SAN ANTONIO – The Center for the Intrepid has been in place at the San Antonio Military Medical Center for five years.
Dedicated to meeting the needs of Wounded Warriors, it is the premier facility for rehabilitating amputees, burn victims and those with limb trauma.
"They're here as long as it takes to get them to whatever their personal goals are. Whether its running, whether its return to service or whether its return to productive civilian position as a retiree, " said Col. James Ficke, MD, chairman of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at SAMMC.
Hundreds of military personnel have rehabbed at the center over the past five years.
They've received treatment unmatched by any other facility in the world.
"Our surgeon, our prosthetist, out physical and occupational therapists... they're all in one location and they're all really passionate about their job," said Capt. Victor Munoz, a U.S. Army officer who sustained major trauma to his legs after being hit by a drunken driver while serving in Germany.
The Center for the Intrepid may be the premier rehab facility in the world but there's a very low-tech element that it brings to its therapy sessions.
"The scuba diving, the snow skiing... those types of activities that are available to just get us out there and give us the confidence to get out there and live life again," said Sgt. Brian Boone, a U.S. Army soldier who lost his left leg after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device this past November in Afghanistan.
Perhaps the most important ingredient in the rehab recipe is found in the Wounded Warriors themselves.
"Their courage to say, 'I don't want to sit in a wheelchair. I want to walk. I want to run.' It's just inspiring," said Frike.