Female Amputee Iraq Veteran World Class Athlete

No dream too big for disabled vet
Pantagraph.com
Lenore Sobota
March 31, 2014

Army veteran Melissa Stockwell won the
paratriathlon world championship
in 2012 in New Zealand.
She will speak Tuesday at Illinois State University.

NORMAL — Army veteran Melissa Stockwell has overcome losing a leg in Iraq to represent the United States at the Paralympics and become a world champion paratriathlete.

Her message to others is: “They can do the same. No dream is too big.”

She will deliver that message Tuesday at Illinois State University as part of Science and Technology Week.

“It's my story – losing my limb in Iraq and … obstacles that have been overcome,” Stockwell said of her talk, “Baghdad to Beijing and Beyond.”

Stockwell was 24-year-old lieutenant when her humvee hit a roadside bomb April 13, 2004. Her leg was amputated above the knee.

While recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, she swam for therapy. Swimming felt natural to her. It was easy to slip into the pool and she liked her time in the water.

“It made me feel whole again,” Stockwell said.
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Paralyzed US Afghanistan Veteran Going to China for Treatment

Paralyzed Afghanistan veteran to undergo state-of-the-art stem cell therapy — in China
RAW Story
By Scott Kaufman
Sunday, March 23, 2014

An Army veteran who was partially paralyzed after being shot in the throat is heading to China to undergo stem cell therapy that could allow him to walk to again, according to a report in the York Dispatch.

U.S. Army Corporal Matthew Hanes was hit by sniper fire on June 22, 2012. “I was the only target that day,” he told The York Daily Record.

He was transported to Germany, then to Walter Reed Hospital, but doesn’t remember the trip — or meeting President Barack Obama shortly after his 21st birthday.
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Amputee Iraq veteran snowboarding champion

Wounded veteran to snowboarding champion
WTOP.com
By Paula Wolfson
February 24, 2014

WASHINGTON -- He stands tall on his snowboard, maneuvering a championship course with speed and agility.

That snowboard has been his ticket to competitions around the world -- from Colorado to New Zealand. It has also been a driving force in his recovery from the wounds of war.

Capt. Wayne Waldon lost his right leg on the battlefield in Iraq on July 11, 2007. He was airlifted first to a military facility in Germany, and a few days later to what-was-then Walter Reed Army Hospital in D.C.

Once there, he was immediately inspired by the patients who moved around on prosthetics.

"You look at them and you look at you. You pretty quickly stop feeling sorry for yourself and have no excuse," Waldon says.

He was teamed up with Harvey Naranjo, who runs the Adaptive Sports Program at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. It was Naranjo who urged this wounded warrior, once an avid skier, to return to the slopes.

But Waldon, now 30 and retired from the military, opted for the extreme sport of snowboarding, instead. Six months after his injury, fit with a new prosthesis, he headed to his first adaptive sports competition.
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Soldier from Palm Bay Florida fighting to walk again at Walter Reed

War-wounded Florida soldier Justin Burdette fights to walk again
WTSP News
By R. Norman Moody
Florida Today
Feb 16, 2014

U.S. Army Sgt. Justin Burdette of Palm Bay, Florida, was on patrol in Afghanistan when an explosion ripped through his legs, taking both below the knees. Here he practices walking with his first two prosthetic legs.
Photo courtesy Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today

Check link for more fabulous pictures 

BETHESDA, MD (Florida Today) -- Justin Burdette swings his limb up onto a table.

"See my new leg?" Burdette asks his occupational therapist as he uses his hand to lift the prosthesis.

That prosthetic leg, connected just below Burdette's right knee, is just the first of a pair the 27-year-old Army sergeant will need.

On June 9, a rocket explosion ripped through Burdette's legs while his unit was on patrol in the mountains of Afghanistan, protecting a convoy from enemy fighters.

He lost both legs below the knee.

"It's part of the game," said the 2005 Palm Bay High graduate. "It's war. It happens."

Though there is still some fine-tuning to make the prosthesis fit perfectly, it immediately began making it easier for Burdette to move from bed to wheelchair and to stand, at least momentarily, as he undergoes months of treatment and therapy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

"He can't reach a lot of stuff in the cabinets," his 5-foot-3-inch wife, Beth Burdette said.

"He's no longer 6-4."
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Amazing love story of Taylor Morris

June 1, 2012

Quadruple amputee Taylor Morris says "I chose this path"

Simply remarkable! Taylor Morris lost parts of his limbs but has no regrets for taking on a dangerous job.

Quadruple amputee sailor: ‘I chose this path; I’m doing fine’
By PAT KINNEY
For The Globe Gazette

Taylor Morris remembers and feels everything.

He remembers the explosion that blew him off the ground and took portions of all his limbs.

He still feels his hands — every knuckle, every fingernail — as though they’re knotted up inside him and being crushed, and the stinging where his legs were, as though they’ve fallen asleep.

But he feels other things, too, the recuperating Cedar Falls sailor said Wednesday in an exclusive interview from his hospital room at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesdsa, Md.

He feels the love and support of a family and his girlfriend, Danielle Kelly, who have never left his side; of comrades in arms including fellow amputees; of brothers and sisters who are raising funds for future expenses; and of folks in Northeast Iowa he barely knew or never knew, including people organizing fundraisers or simply sending checks.

“Tell folks back home I chose this path, and I knew it was dangerous going into it,” Morris said from his hospital room at Walter Reed via Skype and telephone. “And it’s unfortunate it happened. But I don’t want them to pity me or to feel bad. I’m doing fine, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get back to 100 percent.”

Quadruple amputee Taylor Morris story goes viral

UPDATE 
September 17, 2012
Amazing love story of Taylor Morris 

Funds roll in after injured sailor's story goes viral
By PAT KINNEY
Posted: Friday, June 1, 2012

Taylor Morris, right, and his dad, Dan, rest at Walter Reed Army Hospital. (Courtesy Photo)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The story of Taylor Morris, the Cedar Falls sailor recovering from injuries he suffered in an Afghan bomb blast, has gone viral.

A Venice, Calif.-based Internet site called theChive.com posted a story about Morris on Wednesday, along with online fundraising links set up by the family.

The site invited viewers to make contributions toward a cabin for Taylor and girlfriend Danielle Kelly. Morris told theChive.com co-owner John Resig that would be his dream home.

Just 12 hours after posting the story, $143,000 had been raised through online donations at TaylorMorris.org.

"I think it's amazing," Taylor's mother, Juli Morris, said this morning by phone from Washington, D.C., where Taylor is recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Amazing love story of Taylor Morris and Danielle Kelly

 September 17, 2012

Amazing love story of Taylor Morris and Danielle Kelly

Here is a great way to start your day! Read this and then go to the link to see some really wonderful pictures of Taylor and Danielle.

'It's been so hard and she's been here the whole time': Amazing love story of bomb disposal expert who lost arms and legs in Afghanistan blast and the girlfriend who has been at his side during remarkable recovery Taylor Morris, 23, underwent quadruple amputation after being seriously injured during deployment in May Returned home to a hero's welcome in Cedar Falls, Iowa less than three months after being wounded
By LOUISE BOYLE
16 September 2012

Unwavering: Miss Kelly has helped 23-year-old Taylor come to terms with the devastating injuries he suffered in Afghanistan four months ago

Looking glamorous in evening dress, the picture of this happy young couple at a friend's wedding is remarkable - when just a few months earlier, the soldier was lying in hospital after having his arms and legs amputated following an explosion in Afghanistan which almost killed him.

The astounding progress of 23-year-old Taylor Morris, a U.S. military bomb disposal expert, is testament to the unwavering support of his family, friends and girlfriend Danielle Kelly - who has been by his side every step of the way.

New photographs, taken by a friend in August, show just how far the Navy specialist has come since he almost died after stepping on an IED on May 3 this year.

The touching images show Taylor being carried up a flight of stairs on Danielle's back and the couple working together on his rehabilitation exercises at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington D.C.

They are also pictured last month at a friend's wedding in their hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa, beaming at the camera and slow-dancing alongside friends.

 The Daily Mail has a great report on this Taylor's love story

Sep 4, 2012
Taylor Morris, the 5th surviving quad amputee, and his girlfriend Danielle Kelly got to try on Taylor's dancing shoes at their good friends Mike and Hanna Thuesen's wedding, Saturday, September 1st, 2012. That weekend marked Taylor's 5th month anniversary after his accident. His recovery is nothing short of incredible. To stay up to date on Taylor's recovery please visit: www.taylormorris.org


 Here's a treat! On his site was a picture of Taylor and Bo Reinenbach

Surround yourself with awesome people!

Posted: 9th February 2014 by Danielle in Journal

0

We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many great friends!  We spent the weekend with the Reinenbach’s and McKenna’s and their beautiful kids!!

Remembering a love story that ended too soon

Valentines Day is a day to remember people you love. For most of the day that is exactly what Wounded Times plans on doing. We'll start with the story of Kevin Harden and Lillian May.

 February 1, 2012

Wounded combat medic's love story ended too soon

Wounded Warrior, Married in Mesquite, Dies
Posting Date: 01/31/2012

By John Taylor

Army medic Kevin Hardin died Jan. 22 of

injuries sustained in Iraq. He and his wife

Lillian received a storybook wedding a year ago

thanks to the Eureka and the Mesquite

community. Photo provided.

Slightly more than a year has passed since the storybook wedding in Mesquite of former Army medic Kevin Hardin to the woman who cared for him at Walter Reed Army Hospital after he was severely injured when a rocket propelled grenade slammed into his Humvee during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq in 2007.

Hardin spent two years in the hospital and was forced to undergo 32 surgeries and a lengthy, painful rehabilitation. During his recovery, Hardin met Lillian May who cared for him through the painful times. Over the course of two years Hardin was receiving medical treatments, the couple fell in love.

In August, 2009, Hardin proposed to May but the reality was he was severely injured including injuries to both arms, a fused wrist and loss of fingers. He also had several pieces of shrapnel in his brain which were inoperable. After being medically retired from the military, he was without a job.

KVBC News 3 Story about Christmas Can Cure 2010.

The Eureka Casino Resort in Mesquite, NV hosted the wedding of wounded warrior Kevin Hardin and his bride Lillian over Veteran's Day Weekend 2010. Las Vegas news channel 3, KVBC, was there. Interviews with: 1) Kevin and Lillian Hardin, 2) Christmas Can Cure Founder and Eureka COO Andre Carrier.

This gift was made possible by the Eureka Casino Resort, Christmas Can Cure and the Wounded Warrior Project as well as many local partners in the greater Mesquite area.

"We picked the song I hope you Dance, because we strongly feel it is what Kevin would wish for his friends and more importantly his family. It was an honor to of known Kevin and be counted among his friends. His sudden death was a shock to everyone. He served his country with pride and left behind a beautiful wife who carries on his legacy.."

Blood mixup at Walter Reed sent HIV patient away

H.I.V.-Positive Person, Told Otherwise, Is Being Sought
New York Times
By SHARON LaFRANIERE
JAN. 15, 2014

For the last six weeks, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has been engaged in a highly unusual effort to identify an individual who is H.I.V. positive but was wrongly informed that he or she was H.I.V. negative after a mix-up of blood samples taken at the hospital.

The mistake occurred in late October when the military’s flagship hospital, in Bethesda, Md., sent 150 blood samples to a contract laboratory for analysis. One sample tested positive for H.I.V., hospital officials said, but it was wrongly labeled with the name of a patient who subsequent tests showed was not infected.

A hunt is now underway to identify the infected person, who may be in need of treatment and could be unknowingly infecting others through unprotected sex or the sharing of needles.

Hospitals are supposed to have strict safeguards to ensure the integrity of laboratory specimens because the consequences to patients are potentially life-threatening. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, said the episode raised questions about the adequacy of the hospital’s procedures. “How sure are they that this didn’t happen before?” he asked.
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New Dad learning to walk on new legs

New legs, new goals for Olympia soldier
Bellingham Herald
BY ADAM ASHTON
December 29, 2013

In his earliest memory, Sgt. Luke Cifka recalls stumbling in front of his dad as a toddler figuring out how to put one foot in front of the other.

Sgt. Luke Cifka spends time with his son Wyatt. After suffering critical injuries during a patrol in Afghanistan on May 31, he’s receiving care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
COURTESY OF KAIT CIFKA

The memory came back to him this fall when he began learning to walk again. This time, he’s recovering from a blast in Afghanistan that claimed his legs above the knees.

Last month, Cifka, 26, took his first steps with prosthetic limbs, walking without toes, calves or knees.

“All the muscles are different,” he said. “It takes a minute to get used to it, but it’s all incredible.”

The soldier from Olympia is almost seven months into his recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. The Olympian first told his story in June, eight days after the May 31 blast that changed his life.

Lately, Cifka is feeling the momentum of reuniting his family and taking those steps.

“When I look back at how I was maybe just four months ago, I wasn’t able to feed myself, I was barely able to keep track of what was going on because I was under this blanket of painkillers and anesthesia,” he said. “It’s very humbling to take a measure of how far we’ve come.”
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Soldier blown apart by war stages stirring comeback

Soldier blown apart by war stages stirring comeback
USA Today
Gregg Zoroya
December 22, 2013

(Photo: Doug Kapustin for USA TODAY)

The best gifts for Army Sgt. Joseph Grabianowski this Christmas aren't tied up with ribbons and bows.

Independence in a new home he's made for himself this holiday season can't be gift-wrapped. Transcendence over wounds that turned his body into a medical battlefield doesn't fit under a tree.

Much of Joe has been cut away.

This quiet, contemplative soldier carries the distinction of being one of the worst surviving U.S. combat casualties since 9/11. His stirring comeback, in the mind of his family and medical team, is little short of miraculous.

"Joe, for me, was the most challenging case I had in a decade of war," says Navy Cmdr. Jonathan Forsberg, a surgeon at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

As Joe acclimates to a new apartment and life outside the hospital, his family counts their Christmas blessings.

Dennis Grabianowski says he panicked briefly over the idea of his son living alone.

"But then," the dad says, "I thought, you know what? Because it is the holiday season, the Christmas season and what that is all about for me, it seemed like it was a very positive sign."
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Music to the ears of wounded veterans recuperating at Walter Reed

Trio Galilei: Music to the ears of wounded veterans recuperating at Walter Reed
Washington Post
By Rebecca Ritzel
December 20 2013

Lt. Col. Samantha Nerove, U.S. Army, retired, remembers the day she started recovering from PTSD as the same day she stopped and listened to the music. Since being airlifted out of Iraq in September 2008 with a badly mangled ankle and severe psychological distress from close-range mortar shellings, she’d been living at Mologne House, a retrofitted hotel on the grounds of what was then the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest D.C.

Two months into Nerove’s stay, she noticed that every Friday at lunchtime, a trio of musicians — playing a harp, guitar and something that looked like a cello — had started performing in the Mologne House lobby. They developed quite a fan base: The sofas in the lobby were filled with wounded patients, their weary relatives and mesmerized children who wanted to take turns playing a spare harp. If the musicians were between songs, they’d always smile warmly at Nerove, say hello and urge her to join them.
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Marine critically injured in Afghanistan gets holiday surprise

Marine critically injured in Afghanistan gets holiday surprise
KOMO News
By Kara Kostanich
Published: Nov 24, 2013

SEA-TAC AIRPORT, Wash. -- A local marine critically injured in Afghanistan got an unexpected holiday surprise. Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center allowed Lance Corporal Evin Bodle to temporarily return home for the first time since his massive injury.

Bodle, a Marine, assigned to the 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. was injured in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Aug. 6, 2012 while conducting combat operations. The 27-year-old has been under constant medical care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. since.

A group of friends and family including Bodle's wife and two small children met the recovering Marine at Sea-Tac Airport Saturday with a hero's welcome.

"To see him out of the hospital is big for them," said Meara Sollman Bodle as her two children Peyton, 2 years-old; and Quinn, 5 years-old welcomed their Daddy home for the first time since he was critically injured.

His Mom, Cindy Shute-Bodle, said just to see her son walk off the plane to be with his family and children was amazing and a true miracle.

The Bodle family knows the pain and sacrifice of war. It delivered a life sentence of injuries for the Marine from Lake Stevens. Bodle lost 20 percent of his brain tissue, causing a very serious traumatic brain injury.
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Puppies At Walter Reed Medical Center Help Veterans Cope With War Wounds

Puppies At Walter Reed Medical Center Help Veterans Cope With War Wounds
WITN
November 11, 2013

(NBC News) Tucked on the campus of Walter Reed Medical Center is a facility focused on helping soldiers recover from injuries suffered during war, training incidents and the like.

Inside those walls, a dedicated group of men, women and puppies are helping soldiers deal with the visible and invisible wounds of war.

The impact of the specially bred service dogs has been life altering for heroes fighting through the horrors of war.

"The impact is evident, and the impact is immediate," says Captain Robert Koffman, the Chief Clinical Consultant at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence.

Ultimately they will serve physically impaired soldiers, helping to perform the daily tasks they can't, but even as they train for that mission the labs and golden retrievers are saving lives.
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Red Cross Gary Lady volunteered over 7,000 hours

Paying it Forward: A Gray Lady with the Red Cross
Personal tragedy leads Williamstown woman to help others at MMH
Marietta Times
By Erin E. O’Neill
October 21, 2013

The local chapter of the Gray Ladies organization was formed March 2, 1952 by Harriet Follett.

The Gray Lady service, a Red Cross volunteer women's organization, started in 1918 at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Female volunteers acted as hostesses and provided recreational services to patients, most of whom had been injured during World War I.

Pat Thrash of Williamstown began her service as a Gray Lady with the Red Cross in 1979, where she logged 472 volunteer hours. When the volunteer program at Marietta Memorial Hospital was started in 1982, the Gray Ladies were welcomed in and trained to help patients.

Currently, Pat is one of only three Gray Ladies who still remain at the hospital and they are known by the distinctive uniforms they wear.

"As of last year, Pat has 7,757 hours as a volunteer with us," said Anna Vukovic, director of volunteer services. "She has worked in the surgical waiting area, the cancer center and right now she is helping in outpatient registration. She is very flexible and is just one of those people who is a pillar in the organization."
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Travis: A Soldier's Story one of 5 quadruple amputees

Soldier receives hero's welcome at screening of documentary 'Travis: A Soldier's Story'
Fay Observer
Drew Brooks Staff Writer
Oct 18, 2013

Staff Sgt. Travis Mills insists he's not a hero, that he doesn't deserve any more praise than any other soldier.

Nonetheless, he received a hero's welcome Thursday in Fayetteville, as scores of people viewed a documentary about Mills, one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mills was injured in April 2012 while serving with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division in southern Afghanistan.

Addressing more than 200 people who paid to see "Travis: A Soldier's Story" at the Carmike 12, Mills told jokes, sang and otherwise showed the larger-than-life personality that his friends and fellow paratroopers said never went away, even after his limbs were blown off by an improvised explosive device.

"They may have taken his legs and arms, but his personality has stayed intact," said Sgt. David Flynn, a member of the Army's Golden Knights and Mills' best friend.

Mills, who is currently assigned to a unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., returned to Fayetteville for the movie's screening after a successful online effort to have the film shown near Fort Bragg.

The audience was filled with veterans, including Mills' cohorts from the Fury Brigade, and family and friends. They gave Mills a standing ovation when he was introduced before the film.

Some viewers traveled from as far as Pennsylvania for the chance to see the film and meet Mills.

"My story's just one of so many," Mills said. "But I was really nervous about showing it here."

Mills said he hoped his story wouldn't discourage anyone from joining the Army or deploying.
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Family of wounded soldier gives van away after his death to another soldier

Family of soldier who lost legs in Afghanistan, then died at home, pays kindness forward for his birthday
New Jersey.com
By Louis C. Hochman/NJ.com
October 09, 2013

Happy birthday, Derek.

About a year ago, wounded soldier Derek McConnell was given a van to help him regain independence, even without the use of his legs. McConnell died earlier this year, but his family celebrated his 24th birthday by re-gifting the van to another wounder warrior, Sam Shockley.

Derek McConnell of Parsippany turned 24 Tuesday. But the U.S. Army sergeant, who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan after an 2011 IED injury, wasn't there to see a gift given in his honor — to see the kindness once shown to him paid forward.

McConnell died at in his bed at Walter Reed National Military Medical in March of this year — leaving his family on a quest to find out why after inconclusive medical reports. But his family carried on in his spirit Tuesday, helping another wounded warrior.

"It just felt right to do," said Derek McConnell's mother, Siobhan Fuller-McConnell.

Fuller-McConnell was joined by her son's fiancée, Krystina Dressler, and by a service puppy named in her son's memory as they celebrated his life at Walter Reed and gifted a handicapped-accessible van once given to Derek to Army Staff Sgt. Sam Shockley of Ohio.

Shockley never knew Derek McConnell — he was injured in Afghanistan after stepping on a pressure plate and setting off a blast the day before McConnell died.
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Reminder of the Walter Reed story that broke hearts around the country

And This Was Called Care? The Walter Reed Story
New York Times
By MICHAEL WINERIP
Published: September 30, 2013

As this week’s Retro Report video explains, the biggest scandal in recent times involving the care of wounded American troops was actually worsened because medicine on the battlefront had made such remarkable advances.

Compared with service members who served in Vietnam, troops sustaining combat wounds in Iraq and Afghanistan had roughly twice the chance of surviving. That meant many were airlifted back to this country with such severe injuries they needed the most sophisticated medical and rehabilitative care the country had to offer.

But once they became outpatients, thousands of service members entered a system that had not kept up with the times, that was understaffed, poorly organized and generally second rate.

The story broke in The Washington Post in the winter of 2007, with a series about Walter Reed Army Medical Center. While the most obvious shortcomings were the physical conditions of the hospital housing for the soldiers — peeling paint, crumbling walls, mold and rats — the more damning problem was an understaffed medical system overseen by a dysfunctional bureaucracy.
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Iraq veteran thought "Suicide is a death you'll never have to mourn"

Iraq Veteran And Suicide Survivor: 'I Was On Every Drug That Killed Anna Nicole Smith'
Huffington Post
Molly O'Toole
Posted: 09/28/2013

Cutler decided, "I'm just gonna check the fuck out," and got his paperwork in order for his family. "My exit strategy for Walter Reed was to hang myself," he said. "I was ready to roll. Once you've killed people, one more life doesn't really matter. Suicide is a death you'll never have to mourn."

Promethazine, zolpidem, nortriptyline, morphine, divalproex, metoprolol, prazosin, ibuprofen, diazepam, quetiapine, meperidine, trazodone, mirtazapine, hydromorphone.

For Boone Cutler, this was a "combat cocktail" -– just one month's worth of the medications he was given at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington while being treated for traumatic brain injury after a mortar attack in Sadr City, Iraq, in 2005.

"I'll tell you, at one point in time I was on every drug that killed Anna Nicole Smith, plus some," said Cutler, who was an Army sergeant at the time of the attack.

The drugs weren't enough. After being medically evacuated from Iraq, Cutler was confined to Walter Reed, which was then becoming crowded with the unanticipated casualties of the war. Soldiers were crammed together in rotting, rodent-infested neglect and, said Cutler, they were heavily medicated by the overworked staff.

"There were so many wounded and not enough to care for everybody," Cutler said. "So it was a chemical prison. You get there and they just throw you on a shitload of meds, with one 15-minute appointment a week. It was the worst time in my life. Two years. It was jacked. I saw a lot of guys looked better when they came in than when they left, because of the isolation."
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Inspiring Marine amputee says "I just put it on and walk"

Marine who lost leg inspiration at Great Bay Community College
Brady to receive Distinguished Leader Award
Seacoast Online
By Joey Cresta
September 28, 2013

PORTSMOUTH — A U.S. Marine who lost his right leg in Afghanistan is charting a new course that is inspiring teachers and officials at Great Bay Community College.

Craig Brady, 25, a native of Norwood, Mass., who now lives in Madbury, will be a recipient at the college's Distinguished Leaders Awards event at the Wentworth by the Sea hotel in New Castle on Thursday night. The event highlights community leaders who have all achieved success and supported the college and their community in different ways.

Other award recipients are Jackie Eastwood, chief executive at Salient Surgical Technologies, and PixelMEDIA, a full-service Web strategy and application development company founded in 1994 by Erik Dodier and Thomas Obrey.

Brady's career path has been decidedly different from the other honorees. Straight out of high school, he enlisted in the Marines. He served in Iraq then Afghanistan, where, in January 2010, he stepped on an improvised explosive device.

Brady said he lost his right leg below the knee and spent two years recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. After he was discharged, he said he found a new passion to pursue: therapeutic recreation, which was a major part of his recovery.

"I don't even think about my prosthesis. I just put it on and walk," he said.
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"Hidden Heroes": Soldiers' Caregivers

"Hidden Heroes": Soldiers' Caregivers
My FOX LA
By: Laura Diaz, Anchor
Posted by: FOX 11 Web Staff
September 24, 2013

The painful return of soldiers from wars around the world is well documented. Many will struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression and bouts with alcohol abuse. These are the scars of war. But what about those who care for these soldiers struggling to assimilate back into civilian life? Who helps them? Enter former Senator Elizabeth Dole.

Mrs.Dole, of course, is married to former Senator Bob Dole. Her husband is a World War Two Hero. Several years ago when her husband was being treated at Walter Reed Army Hospital she spent months around the families of soldiers. What she discovered was heartbreaking. Nearly all of the responsibility of caring for the "wounded warrior" fell on the young spouses. Often they were overwhelmed by the crush of hours, expense and worry of caring for their loved family member. They had little money, little sleep and felt alone in their struggle to keep their families together.

Mr. and Mrs. Dole befriended the young families. And in a poignant account, she told me the Dole's invited these army families to their small Washington apartment for a party. They made room by pitching a tent in the backyard to accommodate the many deserving families. Later, they took the soldiers, their wives and kids to see the Washington D.C. monuments. Most had never seen them! It was a special evening. And she vowed to do more for the caregivers of soldiers.
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Bo Reichenbach Semper Fidelis Fundraiser

Combat wounded Navy SEAL Bo Reichenbach gets plenty of love from Semper Fidelis America fundraiser at the AMF Bowling center in Orlando.