Firefighters Help Double Amputee Get Wheels

Firefighters rally around wounded warrior
KSDK-TV
Jennifer Meckles
September 11, 2015


KSDK - A group of Illinois firefighters is rallying around a wounded warrior.

Cameron Crouch walks into his fundraiser at TGI Fridays with two firefighters

(Photo: KSDK)

The Metro East Professional Firefighters Association is raising money to buy a truck for an Iraq War veteran, injured overseas.

Cameron Crouch, who now lives near Champaign, served in the Army National Guard, and lost both his legs from injuries sustained during his tour. He has received multiple sets of prosthetic legs, with the most recent pair coming about a week ago.

"I bounce back and forth trying to do some of the things I used to do and I like to do," he said. "And it's hard to find a fine line of still getting to do the things I like and not getting hurt in the process."

The truck will cost $50,000 and come outfitted with hand controls and a system to load and store Crouch's wheelchair.

"A lot times these guys, who get injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, come home and spend a year in the hospital and come home to not a lot of fanfare," said Nate Kamp, a firefighter in Wood River and part of the leadership for the professional association. "So this is our opportunity to get that support from our community and focus it on the people who really need it."
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