Camp Hill, Pa. - Bryan Anderson certainly is different - but he didn't start out that way. He was a high school gymnast, went to work for American Airlines, then decided he wanted a change and enlisted in the army in April 2001. He left for basic training on September 11.

"Everybody was proud to be there.," he said. "They were like, 'At least if we go to war, we get to be the ones to retaliate or do something about it and get revenge for our country.'"

His first tour in Iraq (web | news) was uneventful. His second - too eventful. In October 2005, in Baghdad, Bryan lost his legs and his left hand. But he didn't lose himself in anger, depression or self-pity.

He's now a spokesman for a wheelchair manufacturer. He's been in movies, on TV, and the cover of Esquire Magazine. And he insists he does almost everything he used to do.

"We're only here once, we're only young once, and nobody knows why we're here. So might as well have as much fun and do as many interesting things as you possibly can - that's how I see it," said Anderson.

He makes audiences see it, too.

"Regardless of what happened to you you can still follow your dreams," said Dr. James Cruz. "You don't have to be limited to what effects you."

"The mental is 90 percent, the physical comes along with it," said Amy Hackman, an occupational therapist. "But the mental abilities absolutely have to be there."

Anderson brings his message to the midstate courtesy of local businessman Terry Luft, who's paying him to be here - and paying it forward."

"I heard him speak at a conference in April," said Luft. "When I left, he was on my mind all summer, and I just wanted other people to hear his message."

 

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