Soldiers' Angels volunteer honored by VA for service

Susan Cookus comforts Army veteran Dannie Walker in the dialysis unit of John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock. She was named the 2016-17 Female Volunteer of the Year by the National Advisory Committee of the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Services.
Susan Cookus comforts Army veteran Dannie Walker in the dialysis unit of John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock. She was named the 2016-17 Female Volunteer of the Year by the National Advisory Committee of the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Services.

When a rare health condition forced Susan Cookus to give up her job in the medical field, she knew she couldn't just sit still.

Cookus -- with many family members who have served in the military -- decided she wanted to volunteer for an organization that helps veterans. She learned of Soldiers' Angels, a Texas-based nonprofit organization that provides aid and comfort to men and women who served in the armed services.

After just two years of volunteer work, Cookus was honored as the 2016-17 National Female Volunteer of the Year by the National Advisory Committee of the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Services. The award was announced earlier this year.

"I couldn't believe it," she says of winning the award. "This is all so overwhelming. I am not used to being the center of attention like this. I certainly never did it for recognition. I never dreamed I would get it -- never in a million years."

But after volunteering more than 570 hours and distributing more than $720,000 in donations last year, she was honored.

Amy Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Soldiers' Angels says, "Susan exemplifies the heart and dedication of an incredible volunteer. We are honored to have her on our team serving veterans and we are incredibly proud of the inspirational work that she has accomplished in Little Rock. The title of 2016/2017 NAC Female Volunteer of the Year was very well-deserved. She has touched the lives of many, many veterans through her work at the VA."

Cookus was a registered EEG technologist at Arkansas Children's Hospital when she was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy -- or RSD -- which causes severe burning pain in her hands. She has had surgery but still struggles with the use of her hands.

Cookus, 64, says she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and knew she wouldn't be able to just retire: "I don't let the pain stop me. I can't do it. I am ADHD and I can't sit still."

Her inspiration for volunteering with Soldiers' Angels is her third-cousin Ronnie Anderson, a retired lieutenant colonel with the National Guard who has struggled with health problems since serving in the Iraq War. Cookus is now the Soldiers' Angels Veterans Administration representative for the two VA hospitals in central Arkansas.

"Her dependability is off the charts," says Michael Dobbs, chief of volunteer services at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

Dr. Margie Scott, the VA's medical center director says, "Susan is an amazing representative of all of the wonderful volunteers at CAVHS. We're very proud of her and excited about her award. Volunteers like Susan are essential to providing the very best care and compassion to our veterans."

Cookus visits with veterans in their hospital rooms or in the visitors area. She sometimes visits with the veterans with one of the four other women who volunteer with the Soldiers' Angels in central Arkansas.

"We always call them our 'boyfriends' because they always tell us they love us and they pray for us at night and we tell them the same thing," she says.

Cookus tells the story of a homeless veteran who was excited to see she was pulling a little red wagon full of donated socks.

"He said 'I can't wait to go upstairs and put them on because I don't have any socks,'" she says. "I just get so emotional. I start to cry when I tell their stories."

One of her boyfriends is a 101-year-old World War II veteran.

"He will always kiss me when I come in. ... He loves to kiss me and he is so happy," she says. "When I leave he says 'You come back now and get that kiss.'"

Cookus hosts monthly dinners for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She makes at least two trips a week to visit with hospitalized veterans. And she hands out almost 700 Christmas stockings with goodies to veterans that she and other volunteers fill at her house.

"And they love to be hugged and I love to be hugged," she adds.

She says she is surprised by the number of World War II veterans she sees.

"I talked to one World War II vet and the minute I got there he started to cry and he said 'I just don't go a day without thinking of the buddies that I lost.' He's a World War II vet so that's a long time that he thinks of his buddies every day," she says.

The majority of the veterans she sees served in the Vietnam War. The second largest group is Korean War veterans.

"What breaks my heart is when they say how nice it is that someone appreciates them -- that they just hardly ever hear it," Cookus says. "What I wish I could get out is for people to know they don't stop sacrificing when they leave the war or quit serving. The sacrifice is for the rest of their lives."

Cookus says she "never dreamed of how rewarding" her volunteer work would be: "To see the smile that comes across these veterans faces when you go in there, that just lightens my world. To see that smile and want a hug, there is nothing like it. There is nothing like it."

More information about Soldiers' Angels can be found at soldiersangels.org or calling (210) 629-0020.

photo

Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JEFF BOWEN

Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System volunteers Liz Wright (left) and Susan Cookus spend time with a veteran.

High Profile on 05/20/2018

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