GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Melissa Stockwell lost her left leg fighting for our country. Instead of dwelling on the devastation, she chose to overcome.
Stockwell's turning point came on April 13, 2004.
The Grand Haven native said the day started out normal. She was training for a mission like she had done several other times as a First Lieutenant in the Army stationed in Iraq.
"About ten minutes into the ride, we went under this this bridge...and there was just this this deafening boom," Stockwell said. "I look up, and there's black smoke everywhere, the smell of metal, windshield's crashed in.”
Her vehicle hit an IED, or a roadside bomb.
“I took my seat belt off, I looked over, and I looked down, and saw pretty quickly that something wasn't right," she said. "There was a lot of blood.”
A combat medic rushed to her rescue. He wasn't just delivering first aid, he was saving her life.
Stockwell's left leg was severed.
“When the surgeon first told me...in the emergency room that I no longer had my leg, I feel like I should have asked him, 'Well, can you look again?'" Stockwell said. "It just seemed so surreal. It was just gone, and I had no choice.”
She added, “If you've been to a military hospital, or even some of the wards here (at Mary Free Bed), there is a lot of devastation, but there was so much resilience. Choosing to focus on that resilience, and realizing, as I looked around, that, sure I lost a leg, but I was one of the lucky ones.”
Stockwell was just 24 years old.
At that point, she made a promise to herself— a choice— to live her life for those who no longer could.
She would do so by becoming a three-time Paralympian, winning bronze in the 2016 Rio games as a triathlete.
"It's not always about the medals," Stockwell said. "It's about the journey to get there. It's about overcoming things that come your way, things that you never expect, but persevere through them— and a lot of times, even ending up better on the other side.”
Every April 13, Stockwell makes another choice. Instead of mourning her loss, she celebrates what she calls her "little leg."
"It's an event that is, honestly, it's more than my birthday because this is truly my Alive Day," Stockwell said.
Now, Stockwell shares her story with others, like the folks at Mary Free Bed on Wednesday, spreading the word about The Power of Choice, which just so happens to be the title of her book.
“I truly hope none of you ever encounter a true roadside bomb, but there's metaphoric roadside bombs all around us," Stockwell said. "COVID was one of them, you know, loss of a loved one, divorcing. You can't often control. But what I've learned is that we all have the power to get through them. You can choose to wake up every morning and you can choose to find the good because, I promise you, there is some good.”