Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kristen Duus | First Lt. Christopher Parks, a physician’s assistant, currently assigned to the...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas — Imagine falling asleep one night and waking up six weeks later, missing a leg. That is exactly what happened to 1st Lt. Christopher Parks, a physician assistant, now recovering at the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Hood.
Parks, a native of Lakeside, California, was working in his attic at Fort Hood, Feb. 27, 2014. He cut his foot on a hinge. As a former enlisted medic, Parks took care of the cut, not thinking much more of it. However, by the next day, an infection had set in. It was necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacteria that would spread like wildfire through his leg.
“My last memory was going to bed and kissing my wife on Feb. 28,” said Parks. “I woke up April 15 missing the leg and I had no idea why. It was a bit of a shock to say the least.”
Within three days of cutting his foot, the infection had spread so rapidly, it was too late to save his leg. His right leg had to be amputated at the middle of his thigh.
Despite working with only one leg, Parks, who spent nine months in the hospital at Fort Sam-Houston, Texas, he participated in the Army Trials hosted at Fort Bliss, March 29 through April 2. Nearly 80 wounded or injured Soldiers and veterans competed in a series of athletic events, trying to earn a spot in the Department of Defense Warrior Games, which are going to be held at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia this summer.
“About five months after my injury, my wife saw a warrior games picture on the Army Knowledge Online website,” said Parks. “She said it was something I might be interested in to get back to being more athletic and physical fit.”
Parks said the WTB at Fort Hood put a lot of command emphasis on competing, which gave him the motivation to push for it. He spent his days going to his regular appointments, seeing his counselors and training for the competitions.
Over the five day event, Parks competing in hand cycling, seated volleyball, wheelchair basketball, shot put, discus throw and swimming. The seated volleyball competition was his favorite event, because there was something going on every second, he said.
While he may have enjoyed all of the events, he dominated in the swimming competition. Parks took first place in three of the events: 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle and 50-meter backstroke, and second in the 50-meter breaststroke.
Parks is till new to the WTB, after spending nine months in the hospital. These events helped bring him closer to the other Soldiers in the unit.
“The games have given me a feeling to belonging to a family,” he said. “I was able to connect with fellow wounded warriors and build bonds that will hopefully last a lifetime. I also couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and my friends. Their encouragement has just been amazing.”
| Date Taken: | 04.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2015 15:53 |
| Story ID: | 160215 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | FORT CAVAZOS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | LAKESIDE, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 321 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Overcoming one-in-a-million infection to compete, by SFC Kristen Duus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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