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Health Readiness & Combat Support | Warrior Care
The Indiana National Guard has been sending Hoosiers to war since the Mexican-American War in the 1840’s.
Life and limbs are often casualties. But the list of soldiers sent to war with less than four limbs is extremely limited.
Sgt. Alex Woodsmall is one of those soldiers. After turning a corner the machine he was driving veered into a large rack.
“Milliseconds start adding up. I let off the emergency-stop switch on the truck but the truck continued going the same speed, so I let go of everything. I knew if I jumped off the machine and got to this one spot where there were no pallets or present dangers, the machine would hit the rack, but I would be protected from it.”
Woodsmall nearly lost his leg from an accident at his civilian job, after his ankle got stuck between the reach truck he was driving and a support beam.
“I’m pretty sure the only thing that was holding it all together was my green Army sock I had on,” Woodsmall said. “First thing that kicked in was combat lifesaver skills to make sure I wasn’t bleeding out. Luckily, I only saw a few droplets of blood.”
After the accident, doctors were able to put him back together, but gangrene had different plans.
Four surgeries later, doctors had failed to contain the spread, and gave Woodsmall a choice - take half of his foot, amputate his foot at the ankle or amputate below the knee.
Despite the agonizing amount of pain he was in, Woodsmall’s first asked, “Which one will give me the greatest chance of staying in the military?”
After he was given his answer, his response was simple - ‘Lets chop this thing off.’
His below-the-knee amputation would give him the most mobility and the largest options of prosthetics, which would allow him to lift heavy objects and move effectively for his physical fitness and military occupation.