COWETA, Okla. – Alana Roberts has made a long journey to healing and recovery over the past few years after a car accident changed her life in 2019. The accident rendered her car totaled, and injured Alana Roberts, leaving her in chronic pain. She began going to the Koweta Indian Health Center for physical therapy appointments to regain mobility in January 2020. Just a few short months later in March, the Covid-19 Pandemic hit the United States, and with it national shutdowns. This created more obstacles for Alana Roberts on top of the injuries sustained from the car accident.
Alana Roberts’ car accident left her wondering if she would ever make a full recovery. The years following the accident were spent healing and building back strength.
“I thought I would grow old in pain. I had neck injuries, a torn rotator cuff and severe back injuries.” Roberts said. “All these injuries required rides to and from appointments, pain management, physical therapy, post-op, pre-op with three surgeries in all.”
Alana Roberts lives in Bixby, approximately 22 miles, or about a half hour away from the clinic. Unable to make the drive on her own, Alana Roberts was routinely picked up by the clinic’s Community Health Representatives (CHR). According to Alana Roberts, CHR employees were instrumental in making sure she never missed an appointment. It would not take long for Alana Roberts and the Koweta CHR department to become well acquainted. She even brought fry bread for her drivers on days she was driven to appointments.
On Nov. 12 Alana Roberts presented each CHR employee who helped in her recovery with trophies engraved with their names, a token of her appreciation. These include Shirley Littlehead, Carl Miller, Wade Bucktrot, Kendel Alley, Christina McHenry and the late Louis McGeeley who passed away in September.
“These guys, they’ve made every effort to get her (Alana Roberts) to her appointments, they do that for everybody,” Littlehead said. “We just enjoy her, we enjoy a lot of our clients. Thank God she’s healed and pain free. That’s what we try to help them with, it’s good to be appreciated.”
Even before she began physical therapy, Alana Roberts had a personal connection to CHR. Alana Roberts’ mom, Ellen Roberts, was one of the first CHRs employed by the Nation in the 1970s under then Principal Chief Claude Cox. Ellen Roberts’ job allowed her to serve Muscogee citizens with mobility problems by going into their homes and assisting them with day to day activities.
As of August 2024, Roberts reports that she is now pain free. She credits this achievement to the CHR drivers that helped make it possible. According to Roberts, those who use CHR services are in good hands.
“The CHR Health Representatives of Koweta deserve this honor, they went above and beyond excellence for Creek citizens,” Roberts said. “We are beyond blessed to have such people. They became good friends. I am a Creek citizen and these people are here to serve us.”
In addition to being pain free, Roberts added that she will apply for an open position within the CHR department at the Koweta Indian Health Clinic. If she is hired, she will soon help transport other Mvskoke citizens in need of transportation due to mobility issues, just like her.
