Walter Reed cyclists hit the road for Coca-Cola 600

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Three-time Olympic cyclist Wayne Stetina, left, inspects Capt. Ferris Butler's prostheticleg as the two prepare to begin the Road 2 Recovery ride Tuesday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.


Walter Reed cyclists hit the road for Coca-Cola 600
By Joe Gromelski, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Since he was wounded by an IED blast in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle in December 2006, U.S. Army Capt. Ferris Butler has had to make some tough calls.

After undergoing 52 operations on his left leg, "I decided none of that was working," he said. The decision to amputate was "the best thing I ever did."

Butler is among a group of cyclists who left from Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Tuesday on the five-day Road 2 Recovery ride, a 480-mile journey to Charlotte, N.C., and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. And how it goes will, he hopes, enable him to make one more tough choice: Whether to keep his troublesome right leg, which is already missing half of the foot.

"What this bike ride and biking in general is allowing me to do," he said, "is to get as strong as I can so I’m able to make an educated decision off of it."

Another participant in the America Supports You-sponsored ride is Spec. Justin Clark, who suffered brain and spinal injuries in a mortar attack in Iraq and a later fall and electrical shock while working on a generator. Riding a three-wheeled bike of the sort seen in marathons, he’s accompanied by his fiancée, Audrey Proctor. He only recently received the bike, and his only practice has been around the Walter Reed campus, but his goal is clear.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54958