The stuff nightmares are made of!

(originally by WOTN)The stuff nightmares are made of.......waking up and realizing that you have no leg(s).  Unfortunately, this is a reality for many of our wounded warriors.

One thing they are guaranteed (I believe) is a replacement limb, a prosthetic leg that will allow them to stand, to walk again.  First though, they have to heal from the wounds, survive multiple surgeries and then "learn" to walk again.

One Marine has taken that a step further.  He wants them to have the "option" to learn to run again.  Why? There was a day, around 7 years ago, when it was thought by some doctors that "he would never walk again". The physical therapist handed him a squeeze ball to get started in his recovery. 

Yep, a squeeze ball was gonna help him walk.....no, they "knew" he would never walk again.   Why give him false hope. Boy were they ever wrong.....

Refusing to accept that squeeze ball, refusing to accept the one doc's prognosis for his future that of a paraplegic, this Marine started working his way back into being able to pass a PFT.  That was his ticket back into active duty, back with his men.  Back where he was going to be.

But first he had to RE-learn how to walk.  Three months after arriving home from the hospital and with two surgeries behind him, this Marine was walking.  Another month passed and this Marine was back running again.  At the ten month mark, he deployed to Thailand with his men.

He still had one final hurdle to overcome.  That dang PFT.  It was his ticket that would allow him to roam freely around the world with his Marines, actively seeking out the hot spots!

He didn’t just pass that PFT; he ran 3 miles in 22:39, did 13 pull-ups and in two minutes he did 100 crunches, to score 237. He smoked that PFT with a “young man’s first class 237 score. All less than a year after two surgeries and being told he would never walk again.

His wife was vigilant when it came to her Marine.  Once an active duty Marine herself, she knew their temperament.

“I fought with all the people that tried to medically retire him when he could not say it himself. I was amazed at the people that would want him to sign papers, make decisions, and explain things to him when he was on morphine, etc."

"His memory from July 23, 2003 to October 2003 is fragmented to say the least. He remembers some things but has no time line reference for them. For the most part, that time is a big blur for him."

"For me, I remember every detail. The more horrible…the more they stick in my mind.”

"If Jonathan hadn’t recovered the way he did, I would have had to move us......to someplace. I would have had all the medical support I needed but there would not have been allowances for ramps, vehicle modifications, etc. The United States is our home but beyond that…we have no home."

I would have just plopped us somewhere and we would have been the “family that moved in with the crippled guy”.

"I know lots of Marines that do not have reliable families or they are the support for the family. Where do they go? And where do they get help from?"

If you want to know what my connection to this particular Marine is then you can read a bit more here.  

http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/overcoming_adversity/2009/02/where-it-all-began-a-senior-marine-nco-that-refused-orders.html

He is now a MGySgt and has trained in at least 4 continents, possibly 5 as he has prepared for his marathons.  Yes I said marathons, because he first determined that he wanted to run a marathon way back when he was told about life as a paraplegic.  Heck, why just learn to run when you can run in the Marine Corps Marathon, and so he did. He wasn't alone that first year, his son and his wife also completed that very same marathon.

In 2008 the Marines upped the ante a bit on physical fitness and created a Combat Fitness Test that ALL Marines had to pass.  I inquired about it, and found that there was some concern on the part of my friend in dealing with this test.  Check out the x-ray here.  (Think about the requirements for passing this test with that in your back.)  It was never a question about passing it, more a question of how well he would do.  Jon once told me that he has never asked his men to do something that he himself was unable to do.  Obviously he leads from the front!  He passed with no problems!

This past year has been harder in many ways.  I know that his training schedule has been interrupted several times.  You see, he isn't parked behind a desk somewhere.  Active duty means just that for Jon.  Trust me, he is very "active" and no matter where he is at, he trains for that upcoming marathon.

He runs in the cold, the rain, the heat.  He runs on cement, sand, asphalt, rocks.  He likes to start his day off with a run while most of us are not even close to being aware that dawn is breaking in an hour or two.

Each year that Jon has run a marathon, this will be year #3, he has set two goals for himself.  One is personal (his time to finish in) and the other is monetary (fundraising).  Last year, his personal goal had to be set aside while he was actually running the marathon.  One of his team members was having a problem and didn't think he could continue on.  Jon sent the rest of the team ahead to finish.  Staying back with his teammate, he completed the marathon in a slightly slower than expected time.  I received a text message with his time, and inquired about it.  I was told "....no man left behind..."

This year's goal is to raise enough money to possibly purchase a prosthetic running leg, a cheetah leg, for a warrior who paid a high price for defending our freedoms.  All donations are given to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and they ultimately will decide where the money goes.  When Jon found out a friend was injured in an IED blast, losing his legs, I suddenly realized how very personal this years' fundraising had become.  Jon knows how important the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund is, what they can do for his fellow brothers in arms, how they help fill the gaps in.

Perhaps you are asking yourself what a "cheetah leg" looks like.  Maybe you have even attending a race or two as a spectator or a runner and have seen one before.  They are rather unique looking, and yes the name comes from a cheetah, the fastest animal on land.  A cheetah is known to run at speeds up to 70 miles an hour. While I doubt anyone wearing a cheetah leg will achieve those speeds, they most certainly have been able to make it into the para-Olympic trials.

If you are wondering about others who have been helped out by the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, then you should read about Derek, Merlin, TJ,

Just for the sake of verification.....check out the cover of the May 2009 newsletter from Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.  Look close, because on the cover you will see several pictures of TJ and Merlin.  Merlin is in the upper half, while TJ is shown carrying another Marine over the finish line at the Marine Corps Marathon and an older photo from his hospital bed.

I am quite sure Jon grits his teeth each and every time I write something about his injuries.  I know for a fact that these guys have moved on and are not now nor ever have been looking for press time, UNLESS it somehow benefits their fellow brothers in arms.  For them, they will talk about what happened but not in the course of normal conversation.

If you look at page 8 in the latest Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund newsletter (July 2010), you will see that only 7% of ALL funds are spent in areas not directly supporting the wounded.  A mere 5% is spent on administrative expenses and only 2% goes towards fundraising.  Pretty amazing return on your donation dollars I would say. Not too many companies can claim that high of a percent of funds going to the wounded.

By now you are most likely tired of chasing all over the War On Terror News and Overcoming Adversitywebsites checking out the links I have provided.

Bottom line?  We need to get the $'s rolling in for Jon's donation drive.  If you read about Jon at his donation site, you will see that he is not asking for a huge chunk of your money.  Nope!  He only asks this.....

"No more than you can afford and no less than you desire. Every dollar counts, so if you can only afford a few dollars, we are grateful. If you or your business can afford hundreds or thousands, that will get us all to the goal quicker."

Please consider helping out in 2 very different ways.  1:  Make a donation and 2:  Spread the word.

I thank you in advance for your donation, because if you have stuck with me this far through the article, I am betting you will find a way to drop a few dollars in the pot to help out Jons' fundraiser for this year.

Somehow, in 2008, NAPA Auto Parts came across one of my articles about Jon and his efforts.  They made a very generous donation boosting him up and over his goal for that year.  They literally delivered their check into Jon's hand the day before the race.

 

Fueled By:

Hope, Faith, and Determination

Comments

[MsMarti -]

Oh WOW....thanks BIG time for pushing this out there!!

I am starting to go a bit crazy over the lack of donations!

Many thanks!!

[mindy1]

SWEEET

[Arrow]

Salute and God Bless MSgt. Jonathan R. White and his wife, Sgt. Peggy C. White two remarkable and courageous people we can all take several valuable lessons from. God Bless Peggy for standing up for and standing with her man.

[chanel handbags]

I am starting to go a bit crazy over the lack of donations!

Many thanks!!

[chanel 2.55]

White two remarkable and courageous people we can all take several valuable lessons from. God Bless Peggy for standing up for and standing with her man.

[ugg outlet]

I wonder if we are friend,as you know a word that good company on the road is the shortest cut.

[Ugg Boots]

You look wonderful!