For three years after losing an arm in a motorcycle accident, a soldier from Dallas contested the U.S. Army's decision that he was unfit for active duty.
In mid-July 2014 -- one week before the retirement date the Army had set for him -- Sgt. 1st Class Michael Smith was fighting time.
He made one final, in-person appeal to an Army medical board, and after 10 minutes of deliberating, the board members said he could stay.
"It was emotional. It was very emotional," Smith said. "You're fighting to get healthy, and then you're fighting to stay in the Army, and you're fighting to stay positive that whole time. It was a difficult process, and there were a lot of days I felt like just giving up. But I fought it to the last day."
Months after the medical board review, which he called a "real pivotal" moment in his life, Smith was told his first assignment post-injury would be as a recruiter in Little Rock.
He moved to Arkansas in January and now works in the Little Rock Army-Navy Career Center on North Rodney Parham Road.
Smith believes the Army's approval to keep him on active duty is because of what he has achieved since losing his arm in 2011. In early 2014, he began traveling all over the country to participate on Army athletic teams. He skis, surfs, swims, cycles, runs marathons, competes in triathlons and is part of a skeleton sledding team and an all-amputee football team -- all to enhance his own quality of life and serve as inspiration to others.
"I was fighting, fighting, fighting, after being denied, denied," Smith said. "I had one more shot at it, to speak up for myself. Because paperwork only says so much about you.
"I just went and took all my medals -- over 50 I had earned. We discussed my medical status, and at the very end they were like, 'Is there anything else you would like to present?' I picked up my bag and dumped all my medals on the table and said, 'This is what I've done since I've been injured. I can do everything that everybody else can do. Why not give me a chance?'"
Smith said he was told by a member of the medical board that he was the first soldier with an above-the-elbow amputation to be approved for the active-duty Army. Heather Miller, who was part of the team that rehabilitated Smith, has not been able to confirm that, but she said Smith's case "is very rare."
Miller is a recreational therapist at the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Smith was injured while stationed as a recruiter in Nashville, Tenn. A year later, he sought out the Center for the Intrepid, which specializes in rehabilitating military members with amputations and nerve injuries.
A team at the center worked with Smith for two years, Miller said, teaching him how to use a prosthesis and getting him back in shape.
"We were mostly concerned with getting him healthy," Miller said. "An upper extremity amputation requires a lot of training to become familiar and affluent with an arm. Mike doesn't like sitting still -- he likes being active. He literally and figuratively took it and ran with it."
As a result of his time at the center, Smith is as active as he's ever been, he said.
At a west Little Rock gym Wednesday evening, Smith crouched over a weight bar stacked with 25- and 10-pound weights. He grabbed the bar in the middle with his one hand, took a deep breath and pulled up. Before Smith could lift it over his head, he let out a groan and dropped the bar onto the floor mat.
"You got this. Really accelerate up," said his trainer, Austin Evans.
Evans stood and watched as Smith tried again.
On the second attempt, Smith lifted the 105 pounds over his head and held it there, his arm fully extended. Evans and a few others applauded.
The CrossFit training is part of Smith's daily routine. He completes three workouts each day, starting early in the morning with either lap swimming or long bicycle rides.
On Wednesday, he left the gym, where he had lain on the floor, sweating and tired, and walked next door for a 45-minute spin class.
His physical abilities were tested in June at the Defense Department's 2015 Warrior Games, at which approximately 250 wounded and ill service members and veterans competed in Olympic-style events. Smith earned one gold and four bronze medals in swimming events, shot-put and discus.
He also was part of the Wounded Warrior amputee football team that faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
More so than the physical accomplishments, Smith said, he's proud of the connections he's made with other people -- in Arkansas and across the country -- who have similar injuries.
His next goal is to work with the Army's Warrior Transition Unit, where wounded soldiers get assistance in returning to either civilian life or their jobs in the Army.
"When this happened, I was going through so much," Smith said. "My mom and dad, they would tell me all the time, 'God doesn't make mistakes. He has a plan for you.'
"When you're dealing with this, you're like, 'Yeah, I don't know what that would be. I'm missing a whole arm.' But, now, I really believe this is my purpose. Everything happens for a reason. I always had a sense of humor, was upbeat, was a talker and wouldn't turn down any type of challenge. I think that why I lost my arm is so I can motivate and inspire other people to find a positive."
Metro on 07/12/2015