From wounded warrior to sixth in the world

I was truly inspired by the story of retired Marine Sergeant Joshua A. Elliott, the spokesperson for Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra whom I met when he spoke at a local charity event for the organization. Their goal is to build The National Wounded Warrior Center to empower wounded, ill, and injured servicemen and women to transition into fulfilling lives. That is a powerful mission.

Sergeant Josh was one of the brave souls who walked in front of their patrol teams with a metal detector looking for improvised explosive devices (IEDs). It is a very dangerous job, and the odds of getting blown up are pretty high. His band of brothers in Afghanistan used all their resources along with some gallows humor to cope with the danger.

Call it bad luck or just a matter of time, but Josh did step on an IED, which was fortunately on the roof of a building and blew him down rather than up. This, along with the heroic actions of his team — applying battlefield tourniquets where his legs once were — saved his life. Now he had to get his head and heart into the right place to help himself heal.

He first had to tackle the physical challenges, and the mental challenges were equally difficult. He got his strength from the love of his family and others in his life. It is really what pushed him through this life-altering change. He also had another arrow in his quiver: even on bad days, he remembered some of his most joyous moments while snowboarding, and he dreamed of getting back on the top of a mountain. That’s a pretty big dream when you no longer have the legs you once skied on.

Through Wounded Warriors, Josh found Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra in Mammoth Lakes, California (woundedwarriorsmammoth.org). The folks at Disabled Sports evaluated, trained, and built a special ski for this American hero, and Josh took to it immediately. As he described it, “They strapped me into this contraption that had a ski on it, and off I went.” Yes, indeed he did. After a few months of practice, Josh decided to try out for the U.S. Paralympic Team.

He did further training in Aspen, Colorado, made the team, and was in the Alpine skiing event at the Winter Games in South Korea, where he came in sixth. Talk about manifesting your dreams! I’m waiting to see him medal in his next try.

Getting back into life after you have been gravely injured takes a kind of bravery that comes only with the support of those around you. Josh’s family and friends, the doctors and nurses, his trainers, coaches, teammates, and, of course, his brothers from his unit all have contributed to his recovery and his success, as have these amazing organizations.

For Josh, it isn’t all about winning. He hopes to inspire those who will have to endure what he has and worse. As the spokesperson for Disabled Sports, he gets to touch many lives, motivate others, and hold open this door for more of our wounded veterans.

If your life or the life of someone you love has been altered by war, and you think that maybe there is a chance that an organization like this could help, I urge you to find out more. Dr. Barton Goldsmith, a psychotherapist in Westlake Village, Calif., is the author of "The Happy Couple: How to Make Happiness a Habit One Little Loving Thing at a Time." Follow his daily insights on Twitter @BartonGoldsmith