Army SPC Josh Wetzel, a Glencoe native, did something Friday he hasn't done since the moment an explosion cost him both legs May 31.
Wetzel took a few steps.
The occasion, caught on cell phone video, was a milestone as Wetzel recovers from his injuries after a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan.
"It's amazing, I mean, I've come so far, in the two and a half months that I've been here, I mean, it even blows my mind," Wetzel told his uncle, Fox6 News Anniston Videojournalist Dixon Hayes.
"They make a cast around your leg, and they take that cast and make another cast, inside of the one around your leg," said Wetzel.
Wetzel has been recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center in Betheseda, Maryland, since the explosion and that's where he took his first steps during his daily physical therapy session. His wife, Paige, can be seen reacting in the video.
All of this happened, coincidentally, the day Wetzel met actor Gary Sinise. Sinise received an Oscar nomination for his role as Lt. Dan, a commander who loses both legs in Vietnam, in the 1994 movie "Forrest Gump."
Wetzel says it's going to be a long process before he can walk well, but he's going to work very hard at it.
Wetzel was cast for his legs recently and received them Friday, well ahead of schedule. He also keeps a positive attitude, noting the more than 15,000 followers on his "Prayers for Josh Wetzel" Facebook page.
"With my legs, there's no way I could've reached over 15,000 people. And so, without my legs, you know, I plan on reaching far more than that."
Copyright 2012 WBRC. All rights reserved.
Army SPC Josh Wetzel takes his first steps with his new legs at Walter Reed Medical Center in Betheseda, Maryland.
FOX6 News videojournalist Dixon Hayes and his nephew, Josh Wetzel.
Josh Wetzel, his wife Paige and actor Gary Sinise who played Lt. Dan in the movie "Forrest Gump."
