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“How are you doing today?” Weld County Sheriff’s Deputy Van Duvall asks, smiling at the restaurant server lost in the busyness of the lunch rush. The server, seemingly caught off guard by the sincerity of the question, responds with a smile and polite conversation before scurrying off to retrieve beverages and menus.
Normally, good nature and an outgoing personality wouldn’t be particularly noteworthy. However, a battle in 2017 with sepsis that threatened Duvall’s life and his more than two-decade career with the Sheriff’s Office has helped him have greater appreciation for things once taken for granted.
“I’ve learned to slow down and enjoy,” Duvall said when explaining what he’s learned from the life-altering illness which resulted in the need to put him into a medically induced coma for three weeks. Recovery was slow and gradual after he came out. He went from being intubated to breathing on his own. As he slowly improved, food was reintroduced to him, and he began physical and occupational therapy in hopes of rehabilitating and regaining the 20 pounds of muscle he’d lost during the coma and five-month stay in the hospital.
Duvall also had to endure many surgeries, perhaps none more difficult than the ones that took his left leg below the knee, right toes and varying lengths of seven fingers — a reaction to the drug vasopressor which routed blood from his extremities to his heart and brain to keep him alive during the coma. For someone who served six years in the Army National Guard and someone used to being fit and healthy before sepsis, adapting to a new “normal” was difficult. As frustration understandably set in, it didn’t stay long. It couldn’t, because his family, friends and members of the Sheriff’s Office continued to offer love, support and encouragement as he recovered.
“I’m extremely grateful for everyone’s support, prayers and gifts,” Duvall said. He also decided early on giving up was not an option.
“When I was first coming out of the coma, my uncle, a retired physician, was sitting by my side, and he challenged me. He looked at me and said, ‘Van, do you want this?’ He made me make a choice. I knew what the struggles were going to be like, and I knew it would be a journey, but I wanted to succeed. I wanted to live.”
Living meant more than getting healthy and returning to work — something he accomplished when he rejoined the courts unit. It also meant challenging himself to do more of the things he did prior to his disability, which included playing musical instruments, studying Wing Chun Kung Fu and flying (Duvall is also a pilot).
Another one of those things was completing the LawFit test.
A fitness test conducted annually at the Sheriff’s Office, the LawFit test is used to evaluate cardio efficiency, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility of Sheriff’s Office sworn personnel on full duty or seeking to become full duty. The test asks participants to do many things, including as many push-ups as possible, as many sit-ups that can be done in a minute, a sit and reach flexibility test, as many overhand pull-ups as possible and a 1.5-mile run. Participants must obtain a score of 200 in order to pass. If that score is not reached, then participants may complete the obstacle course component. The obstacle course consists of jumping a three-foot gap, climbing over a five-foot wall, crawling under an obstacle, climbing through a window without touching the top, identifying a suspect and dragging a 150-pound dummy five yards. The obstacle course must be completed within one minute and 36 seconds in order to pass.
Duvall’s doctors submitted letters saying he was fit for full duty. Now he just had to participate in the fitness test in September.
He excelled in push-ups and sit-ups but found other things like pull-ups, running and finding consistent balance more difficult.
“I did a good job, but it was not nearly a passing grade,” Duvall said. “My 1.5-mile run took me thirty minutes. It’s just difficult to run with a prosthetic leg. Having short fingers, I can’t grip the pull-up bar, so I must make accommodations. It took me a little over three minutes to do the obstacle course. But I now know what I need to work on.”
Despite not passing the test, he completed it, a statement to his determination and willingness to not let adversity define him. He’s overcome uncertainty with support from loved ones, his faith and the desire to stay positive. Even on bad days, when he gets frustrated, he remembers how far he’s come and how much he can still achieve. Duvall’s ultimate goal is to return to full duty.
"I have never met a guy with a more positive attitude or a stronger work ethic," said Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams, who looks forward to the day Duvall can return to full duty.
“In the beginning, I thought having a prosthetic leg was a burden, but I’ve grown to find that it is a blessing,” Duvall said. “I have so much more appreciation for everything now. I’m more empowered.”
By Baker Geist, Weld County Communications Specialist
Photos provided by Deputy Van Duvall
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