Whole Health

Drs. Rebeccah Martin and Nabiha Gill helped Army Veteran Vic Russell take the steps he needed toward better health.

Two years ago, Vic Russell’s body was “talking” to him. Having battled arthritis and bursitis for more than two decades and through multiple deployments, the Army Veteran’s joints were griping and groaning, telling him he would always have to live in pain and settle for a lower quality of life. Good thing he didn’t listen. In VA Whole Health, Russell found a caring team that showed him how to move past the things that were holding him back.

Moving on to better health

Russell, who has undergone multiple surgeries dating back to his time in active duty, is no stranger to joint issues. “My shoulders and ankles hurt all the time,” he recalled of his condition when he walked into the Veterans’ Integrated Pain (VIP) Clinic at the OrthoIndy Foundation YMCA in downtown Indianapolis, IN. Painkillers had helped Russell manage his symptoms to that point, but when he was instructed to stop taking them, the slightest strain on his body caused him discomfort. His weight suffered as a result. It was time to try something new.

That something new turned out to be Whole Health, VA’s holistic approach that encourages Veterans to take an active role in their health care. In the spring of 2023, Russell was referred to Drs. Rebeccah Martin at the VIP and Nabiha Gill at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center. Martin, a physical therapist with whom Russell had worked before, was blunt. “She told me, ‘You’ve got to stay moving, you can’t stop moving,’” Russell said, remembering Martin’s advice. “‘Stay active … work through the pain.’”

Russell took up walking, a move that would kickstart his Whole Health journey. But it was only part of the equation. Gill’s lifestyle medicine approach was equally critical. She advised Russell to enroll in pain nutrition classes, where he learned to reduce his body’s inflammation by making the right dietary choices. As a result, he’s down 65 pounds and off medications he once relied on.

No excuses

Russell understands that grumbling about his health won’t do any good. “We have two choices,” he said. “We can either complain, or we can figure out how to get around and keep going, and I’m choosing how … to get around it and keep going.”

These days, he isn’t just dealing with his pain — he’s walking circles around it. Often finding himself in different time zones and climates for work, Russell could easily justify not exercising. But that’s not his style. When he’s not at home, you can catch him out pounding the pavement — even if it’s just laps around the hotel parking lot.

“You have to make the environment you’re in work,” he said. “I’m on my road trips, I’m walking at the hotels, I’m walking at the airport … getting my steps in, getting my activities up.”

A family affair

It’s been years since Russell last ate fast food, and he tries to keep the junk food to a minimum. In addition to his Whole Health team, his family is a big motivator. That includes his beloved dog, Ivy, who keeps Russell plenty busy with games of fetch in the back yard when he’s home between work trips. For their part, his wife and son support him by eating healthy, too. Ask him, and he’ll say he doesn’t know if his progress would be possible without them.

Whole Health has changed much more than Russell’s habits. It’s also changed his very mindset.

“When I wake up every day, I want to do the right thing, and I want to do the best that I can do for the day,” he said. “We’re all going to have a bad day, and we’re all going to have a really, really good day every so often. And [Whole Health] … is what gave me the ability to get back to having more good days than bad days by a lot.”

For more information on about Whole Health well-being programs, click here.