On Oct. 4, 2009 LCpl. Josh Wege was in Afghanistan. He was riding in a vehicle that was struck by an improvised explosive device. LCpl Wege received severe injuries to his lower legs and feet. In fact, his injuries were so severe that the doctor's were unable to save them.
Did that slow down this Marine? Well after reading that just 44 days later Josh was up and walking a few steps on his new legs. Pretty amazing for a 19 year old young man who had just experienced a life changing injury!
On Tuesday, November 17, 2009 Fox11Newsonline reports that....
"On Tuesday, Wege took 10 steps while putting 70% of his weight on his new prosthetics. He took 30 steps on Wednesday. Wege’s mother, Kay, told FOX 11 that Josh was so excited about his new prosthetics that his therapist had to tell him to slow down. Wege has been rehabbing at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland since returning to the United States shortly after the bombing."
A photo of LCpl Wege walking on his new legs can be seen here along with more photos of this amazing young man.
It has been just over 8 months since LCpl Wege was injured. I was amazed to read on June 25, 2010, the fdlreporter.com reports that Josh is now running on his new legs!
His father, David Wege, remarked that Josh's new legs are high-tech and how he is already running on those new legs.
"When he got back (to Walter Reed), his therapists told him he was going to have to relearn balance and walking with crutches," he said. "He (Josh) looked at them, looked at the crutches and got up and walked away under his own power."
What is Josh planning to do now?
"He's not a guy to sit behind a desk," David Wege said. "If the Marines don't pan out, he said he may go to school to be a prosthetist"
"He's become a symbol in our community," he said of his son's determination. "This was a terrible blow for a 19-year-old kid. (But) he's a guy with a bright, bright future."
A former teacher, Dale Witte, has a blog posting about LCpl Wege. Here is one of several YouTube videos I found. Josh is showing off his walking skills in this video!
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