A smile can lift you up

Courtesy Photo | Army Spc. Stephanie Morris enjoys the sunshine and camaraderie as she gears up for shot put training practice for the 2015 Army Trials at Fort Bliss, Texas. Morris, from Toledo, Ohio, is currently assigned to the Walter Reed Warrior Transition Battalion, Bethesda, Md. Approximately 80 wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers and veterans are at Fort Bliss to train and compete in a series of competitive athletic events including archery, cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair basketball. Army Trials, conducted by the Warrior Transition Command and hosted by Fort Bliss, is scheduled March 29 – April 2. Army Trials help determine who will get a spot on the Department of Defense Warrior Games 2015 Army Team in June at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Army Photo by David Brant, Warrior Transition Command)  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

03.27.2015

Courtesy Story

Army Recovery Care Program

By David Brant
Warrior Transition Command

FORT BLISS, Texas - It’s day seven of training week and many of the Warrior athletes seem to be moving at a much slower pace. The bright El Paso, Texas, sunshine can have that affect on outsiders; not used to the desert climate and moderate elevation. Coaches are seen and heard offering words of encouragement asking for more and more effort from their 2015 Army Trials competitors. Scanning the track and field stadium, smiles are few and far between; unless you are within sight of Spc. Stephanie Morris. The Toledo, Ohio, native can’t stop smiling. Her smile is contagious, and within minutes, the mood lightens. “A smile can lift you up,” Morris explains. “There is no point in holding a grudge or being down.”

If any Soldier had cause to hold a grudge or be down, it would be these wounded, ill, and injured athletes training to compete in this year’s 2015 Army Trials scheduled for March 29 - April 2 at Fort Bliss, Texas; none of them do. For Morris, who was wounded by indirect fire at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, “life is too short?”

The June 2013 attack left her with a shattered left femur and a fracture right foot. Since August of that year, she has been assigned to the Walter Reed Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB) Bethesda, Maryland.

“I’m not always smiling, and I have my down days, but coming to the WTB has really helped me move forward. The support is just amazing, and my squad leaders have been awesome. They pushed me to do so much.”

After her injury, Morris freely admits she found it difficult accepting her “new normal.” That too changed when she entered the WTB.

“Everyone in the WTB is going through the same feelings as you are, so you feed off of each other to help one another and the next person who comes to the unit.”

At the WTB, Morris was introduced to Adaptive Sports and reconditioning. The former high school multi-sport athlete has always been an avid runner, but her injuries precluded her from running.

“As for sports, I found out that I might be doing things differently (from previous participation in sports) but I can still do it!”

With running out of the question, Morris turned to cycling. She’ll also vie for a spot on the Army’s wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball teams as well as track and field throwing events shot-put and discus. She counts wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball as her strongest sports.

She’ll have one day off to rest up prior to the start of the Army Trials. Morris is hopeful that she’ll make the team, but overjoyed that she is here with the other athletes.

“You build some everlasting bonds that will be here far beyond the Trials. I’m still going to support them even if I don’t make the team.” Win or lose at the Army Trials, Stephanie Morris is a winner in life; with a smile as big as Texas to prove it.

• Date Taken: 03.27.2015
• Date Posted: 03.27.2015 19:37
• Story ID: 158426
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US