some momentum. It's not as much of a struggle if you have the habit of going to physical therapy and putting in the work. And I had my network of family and friends. That's an external factor that's really important. It was a combination of internal and external sources of motivation.

FS: How did you get through the difficult PT?

DC: I think the reason I got through the training was because I can process this. I think this kind of mental strength comes through conditioning. I certainly did not have a lot of mental fortitude as a kid in terms of playing sports, that I can recall. I tried combative type sports and I would quit. I tried a mini-SEAL camp as a sea cadet, I succumbed. There were some moments in my history, where I felt like I was naturally a resilient person. But at this point, although I had been through a lot, I wanted to represent the community well. I tried to think that this is just physical. Losing my legs is much easier than losing someone you love. Walking is a new sport and I'm going to tackle it. It's not to say there weren't tough days. There were tough days. There were days that were frustrating. Before I learned what the prosthetic knees are actually like, people would say things to lift me up: "People who are missing legs are climbing Mount Everest, they're doing mountaineering, they're doing all kinds of things. You can do whatever you want, there's no limit." That's just not grounded in reality. People missing a part of one leg may be climbing Mount Everest, but I don't think they're doing it on knee prosthetics if they're missing both legs above the knees. I didn't know the reality of the situation, that they are so cumbersome. When I got them, I had this unrealistic notion of what the prosthetic knees would be like. When I got on them, I thought "oh my goodness, they're heavy, I'm so tired. I don't think I'll ever be able to walk without canes or support." I even wondered what it was going to be like when I'm an older person. I still think about that. I have to be very physically fit to walk on two prosthetic knees, because they are heavy and you have less of a limb structure to move them. Then there's the question of heat and humidity. All these things can create setbacks and frustration. But, if you focus on the past and live in the pity of what you used to be able to do, that's not constructive. Looking into the future, setting goals, can really be great. But you don't want the present to pass you by either. There's a challenge being future-oriented, but also realizing that anything that you can do now to improve the situation is important. You can't act in the future; you can only act right now. So, now's the time to start working.

FS: That’s great advice. Are there lots of different kinds of prosthetics to go through to find what would work for you? 

DC: Yes. This is one of the reasons, I feel very fortunate to be in the military, needing prosthetics. One might say being in the military is why this happened. I was very proud to be part of the SEAL team. I knew there were risks, one of which is stepping on an IED. I’m glad it happened to me, as opposed to someone else on the hilltop, because I’m wired to handle it. I didn’t have kids, I wasn’t married. So, I felt of anybody up there, maybe this was supposed to happen to me, for whatever reason, not apparent to me. With that said, Walter Reed Army Medical Center is the place to learn how to walk if you’re an 

amputee. The surgical team, the wound care team, the prosthetic team, etc. were well integrated, like a well-oiled machine. You could try any prosthetic knee you wanted. That was really important. There are different sockets that the limb fits into and many different socket designs. The liner goes around your own limb to protect it and create the barrier. Sometimes, you don't need a liner with a certain kind of socket. There are different liner choices or the choice of not using a liner. There are different socket, knee and feet choices. It's overwhelming in the beginning. I was thinking if this had happened from a car accident when I was a civilian, and insurance said, "You get one shot," how do you know what you want when you haven't tried them? That's why for many reasons, being at Walter Reed was so important for me. I'm not from Washington, DC. and I didn't have roots there. My sister quit her job in New York City to live with me, as a caretaker. It took two years out of our lives. This was the kind of investment I felt I needed to make. Being in this incredible environment allowed me to leave knowing that I had the equipment dialed in, how to walk and run, and live an independent life.

FS: Are you set or do you have to get new equipment every so often?  

DC: It's very expensive. The single knee that I use, the market price is over $100,000. Every year they need to be maintained. I send them back for servicing, and they come back cleaned and freshened up. When my prosthetic knees are sent in for maintenance, the prosthetic company provides "loaner" replacement knees, so that I am still able to walk and function as normal.

FS: You learned to walk; you realized certain goals. How and when did you decide to learn to ski and go to the Paralympics?  

DC: I had a wonderful physical therapist at Walter Reed and had been learning how to walk for about a year and a half. They had a lot of opportunities: Wounded Warrior golfing, Wounded Warrior hunting, soldier ride down in Florida, lots of different opportunities. When I felt like I could travel, I started going to some of the camps and realized that adaptive sports are quite impressive. There are all kinds of opportunities, so I'm not actually limited. Well, I'm limited in some ways, but I'm not necessarily limited in the kinds of activities. I've got to do it a different way now. Some things are going to be different, or going to be much harder, or in some cases, it's just not realistic to do anymore.

"When things get hard, that's the time to sharpen and narrow your focus, instead of thinking so long term that it becomes overwhelming and discouraging."

I was exposed to the Paralympic program through a recruiter, a liaison actually, of the now US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, stationed at Walter Reed. I went out to a sports camp, introductory in nature. As luck would have it, the coaches of cross country and biathlon were both there. They asked me if I’d be interested in doing biathlon. I really was intrigued by cross-country skiing, as well as, biathlon, because biathlon is cross-country skiing with marksmanship. 

FS: Did you ski before you got into the biathlons?

DC: No. That comes into play later, but I do think that growing up on the farm accustomed me to being outside. Loving to be outside,