{"id":7874,"date":"2025-05-21T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7874"},"modified":"2025-05-21T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:30:00","slug":"veteran-goes-from-homeless-and-bedbound-to-independent-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7874","title":{"rendered":"Veteran goes from homeless and bedbound to independent again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-05-21T14:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

When Navy Veteran Stephen Gomez was first admitted to the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center\u2019s Community Living Center<\/a> (CLC), he weighed less than 90 pounds. He didn\u2019t have a place to live, was bedbound and couldn\u2019t lift his head to look anyone in the eye.<\/p>\n

Now, just 17 months later, Gomez can walk again, lives independently and has his own apartment in a brand-new Veteran\u2019s community in the Antelope Valley, Danny\u2019s Home for Heroes. This remarkable recovery was the result of hard work, persistence and the CLC staff never giving up on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are complete angels over there,\u201d said Gomez. \u201cI wasn\u2019t the easiest guy to work with when I got there because everything hurt. But they worked with me and worked with me. I can\u2019t give them enough praise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overcoming hardship<\/h2>\n

When Gomez joined the Navy in 1969, his background as a musician led to a stint in the Drum and Bugle Corps. He also trained as a dental technician in the service, and when he was discharged in 1973, he started working with dentists in the San Diego area.<\/p>\n

Life went on, and he got married and had two children. A divorce followed 14 years later. Things started changing in his life, he said, which led to spending some time in prison. \u201cI got myself there, nobody else to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n

After he got out, Gomez used the experience to get his life back on track and started playing drums professionally in San Diego, opening for popular groups like the Ohio Players.<\/p>\n

When his father, an Army Veteran who served in WWII, fell ill, Gomez dropped everything to take care of him. \u201cI wanted to be close to him. I would take him to his visits at West LA VA. We enjoyed spending time with each other until he passed away,\u201d said Gomez.<\/p>\n

After his father passed, life took a turn for the worse. \u201cI was losing hope,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Over the next several years, he sustained multiple injuries that put him in and out of the hospital, including a broken back. When he got sick again, a VA representative recognized that his health was failing, and he wasn\u2019t able to properly care for himself. That\u2019s when he was admitted to the CLC.<\/p>\n

Embracing Age-Friendly care<\/h2>\n

Most of the Veterans who live at the Sepulveda CLC are older, and Geriatric CLC Attending Physician Dr. Mai Pham is particularly passionate about providing what\u2019s known as \u201cage-friendly care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CLC is an Age-Friendly Health System<\/a>, meaning it has received recognition for its dedication to caring for older Veterans like Gomez. Pham said that this approach to care played a large role in Gomez\u2019s recovery. \u201cIt is so important because it brings together all of the elements that are required to improve the quality of life for a Veteran,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At his intake, when Pham asked Gomez what mattered to him, he said he wanted to live independently again in the Antelope Valley. \u201cAt the time, with his condition, you would have said that was almost impossible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But knowing what Gomez wanted allowed his providers to work toward that goal, and ultimately help him achieve it.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was really angry\u2019<\/h2>\n

As an occupational therapist, Air Force Veteran Paul Hardy helps Veterans regain their ability to perform the activities of daily living\u2014\u201ceverything you would do from the time you wake up until you go to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Hardy\u2019s best efforts to engage him, Gomez didn\u2019t show any interest and seemed frustrated and withdrawn.<\/p>\n

But one day, Hardy had some art kits on hand and thought to ask Gomez if he\u2019d like one. Gomez lit up at the idea.<\/p>\n

From there he started doing art regularly and struck up a passion for making Native American dolls. \u201cIt had me getting my motor skills back together and kind of reviving who I am,\u201d said Gomez.<\/p>\n

Hardy and Gomez worked on many other activities together, including practicing the piano.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more he engaged in some of these activities he used to do before, a light kind of came on,\u201d said Hardy. \u201cHe started taking care of himself better, getting himself dressed. Step by step he was able to do more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Like angels do\u2019<\/h2>\n

Physical therapy was another key component. CLC Physical Therapist Joey Huynh worked closely with Gomez for more than a year.<\/p>\n

Once Gomez started walking, things really turned a corner, said Huynh. \u201cHe became really motivated, compliant, and did everything he could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gomez described his care team as \u201cstrict when they had to be,\u201d but \u201cvery warm and loving and caring of everybody\u2026 They stuck with me and showed me some discipline, which I needed,\u201d he said. \u201cThey worked really hard with me, like angels do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s amazing\u2019<\/h2>\n

Fast forward to his discharge and Gomez walked out of the CLC at 135 pounds. He\u2019s healthy, has a vehicle and loves living at Danny\u2019s Home for Heroes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a beautiful apartment. It\u2019s a state-of-the-art place,\u201d Gomez said of his new home. \u201cI\u2019m really happy here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CLC team is delighted to see Gomez doing so well. From time to time he stops by to visit and express his gratitude. \u201cHe really blossomed, he really changed,\u201d said Hardy. \u201cNow he\u2019s out in the world. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey helped me see what mattered to me more than what I saw what mattered to me,\u201d said Gomez. \u201cI was in such a down place, I just felt like nothing was going to work out for me. They proved to me that things do work out.\u201d<\/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":"

Age-friendly care played a large role in Veteran going from being bedbound to independent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homelessness-housing-support","category-housing-home-loans"],"yoast_head":"\nVeteran goes from homeless and bedbound to independent again - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Age-friendly care played a large role in Veteran going from being bedbound to independent.\" \/>\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=7874\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veteran goes from homeless and bedbound to independent again - 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