Veterans In Need Get Help During Program At St. Edward High

LAKEWOOD, OH — On Friday night, Assaf Dory was surrounded by strangers in button downs and polo shirts. They peppered him with questions about his military service, his work as a sheriff's deputy, and how he lost part of his right leg. They wanted to know how they could help him compete in weight lifting challenges and sit comfortably during a long flight.

Dory was one of 10 veterans selected for this fall's Challenge America: Makers program. Each veteran is paired with a group of engineers, medical professionals, and volunteers who are interested in helping them solve a unique issue.

The veterans need solutions that will help them overcome tendon tears, nervous system movement disorders, anxiety, depression and missing limbs. The solutions created by the volunteers could then be commercialized and made available to people worldwide.

Dory is an Israeli military veteran and former sheriff in Florida. In 2001, he injured his leg while chasing a suspect. Years later, while pursuing a suspect high on PCP, Dory's femur, in the same injured leg, was shattered.

He suffered nerve damage and lost his right leg. He's had 42 surgeries on the limb and is scheduled to go under the knife two more times. He had no adjustment period. He is often uncomfortable. He is often in pain. Much of the time, he said, he is engaged in a minute-to-minute battle with himself.

During the Challenge America: Makers event kick-off at St. Edward High School, Dory was smiling and joking. "This is incredible," he said while surveying the jam-packed innovation center. Teams of volunteers were buzzing around, touring the facility, devising hypothetical solutions to the problems confronting them.

Dory told his team he wanted to compete in adaptive strongman competitions. He wanted to go to the Arnolds Sports Festival in Columbus. He also wanted to sit comfortably in chairs and visit the world with his 10-year-old daughter.

"She's the reason for my fighting," he said.

Building Solutions

Dory's team was charged with devising an L-shaped seat extension that would support a residual leg. Without that support, the pain could be exhausting. It prevented him from going out with his daughter, or doing seated deadlifts for long.

Sit on the edge of a chair, he said, and slowly lift one of your legs up. Hold the leg in place for as long as you can. Before long, you should feel a burning strain beneath your knee and igniting up your hip. That's what he feels most of the time, he said.

He needs a device that is easily transportable, and can preferably be carried in a strap across his body. The device also must provide a degree of comfort and allow for lateral mobility (for his weight lifting exercises).

After listing out the design requirements, the team of volunteers were linked together through an online messaging service called Slack. The group would have less than two months to spitball ideas and conceive of a prototype.

In November, the teams will return to St. Edward High and make use of the extensive Lowe Institute for Innovation — a large facility with 3D printers, cutting devices, wind tunnels, CAD designing labs and more. For 72 hours, the teams will tinker with and perfect their designs. The truly successful pieces could be commercialized and made accessible to anyone who needs them.

The hardest work would wait though. On Friday night, after the talking was done, Dory and his team headed to the St. Edward library. Tables of sandwiches and snacks were presented. The volunteers told jokes and shared business cards.

Dory's phone began ringing — playing that infectious Baby Shark song (his ringtone for his daughter) — and he told her a group of people were trying to help him. He later told Patch that when someone helps improve the life of a veteran by 5 percent, they're improving the lives of that veteran's family by 50 percent, or 500 percent.

"My family suffers worse than I do," he said. "They have to deal with me. But this...this is incredible. This could have such a positive impact on my life, on their lives, on so many people's lives."