*'I'm not going to let this . . . stop me' (10/17/04)

'I'm not going to let this . . . stop me'
STPT000020041017e0ah0004m
WORLD & NATION
Associated Press
Times Staff Writer
551 Words
17 October 2004
St. Petersburg Times
16A
English
Copyright 2004 St. Petersburg Times. All Rights Reserved.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - George Perez still feels the sweat between his toes when he exercises. He's still plagued with nagging cramps in his calf muscle. And sometimes, when he gets out of bed at night without thinking, he topples over.

Perez, 21, lost his leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq more than a year ago, but he says he is determined to prove to the Army that he is no less of a man - and no less of a soldier. "I'm not ready to get out yet," he says. "I'm not going to let this little injury stop me from what I want to do."

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