot in the knee and fractured all three of his bones – the femur, tibia and patella. Dr. Valaik feared that they would not be able to save his leg.
“As we examined him in the operating room, my team realized his knee was in dire shape and I was prepared to tell him he was going to lose his leg,” Dr. Valaik recounts the tragic story while holding back tears. “I had rehearsed my dialogue before entering his hospital room because no doctor wants to have this conversation.”
As Dr. Valaik entered the room, he could see that Bryce was holding his newborn baby girl who he had just met for the very first time - since he was overseas for her birth. As a father of four girls, Dr. Valaik really empathized with Bryce. He knew what it was like to hold your baby daughter for the very first time.
When they exchanged looks, Bryce knew that Dr. Valaik was going to inform him that he might lose his leg … and, Bryce just sat on his hospital bed without a care in the world other than his new baby. In awe of her, he said, “Isn’t she beautiful, Doc?”
Several years have passed and Dr. Valaik still thinks about Bryce all the time, “It just demonstrates the resilience of these young people fighting for our country. They are fighting to protect the ones they love and left at home. Gratefully, I still keep in touch with Bryce today and, most notably, we were able to restore his knee and save his leg.”
Another enriching moment in Dr. Valaik’s career in the military was visiting the WWII museums in Europe and the beaches of Normandy with his brother, a former Marine himself.
“By far, it was the most moving trip and experience that I have ever had. To think about all of the lives lost on those beaches and the courage of those military men made me speechless. I remember that quote by Winston Churchill, Never was so much owed by so many to so few. That quote rings such truth about the young soldiers, who stormed the beaches of Normandy, changed the course of history.”
What better way to sum up what Veterans Day is all about – honoring these amazing, courageous service men and women like Dr. Valaik. A special and heartfelt thank you from the team at Riverside Health to all the men and women in the armed forces. Have a blessed Veterans Day!
*https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-09-10/counting-the-lives-lost-as-a-result-of-9-11
