As of July 10, 2008, there were a total of 4,430 coalition deaths in the war in Iraq. According to documents released by the Pentagon, 30,349 U.S. troops have been wounded in action. More than 700 troops have found a home at Walter Reed’s Ward 57—the place amputees go to recover after limb-loss. Keep in mind, this number would be higher if toes and fingers were counted. Bryan Anderson, a Rolling Meadows native, is 1 of 4 triple amputee Iraq veterans who is now learning how to live life with the help of prosthetics.
“I saw his legs were gone and his hand was missing and all the blood under the radio mount, and I said, ‘Oh my God.’”
~Spc. Michael Wait~
Thanks to the help of modern medicine, the injury Bryan sustained on October 23, 2005, did not claim his life. Due to the advanced body armor Bryan was wearing that protected his vital organs, he was able to survive the roadside bomb—the signature weapon of the Iraq War—that detonated next to the humvee he was driving in Baghdad. (Note: Fifty-seven percent of the wounded in Iraq have been hit by these IEDs). Thanks to the tourniquets applied to both leg stumps and left arm by Spc. Michael Wait, Bryan’s friend and trained combat lifesaver, the four arteries that had burst open and were gushing blood were closed off. Had the tourniquets not been effective, surgeons at Baghdad’s Combat Support Hospital say Anderson would have bled to death within minutes. Unfortunately, one of Anderson’s legs was recovered and brought to the hospital by Sgt. Kevin Murray, but surgeons said it was impossible to reattach the limb.
It would take Bryan 13 months to learn how to live life with new prosthetic limbs—but he would do it with the best technology….just inquire about his left hand. He has a lifelike, computerized “myoelectric” prosthesis modeled on the left hand of his twin brother. Not only does it match Bryan’s skin tone (which he will quickly inform was painted by hand) but it includes hairs from his own right arm! But aside from his new limbs, Bryan also has a manual wheelchair and 4 power chairs that were given to him by Quantum Rehab. They are even working on a super chair for him equipped with the Superman symbol……….make no mistake……….Bryan wants that emblem on his chair because he is obsessed with Superman. But, wouldn’t you be if you could conquer all the tasks Bryan has sans limbs?
"If it were me, I'd have given up." ~Spc. Wait, expressing how he would have handled being a triple amputee~
Perhaps the most intriguing part about Bryan is his attitude toward regaining his mobility. While amputees in Ward 57 go through periods of depression and withdrawal, Bryan’s doctors and nurses noted his optimism and determination from day one. He did not get depressed, nor he did not ask ‘Why me?’ Instead, he pushed the limits of his prosthetics, falling at least five to six times a day. Soon, he was not only walking again, but getting fitted for new snowboarding feet and asking how he could start skateboarding again. Fast forward two years, and Bryan is rubbing elbows with Hollywood stars like Gary Sinise and Mickey Rourke….now that he has established himself as a Hollywood stuntman/actor. But, some of Bryan’s most important work would come in a phone call from the president of Pride Mobility, the company that manufactures the wheelchairs Bryan uses. The company was so impressed with Bryan, they made him their spokesman. Not only does he go around sharing his story to inspire others, but he is again on the frontline testing out products! Clearly, he may not be Clark Kent, but he is a super man of sorts.
To see the video produced about Bryan by your Illinois Street Team reporter, Jacqueline Ingles, click here:
http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF00989E1E00170099081F/
For a complete list of the men and women who lost their lives since the war in Iraq began, click the following link:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/
To learn more about the company Bryan is spokesman for, click here:
http://www.quantumrehab.com/
Want to see Bryan in action, daredevils click below:
www.andersonactive.com