Wounded soldiers cycle to recovery in 7-day bike trip

Wounded soldiers cycle to recovery in 7-day bike trip
By Kristina Peterson
Bay Area News Group
Article Launched: 02/21/2008 01:34:42 AM PST



An hour before the first Soldier Ride in California departed from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Palo Alto Wednesday, Army Spc. Saul Martinez explained his basic hand-cycle strategy.

"You just sit down and start cranking. It's a good workout, needless to say," said Martinez, 23, a double amputee who traveled from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to participate in the seven-day cycling trip.

Sponsored by the Wounded Warriors Project, the first regional Soldier Ride in California kicked off at the VA hospital and will finish next Tuesday in San Diego. A total of 25 veterans, including six from the Palo Alto hospital's brain trauma unit, are making the trek. Many are on bicycles adapted to their war injuries.

Soldier who lost legs in Iraq war works to rejoin unit

Soldier who lost legs in Iraq war works to rejoin unit
04:26 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 4, 2007
By MICHAEL BECKERThe Press-Enterprise

Interactive: Watch Martinez take his first steps and hear him talk about his recovery
SAN DIEGO - It was a calm, clear day when Army Spc. Saul Martinez arrived at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. His wife, Sarah, rolled the wheelchair up a metal ramp to the physical therapy building.
Martinez, a 2003 Bloomington High School graduate, had dreamed of this day for three months and worked tirelessly to ensure it went as smoothly as possible. When using prosthetic legs for the first time, failure takes on a number of forms. One misstep could cause the bones in his leg to penetrate the skin. One fall could strain his left kneecap, negating 10 weeks of agonizing physical therapy.

http://www.pe.com/localnews/healthcare/stories/PE_News_Local_D_war_athlete_04.3df8a60.html

'Talking to the guys who have been through it'
Peer visitor program helps military amputees adjust
By Steve Liewer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 28, 2007

The doctor's message pierced the fog of ache that had set in after a bomb exploded under Lance Cpl. Robert McCardle's truck four months ago in Iraq.
NANCEE E. LEWIS / Union-Tribune
Marine Lance Cpl. Robert McCardle (left) and Army Spc. Joshua Hooker have benefited from a local project sponsored by the Amputee Coalition of America and the Wounded Warrior Project.An infection was slowly killing muscle around the wound in his lower right leg. The physician said McCardle, 21, could keep his useless leg and face constant pain or amputate it below the knee and start a new life.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070828-9999-1n28amputee.html