Quadruple Amputee Veteran Able to Enjoy Dancing Again
Taylor Morris and Danielle Kelly have the kind of love story that you might have thought only Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, A Walk to Remember) could dream up. Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy goes off to war... but this couple currently capturing the hearts of the world has had a rough road to happily ever after. On May 3, while serving as a Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician, Morris stepped on an old IED. He lost both legs, his left arm, and his right hand.
"As soon as I stepped on it, I knew," Morris said. "There was a moment, then I heard the blast. I felt the head. I knew I had lost my legs. As I somersaulted through the air, I watched my legs fly off." Few people survive such an explosion, let alone the quadruple amputation that followed his accident. Morris never lost consciousness and was in control enough to make medics stay back until the area was declared safe.
His girlfriend recalls the day of the fateful explosion, "I don't think a second of that day will ever fade from my memory. I try not to think back on that day, because it brings back all the raw feelings. Instead, we are looking forward." Looking forward and moving forward, to be exact. While Morris has been recovering and going through intensive physical therapy at Walter Reed, the couple is making big plans for the future, thanks to the kindness of strangers.
The website The Chive posted the couple's story in May, where Morris confided the pair's joint plans to eventually have a waterfront log cabin. The Chive, in an effort to recognize Morris's sacrifice, asked for donations. The story went viral, raising over $250,000 for the hero and his future bride. Even though his accident was just five months ago, Morris is beating all of the odds. Not only did he survive, but less than four months after the accident, he was already able to travel back home to Iowa for the wedding of close friends, where he was filmed upright on prosthetics and dancing with his sweetheart!
Sources: news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8534126/hero-who-lost-four-limbs-dances-with-girlfriend huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/17/watch-taylor-morris-quadruple-amputee-dances-_n_1891588.html#slide=more251221 Image sources: taylormorris.org timdoddphotography.com facebook.com/TaylorMorrisCommunitySupport thechive.com