{"id":7695,"date":"2026-01-03T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7695"},"modified":"2026-01-03T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:30:00","slug":"nothing-can-stop-veteran-from-daily-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7695","title":{"rendered":"Nothing can stop Veteran from daily exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2026-01-03T21:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s power in movement and exercise<\/h2>\n

At 101, World War II Veteran George Poleske is blind, hard of hearing and mostly needs a wheelchair to get around. But none of that stops him from being as physically fit as possible.<\/p>\n

He takes part in physical therapy five days a week at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center<\/a>, motivated by the special bond he has forged with health technician Mary Kassens.<\/p>\n

Like old friends getting together for coffee, the two chat and smile while going about their routine of exercises to keep George healthy.<\/p>\n

During a recent session, Poleske and Kassens talked about his recent bingo wins, the Milwaukee Brewers and his tasty lunch\u2014a BLT with everything on it\u2014while he went through his regimen, which included walking and balance exercises, as well as some upper body work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do the walking,\u201d Poleske said as he stood from his wheelchair, grasped the parallel bars and walked the length of the path. He then turned to the side and shuffled back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch out, Mary; I might run you over,\u201d he said, smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re looking good, George. You\u2019re doing fine,\u201d Kassens responded.<\/p>\n

As the exercises progressed, Poleske would call out the number of reps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have fun together, don\u2019t we?\u201d Kassens asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re fun and friendly. We can talk about anything. And she\u2019s a good instructor. She takes good care of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s that relationship with Kassens\u2014 and his commitment to being active\u2014that motivates him to exercise each day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I look forward to. It keeps me motivated. I always perk up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping Veterans moving<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Poleske, who lives in the hospital\u2019s Community Living Center, stands as testament to the\u00a0STRIDE program<\/a>\u00a0at Milwaukee VA. The national VA program emphasizes movement for hospital patients.<\/p>\n

STRIDE provides hospitalized Veterans with a targeted gait and balance assessment, followed by supervised daily walks for the remainder of their hospital stay.<\/p>\n

Instituted at Milwaukee VA in 2020, the program has grown beyond walking to include upper and lower extremity exercise, as well as yoga, which helps with flexibility and peace of mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping Vets mobile and walking daily helps reduce length of stay in hospitals and aids in the reduction of falls,\u201d said Isabel Detienne, occupational therapist.m\u201cDeconditioning is a big thing that happens in the hospital, so this is one way for us to prevent that and keep them pumping their muscles and keep their hearts healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mutually beneficial bond<\/h2>\n

Kassens has been working with Poleske for about two years, and they\u2019ve formed a mutually beneficial bond.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just as motivating for myself to come to work every day,\u201d she said. \u201cI know he\u2019s depending on me, and he\u2019s a real joy. He\u2019s always keeping us on our toes. He\u2019s always trying to challenge himself to be a little better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Poleske is equally motivating for his fellow Veterans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany other Veterans look up to George,\u201d Kassens shared. \u201cOftentimes we hear them saying, \u2018If he can do it, and look so good, so can we.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And Poleske has advice for fellow Veterans who may be averse to exercise or physical therapy: \u201cDon\u2019t give up. Just do the best you can,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd try to do better today than you did yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s never too late to apply for the VA health care you\u2019ve earned. If you are a Veteran or know a Veteran who has not yet applied for their VA health care benefits, learn how to\u00a0get started<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

This article was originally published on the VA Milwaukee Health care System site <\/a>and has been edited for style and clarity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

101-year-old Veteran credits exercise for staying motivated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNothing can stop Veteran from daily exercise - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"101-year-old Veteran credits exercise for staying motivated.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7695\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nothing can stop Veteran from daily exercise - Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"101-year-old Veteran credits exercise for staying motivated.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7695\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-03T21:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7695#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7695\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\"},\"headline\":\"Nothing can stop Veteran from daily exercise\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-03T21:30:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7695\"},\"wordCount\":680,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7695#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-119.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & VA Updates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7695\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7695\",\"name\":\"Nothing can stop Veteran from daily exercise - 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