KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Like any person getting ready to retire, Joe Sepulvado had plans for his life after more than 40 years in the military.

“Our plans were to retire and travel and then COVID hit,” Sepulvado said.

“And then right shortly after that, I got an infection in my kidney.”

The infection spread, and then Joe went septic. It spread to his spine, affecting his ability to walk and do basic tasks.

“He went through a phase where he was just extremely ill and, just kind of had multiple systems in his body that just kind of shut down,” said Dr. Casey Martinez, Medical Director at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute.

Joe struggled with even the most basic movements, relying on his spouse and his medical team to pick things up or walk to the bathroom.

“I could remember that I could d

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