I have a very soft spot for the men and women in our military. It comes from knowing the kind of work and the amount of hours they do work. Add to that the pay and benefits that most receive, and how long many of these fine people spend away from home, family and friends.
On top of all of that, the risks involved, whether on a battlefield, or in their every job, the military (for a lot of these men and women) is not your everyday drive to the office kind of job.
Enter Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Bleill. This young man was in a Humvee in Iraq when a bomb went off under the vehicle. According to the article he now has 32 pins and a 6 inch screw holding his pelvis together, and both of his legs were lost.
Currently he is at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and is one of two fellows trying out new prosthetics that use Bluetooth (yes just like your cell phone headset) to help the artificial legs operate.
These are totally new, there is no manual, he is helping to write the manual. Is it an experiment? I guess in a way, but something tells me this fellow is up to the challenge and he knows if he and the technology can work together, he stands to gain (pun intended) a lot.
It's only going to react to how I move," Bleill said. "Unfortunately, sometimes I don't know those reactions, I don't know what I'm doing to make it react. So sometimes the leg kicks harder than I want it to, or farther, and then I start perpetuating, and I start moving faster than I really want to
Part of what isn't in the story, to me the omission is glaring. This young man was injured in Iraq. Obviously a deadly attack. How is it they saved his life? That in and of itself is an amazing feat. But then there is so much that our military does that is not reported on. Their abilities in medicine, helping civilians, building schools, training police and military of fledgling governments. It's much easier to concentrate on the mistakes, the deaths and when the outcome of a mission is not what was expected or desired.
The closing of the article is quite telling, he like so many of our young men and women are tough as nails, and more compassionate than you would expect or believe.
What are his long-range plans?
He just wants to make it back to his home state of Indiana and work for a charity or even help the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.
"They do a lot for the community," he said.
He added he simply wants "to give back." "To, you know, just carry on a normal life. Go home, see my girlfriend, see my family."
I very much hope that his artificial legs will serve him well, he deserves nothing but the very best, and more. I also hope that an organization like the Colts or some other company that is community driven will take this fellow on. Again he deserves it, and on top of that, whoever hires him will have one heck of a new employee.
Godspeed Josh Bleill
