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Injured Falls soldier takes first steps

Feb-24-2007 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

By Jim Carney, Beacon Journal staff writer

Friday, for the first time since he lost his right leg above the knee and badly injured his left foot in Iraq, Cuyahoga Falls native Adam Poppenhouse walked on two legs.

First, using a walker, and later, using canes, Poppenhouse employed his computerized right prosthetic leg and his braced and fused left foot that he feared he might lose after a Dec. 3 roadside bombing in Iraq.

On Friday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Poppenhouse walked 30 feet.

``This is definitely a gift,'' the 21-year-old said afterward in a telephone interview with the Beacon Journal.

Prior to the walk, Poppenhouse said there were no words to describe what he was feeling.

His wife, Amanda, gave birth to their first child, daughter Rylee, at Fort Lewis, Wash., on Aug. 28. And a few days before Christmas, President Bush visited Poppenhouse at Walter Reed.

``It was nice,'' he said of meeting the president. ``He is the biggest of the big. For him to shake my hand was a big deal.''

Poppenhouse entered the Army after high school and was on his first tour in Iraq when he was wounded. He was with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division -- the Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

He said he and his family, who are staying at the Mologne House at Walter Reed, will probably remain there for a year as physical therapy continues.

``It's a very long process,'' he said.

After his ultimate medical retirement from the Army, he said he and his family are not sure where they will settle.

It all depends, he said, on where he can find a job.[...]


Comments For "Injured Falls soldier takes first steps":

Thank you, young man for your sacrifice and your family. We pray for your peace and god is good. Godspeed

Posted by: StrykerB'SMOM [TypeKey Profile Page] | February 24, 2007 2:41 PM

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