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ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
Chas Shaffer became a news story Christmas Day 2007, days before he went to Iraq, the youngest generation in a three generation military family. Soon, he became the only generation to be injured. We have seen him through rehab, but we had never seen him like we saw him Wednesday.
Chas has vivid memories of the moments leading up to the blast.
"September 1, 2008. About 10:40 in the morning," he recalls.
And there are vivid moments, even ten months later now, when Chas swears he can wiggle the toes in his right foot. But he doesn't have a right foot. He doesn't have a right leg.
"Still a big adjustment every day," he says.
He survived ten attacks in Iraq, then a roadside bomb took his leg, but spared his life.
"I'm just happy I made it back," he says.
Rehab has not been fun, but life is beginning to get better. Two months ago the charity "Segs for Vets" donated a Segway to Chas. He has mastered the art of balancing on one good leg and one prosthetic leg.
"It helps us move around a lot faster, " he says. "We're not stuck to a wheelchair or crutchesÂ…we can hop on our Segway and go zooming along."
"Goes about 15 miles an hour," he says, flying up and down the streets of O'Fallon, Illinois where he is visiting his parents. He continues rehab at Walter Reed Army Hospital in DC.
"It's pretty easy," says Chas of how he learned to maneuver. "Much easier than riding a bike. Trust me. I have very few scrapes from this. A lot of scrapes from a bike."
The Segway gave Chas the gift of independence, which is the same gift he's given all of us.
"I love the army," he says. "I lost a leg for it. I'd have given an arm and a leg for the army."
"You do it for the guy next to you. You want him to go home and see his family, he wants you to go home and see your family."
"We've all bled in the same sand, we've all sat there and been shot at day after day, ambushed every other week. It's just your friends."
Chas has vivid memories of the moments leading up to the blast.
"September 1, 2008. About 10:40 in the morning," he recalls.
And there are vivid moments, even ten months later now, when Chas swears he can wiggle the toes in his right foot. But he doesn't have a right foot. He doesn't have a right leg.
"Still a big adjustment every day," he says.
He survived ten attacks in Iraq, then a roadside bomb took his leg, but spared his life.
"I'm just happy I made it back," he says.
Rehab has not been fun, but life is beginning to get better. Two months ago the charity "Segs for Vets" donated a Segway to Chas. He has mastered the art of balancing on one good leg and one prosthetic leg.
"It helps us move around a lot faster, " he says. "We're not stuck to a wheelchair or crutchesÂ…we can hop on our Segway and go zooming along."
"Goes about 15 miles an hour," he says, flying up and down the streets of O'Fallon, Illinois where he is visiting his parents. He continues rehab at Walter Reed Army Hospital in DC.
"It's pretty easy," says Chas of how he learned to maneuver. "Much easier than riding a bike. Trust me. I have very few scrapes from this. A lot of scrapes from a bike."
The Segway gave Chas the gift of independence, which is the same gift he's given all of us.
"I love the army," he says. "I lost a leg for it. I'd have given an arm and a leg for the army."
"You do it for the guy next to you. You want him to go home and see his family, he wants you to go home and see your family."
"We've all bled in the same sand, we've all sat there and been shot at day after day, ambushed every other week. It's just your friends."
