[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6697]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        VERMONT'S MATAYKA FAMILY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Vermonters are fiercely proud of those who 
serve in our National Guard. For decades--and never more so than in the 
last decade--when the Nation sounded the call to service, the Vermont 
National Guard has answered. Today, I would like to pay tribute to Ed 
and Karen Matayka, two Vermont National Guard soldiers whose 
perseverance in the face of huge odds is an inspiration to all.
  The Army brought Ed and Karen together--they met at combat medic 
training in Texas--and they have been an Army family ever since. The 
Mataykas deployed twice together, once to Kuwait immediately following 
their wedding, and a second time to Afghanistan with Vermont's 86th 
Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2010. It was during that second 
deployment when tragedy struck.
  While running a convoy mission in Afghanistan, Ed's vehicle was hit 
by an improvised explosive device, leaving him with multiple injuries, 
including the amputation of his legs. Some doctors questioned whether 
Ed would survive.
  Yet he never gave up. With Karen's support and the assistance of 
skilled Army doctors, Ed is well on the road to recovery. Not only is 
Ed making great strides in his personal health, with newly authorized 
assistance for in vitro fertilization for service members, Ed and Karen 
recently welcomed the arrival of twins: Ryan David and Alana Marie. 
They are the first Army family to have used the technique after 
Congress passed a law authorizing TRICARE coverage of reproductive 
therapies for military families dealing with the consequences of 
catastrophic injury.
  As a Vermonter, I am proud of Ed and Karen. Ryan and Alana are surely 
lucky to have them as parents.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the recent U.S. Army article 
entitled ``Double Amputee Gets Another Chance of Starting Family'' be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was printed in the Record, as 
follows:

             [From the United States Army, April 24, 2013]

         Double Amputee Gets Another Chance of Starting Family

            (By Maria Gallegos, Brooke Army Medical Center)

       San Antonio.--The only thing he remembered was waking up 
     five weeks later in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in 
     Germany--from a tragedy that nearly cost him his life and the 
     chance of starting a family.


                             THE BEGINNING

       Thirteen years ago, Ed and Karen Matayka, both combat 
     medics with the Vermont National Guard, met and fell in love 
     during their advanced training course at what is now Joint 
     Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
       Soon after, they married in 2004 and deployed together six 
     months later to Kuwait in 2005.
       ``We honeymooned in Kuwait,'' said Karen.
       They returned to Vermont a year later and were activated 
     again in 2010 to go to Afghanistan, but this time they 
     promised each other they would start a family after their 
     deployment. Just after four months in theater, those plans 
     looked to be lost.
       In July 2010, Ed was on a convoy mission in Afghanistan 
     when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device 
     that caused multiple injuries to his body, including the loss 
     of his legs, fractures to his spinal cord, a traumatic brain 
     injury, and two strokes that caused nerve damage to his left 
     side of the body. The blast also killed his driver, Spc. Ryan 
     Grady, and wounded four other Vermont Soldiers.
       ``The doctors told me he probably won't survive,'' Karen 
     recalled.
       Because of the severity of his multiple injuries, he was 
     treated and transferred to several military medical centers 
     across the country before he was transferred to Brooke Army 
     Medical Center, or BAMC. At BAMC, he receives inpatient care 
     at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, or SAMMC and 
     specialty rehabilitation care at the Center for the Intrepid.
       ``BAMC is the best place for amputee rehab, (so) we needed 
     to get Ed here,'' Karen said.
       Ed has been rehabilitating at the CFI, BAMC's outpatient 
     rehab center, since August 2011. He is now learning to walk 
     again.


                         IN VITRO FERTILIZATION

       Even though their plans of starting a family were 
     temporarily on hold, their desire to start a family was never 
     in question.
       ``We really wanted to have a family long before this 
     happened, and we are not going to let his injuries change our 
     plans,'' said Karen.
       ``We had decided together that we wanted kids--we just 
     wanted to share some love, help guide the next generation,'' 
     Ed added.
       They turned to in vitro fertilization in hopes of making 
     their dreams of a family a reality. The IVF process is a 
     procedure in which eggs are removed and joined with a sperm 
     outside of the body to fertilize and the resulting embryo is 
     then placed back into the uterus.
       They first started the IVF process, at the Boston's veteran 
     hospital where Ed was receiving his spinal cord rehab--but 
     because of the complexity of the injuries, the procedure was 
     not successful.
       After eight months of rehab at BAMC, and with Ed gaining 
     more strength and independence, they decided to try again.
       ``We were initially told we had to pay for it ourselves, 
     which we were fine with, and we didn't care. We wanted to do 
     it, and then we were told that TRICARE was working on a 
     policy that would change its IVF coverage for service members 
     with severe injuries,'' Karen said.
       A week before their IVF transfer, a bill was passed to 
     cover reproductive services to active service members who 
     have suffered from catastrophic injuries resulting in 
     infertility. Since 2003, more than 1,800 U.S. military 
     members have suffered injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan that 
     impact their reproductive tract.
       ``TRICARE rules changed and we were 100 percent covered,'' 
     said Karen.
       After their first attempt of the IVF transfer process, 
     Karen became pregnant.
       Their twins, Ryan David and Alana Marie, were born March 
     21, at 28 weeks.
       ``The babies were born ahead of time but are doing very 
     well here (SAMMC neonatal intensive care unit),'' Karen said.
       Ed is the first wounded warrior, nationwide, who has 
     successfully had the IVF transfer procedure since the new 
     TRICARE policy was implemented.
       ``It was an honor to help the Mataykas achieve their dream 
     of having a family. They are true American heroes and having 
     the opportunity to directly help our wounded warriors 
     represents the most rewarding aspect of our profession,'' 
     said Maj. (Dr.) Jeremy King, director of IVF, who performed 
     their transfer.
       Although their desire of starting a family was finally 
     complete, they will never forget the tragedy that happened 
     almost two years ago.
       ``We named our boy after Ryan, the driver who passed away 
     from the blast and David who saved Ed's life by applying 
     tourniquets to his legs,'' Karen said. ``They are our true 
     heroes.''
       Both praised the care they received throughout the 
     procedure.
       ``The care here is great. The reproductive and 
     endocrinology staff is phenomenal,'' Karen added, as Ed also 
     agreed. ``The entire staff is extremely caring and we all 
     bonded throughout the whole process. We greatly appreciate 
     everyone's care.''
       ``We have already referred two other warriors of the 
     services here at SAMMC,'' Ed said.
       ``The Mataykas were a pleasure to work with,'' said King. 
     ``IVF process is physically and emotionally challenging, but 
     their attitude was always upbeat, positive and optimistic. 
     That, I believe, helped them get through the obstacles and 
     also lifted up our spirits whenever we saw them.''


                              THE SERVICE

       The In Vitro Fertilization and Reproductive Endocrinology 
     services had been offered at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical 
     Center since 1996. The program relocated to SAMMC in June 
     2011 due to the Base Realignment and Closure law.
       SAMMC's IVF program offers the full gamut of diagnostic 
     testing and infertility therapy treatments in the same 
     location.
       ``We have over 1,000 babies as a result of our IVF program 
     and it is the only onsite full service IVF center staffed 
     solely by active duty physicians in Department of Defense,'' 
     said Col. (Dr.) Matthew Retzloff, Reproductive Endocrinology 
     chief. ``We offer this service to active duty members and 
     their dependents, on site at SAMMC, from start to finish.''
       Reproductive endocrinologists provide full evaluation and 
     treatment of all forms of infertility, polycystic ovarian 
     disease, premature ovarian failure, hirsutism, recurrent 
     pregnancy loss, reproductive tract anatomic abnormalities, 
     endometriosis, premenstrual syndrome and complicated 
     menopausal problems.

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