IRAQ: To feel normal again; warrior athletes compete in San Diego event

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Army Sgt. Wallace Fanena, who lost his right arm and leg to a landmine in Kirkuk in September, was up early Sunday morning in San Diego.

Fanena, 25, was among 40-plus members of the Balboa Warrior Athlete Program at the Naval Medical Center San Diego to participate in the Navy’s 22nd Original Bay Bridge Run/Walk from downtown across the Coronado Bay Bridge. A record 8,000-plus people made the jaunt.

The warrior athlete program incorporates athletics with rehabitation for military personnel injured in Iraq, Afghanistan or stateside. ‘Athletics rebuilds confidence,’ said medical center commander Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, who was among the runners.

The center’s Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care program provides state-of-the-art care for the most severely injured, particularly for amputees.

At its height, the program was caring for 200-plus patients. Now, with a decrease in combat and greater use by the military of blast-resistant vehicles, the number has dropped to about 130.

That’s given the program the chance to focus on post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Hunter said.

Fanena was assigned to an Army unit from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, when he was wounded. He hopes to stay on active duty. Recently he went surfing at Del Mar as part of the warrior athlete program. For the bridge event he used a hand-crank bicycle, like other amputees.

‘I have to do this to prove something to myself,’ Fanena said. ‘I hope to feel normal again.’

-- Tony Perry

P.S. The Los Angeles Times issues a free daily newsletter with the latest headlines from the Middle East, the war in Iraq and the frictions between the West and Islam. You can subscribe by registering at the website here, logging in here and clicking on the World: Mideast newsletter box here.