Double Amputee Afghanistan Veteran "I Just Had A Bad Day At Work"

Volunteers coming together to help Afghanistan war veteran, family 
Strickland Times
by Will Healey
April 30th, 2015

At the first planning meeting, it was Fitzpatrick and one other person. Now, nearly 50 firefighters, police officers, and ex-military from nine states are coming to work on Jason's home, among them a contingent of New York City firefighters (some of whom were first responders to the World Trade Center), and New Orleans-area firefighters Fitzpatrick met while working in the area after Hurricane Katrina. 

RINGGOLD, Ga. — Jason Smith doesn't like the spotlight. In fact, if the 29-year-old war veteran had his way, he'd fade into the background. He doesn't talk much about his service or his sacrifice, and when he does, he refers to his time as an infantryman in the U.S. Army as "his job" and downplays the fact that he was blown apart by an IED in southern Afghanistan.

"People say, 'You're a hero,'" Smith said. "I'm not. I just had a bad day at work." 

For most people, a bad day at work means tolerating an annoying co-worker or feeling undervalued by your superiors.

Smith's bad day — July 25, 2012 — cost him both of his legs, two knuckles and the use of most of his right hand. Smith took what happened to him better than most, initially accepting it as more of an occupational hazard than a catastrophe.

But over the next seven months of healing and rehabilitation (which included 25 surgeries on his hand alone), the severity of his injuries and the changes in his life going forward hit the Ringgold native. "You don't think much about how much knees, toes and ankles go into your balance,"

Smith said. "I had to learn to use my back." Depression set in. Smith lost himself in video games and junk food, and wouldn't leave his room at his parents' house. He knew he needed to make a change.

"I decided to put my legs on, and I haven't taken them off since," he said.

Wilson and his son, David, started Steps 2 Hope after David lost the use of his legs for a year after his college was hit by a tornado in 2008. "We're grateful," Wilson said. "The Lord healed David far beyond what we imagined, so we want to help other people who have lost mobility." read more here