WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Device puts wounded warriors back in action

San Antonio, Texas - August 16, 2011

Watching Specialist Michael Krapels sprint at the Center for the Intrepid, you'd never know that a friendly-fire injury in Afghanistan last year almost cost him his leg.

"I was told I was going to lose my leg," Krapels said. "That was on the table for quite awhile. And I was in a wheelchair for a solid eight to ten months."

Krapels is benefiting from a new device called IDEO-- Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis. Prosthetist Ryan Blanck designs the custom-fit pieces made of carbon and fiberglass. It supports the foot and ankle and helps soldiers run again.

"These guys basically are elite athletes for all intents and purposes," Blanck said. "And what they want to do is achieve the same level of function they did, or close to it, prior to their injury."

And it's not just running. The men and women fitted with the IDEO can jump, move side to side, scale rough terrain and climb up and down; skills they need to get back to their lives at home or in the military.

"And we're going to support them, no matter what it is. Whether it's going and playing with their kid in the backyard or redeploying to Afghanistan with their Special Forces team," Blanck said.

Since the IDEO weighs less than a pound and a half, it can easily be hidden beneath boots and clothes. That's important for soldiers heading back to war.

"I'm a soldier," Krapels said. "That's what I do now. There's nothing else for me. I'm a soldier and my job's not done."

Over the past two years, the Center for the Intrepid has fitted 140 wounded warriors with the device. Many of those people are back on the front lines, redeployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Click here for more information on the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Texas.

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