US Navy veteran able to walk again after life-changing surgery in South Carolina

YORK COUNTY, S.C. (WBTV) - A U.S. Navy veteran’s life was changed for the better after a surgery at a hospital in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

William “Pete” Wallace enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1973, “right out of high school,” he told WBTV. He spent years serving in the Navy, and thinks back on his experience often.

“At night, they would put us under a darkened ship, no light emanating from the ship at all, and I would go out and lay in the netting around the helicopter deck and look at the stars ... the brightest stars I’ve ever seen in my life,” Wallace said.

After his military service ended, however, he was left with a back injury that got worse over the years. It got so bad that even getting out of bed became a challenge.

“To get moving in the morning, I was putting ice packs on my lower back, taking whatever pain medication was prescribed, and then I would get myself upright,” Wallace said.

The veteran had to rely on a cane to get around. He set a goal for himself: to put away his cane by his 71st birthday.

Thanks to a spinal surgery at the Piedmont Medical Network hospital in Rock Hill, Wallace was able to do just that. He’s back to walking on his own, walking up to four miles a day.

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Neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Cheatle used the Globus robotic system to help guide the Wallace’s procedure. Doctors are using these robotics systems and controlling them during procedures, helping them make more precise decisions during surgery.

Dr. Cheatle said he has performed more than 200 of these robotic-assisted surgeries in the past two years.

“They go through all these hard trials, tribulations, work really hard in the military, and then years later they kind of see that repercussion from that,” Cheatle said. “So, it’s been absolutely amazing to give somebody who sacrificed so much their life back.”

There are more than 400,000 veterans across South Carolina, and many live in York, Lancaster, Chester, and Chesterfield Counties.

Wallace says he’s fortunate to have gotten the care he needed, but he’s also seen other veterans struggle to get medical treatment. He believes those who serve deserve the very best care.

“They signed, as they say, a blank check, which could include losing their life,” Wallace said. “So ... they deserve the best treatment available.”

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