Local pair raising funds to buy Segway for disabled airman

It has been eight months since Airman Colton Read, a 20-year-old intelligence analyst stationed at Beale Air Force Base, was admitted to David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base for laparoscopic gallbladder surgery.

What was supposed to be a routine procedure at the Vacaville-area military hospital became a nightmare after a surgeon accidentally punctured Read's aorta. That medical error and its aftermath led to the eventual amputation of both of Read's legs in an effort to save his life.

Now, a local mother-and-daughter team are trying to raise money to buy Read a means to mobility.

The Segway, a two-wheeled personal transport vehicle, would be a tremendous benefit to the now-21-year-old senior airman once he gets through the most difficult stages of rehabilitation, says Janice Nall, an active member of the civilian Beale Liaison Group.

An amputee's life, she said, "dramatically improves with the use of these."

Read is undergoing a series of procedures that will allow him to use prosthetic limbs, and to stand for at least brief periods of time.

Darrell Keith, a Fort Worth, Texas, malpractice attorney, represents Read and his wife. He has advised them against speaking publicly until an investigation of circumstances leading to Read's condition is completed.

"Colton's case is very sensitive," he said by telephone Friday. "It's a great tragedy; hopefully, he will get just compensation."

Nall met Read during a tour of the Center for the Intrepid, a military rehabilitation center at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

She was especially moved, she said, by Read's upbeat attitude and determination to become mobile. He has expressed a desire to return to active duty.

"By the end of the summer, he'll probably be ready to use a Segway," Nall said.

Her daughter, Sami Nall, served last year as community honorary commander to the 9th Intelligence Squadron, 548th Intelligence Group, for which Read worked.

The two women have raised nearly half of the $7,000 needed to purchase the Segway. They hope to be able to also buy accessories that would allow a charging device to be carried on the vehicle.

Raising the money, reads a letter penned by Sami Nall to potential contributors, would "show Colton and his wife Jessica, our community remembers and cares about him."

"Rehabilitation is a slow process however," the letter continues, "and everyday life continues to be a challenge."

Because Read did not lose his legs in combat, he is ineligible for a program that donates transport vehicles to service members wounded in armed conflict. He also is ineligible for Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, and cannot, under law, file a medical negligence claim against the military hospital or personnel who treated him.

The Feres Doctrine, based on a 1950 Supreme Court decision, bars military service members from filing suit for injuries not related to combat.

Keith said that if Read's claims for compensation are not honored, he will pursue a federal tort claim.

"There are ways to challenge that law," Keith said.

The Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act, which seeks to allow military members to sue in cases of negligent care, is under consideration by Congress.

Read was born in Fort Worth and grew up near the military base where he and his wife live. He finally underwent successful gallbladder surgery in February.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712 or npasternack@appealdemocrat.com.