Severely injured Idaho soldier feels blessed

When something life changing happens to any of us, we can focus on what we lost. Or we can focus on what is important. I've met several amputees from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. In the beginning it is horrible for them to think about what is left of their lives. Then, the rest of their lives becomes all that matters.

Severely injured Idaho soldier feels blessed
A military rehabilitation center in Texas has lent Idaho National Guard Staff Sgt. Jason Rzepa some perspective.

By Daniel Person
The Spokesman-Review

A military rehabilitation center in Texas has lent Staff Sgt. Jason Rzepa some perspective.

As he continues to recover from injuries he sustained in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq last July, Rzepa, of Coeur d'Alene, said he sees fellow soldiers missing entire legs and arms. Soldiers scarred by severe burns. Soldiers who go home to an empty apartment and spend evenings alone watching television.

"I'm blessed, really," Rzepa said Friday afternoon. "I have both knees and a wife and son with me down there. ... That in itself makes all the difference."
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Spc. Luis Puertas lost both legs in an explosion in Iraq in 2006. Homes For Our Troops is finishing off his house. In May the Nam Knights held a fundraiser for him. He is interviewed in this video. Notice the smiles and the love he has for his future wife Amber.


At about 3 minutes into this video, Joshua Cope, also an amputee, talks about his life. Two other survivors of IED's speak about their lives and what they are doing.


Meeting men like them leaves me feeling like a complete whiner when my life isn't going so good. When problems make day to day tough. They have the same problems the rest of us do in our "normal" lives. What is amazing about them is how they rise above all of it.