Living in the shadows of the ongoing war on terror are 1,715 American military people who lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan. A few of those brave folks lost all four limbs when bombs blew apart their bodies. In addition, there are now at least 20 new amputee victims because of the brutal terror bombing in Boston.
When reality sinks in and the injured realize how dependent they are without all functioning limbs, often there are severe psychological consequences. Many of the soldiers and Marines who lost limbs were self-reliant achievers, who lived life on their own terms.
The bombs changed all that.
When I visit Walter Reed hospital outside of Washington DC, I am struck by the determination of the amputees to put their lives back together. But the rehab process is exceedingly difficult for them and their families. Sometimes, the wounded warrior feels guilty that his or her condition is causing emotional pain to their families and friends. You can see that in their eyes. They don't feel sorry for themselves so much, they are sad for those who love them.
The United States is a great country, but we do have our failings. Providing for the severely wounded should be a top priority, but it is not. Responding to a lack of urgency on the part of the Defense Department and the VA, a private organization called "The Independence Fund" was started in 2007 to provide support for the amputees. And now something amazing has happened.
A small company in Michigan has invented the "Track Chair," an all-terrain wheelchair that can literally go anyway. On sand, in the forest, through shallow streams, you name it. The chairs are a high-tech marvel; small switches give physically challenged folks almost full mobility and an acute sense of independence - thus the name of the fund.
The chairs cost about $15,000 each, and therein lies the problem. The federal government is broke after wasting billions of taxpayers' dollars on misguided overseas nation-building projects, social justice boondoggles here at home, and failed green energy investments like Solyndra. Just this week, the New York Times reported that the CIA is giving millions of dollars in cash to Hamid Karzai, the corrupt leader of Afghanistan. Karzai is a guy who would make Al Capone blush. If you took just 20% of the Karzai payoff money, you could buy every American military amputee a track chair.
But that's a pipedream. Not gonna happen. So we the people have to help our wounded warriors regain a semblance of control over their lives because the federal government will not.
I hope you check out the website: Independencefund.org. All of us need to right this wrong. The technology is available to help multiple amputees and there is no reason on earth that every single person who needs a track chair shouldn't have one.
So let's make this happen, people! We are Americans. We owe it to those who sacrificed their bodies for our country to do everything we can to help them.
Finally, I've discussed the situation with President Obama himself, and believe that in the weeks to come a national effort will be launched to help the grievously wounded and their families.
That story - still developing.
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