By Kellie Speed
When Army Sgt. Brandon Korona first deployed to Afghanistan in January 2013 with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, they were on a route clearance in search of IEDs. Their company was divided into two route clearance packages when he was hit by an IED on June 23, 2013.
Korona nearly broke every bone below his left knee. After spending two years at Walter Reed Hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries in an attempt to reconstruct his heel, he continued to be in a lot of pain.
After four years of continuous pain and being unable to do the things he had done prior to his injury, Korona made the difficult decision to have his left leg amputated.
“They tried to put my leg back together, but it didn’t work, and my ankle never healed,” he said. “The catalyst was an ankle fusion as a last-ditch effort, but the quality of life just wasn’t there. When I got out of the Army, I made the decision to have it amputated. I was at a point where my life was kind of stagnant. I was in pain; I couldn’t walk around the mall with my wife, as it was hindering me greatly,” Korona concluded.
He was presented with the opportunity to undergo an experimental surgical procedure called the Ewing Amputation. “I made the decision to undergo the experimental amputation,” he said. “I was the second person to have it done and the first one in the military. It has now spread throughout different military hospitals.”
When Dr. Matt Carty of Brigham & Women’s Hospital initially discussed it, it sounded almost too good to be true. “They said I would be able to feel sensations and there would be no phantom pain,” Korona said. “What’s the catch? You have to get your leg cut off, but I decided to have the surgery in April and by August, I was up and walking.”
He continues, “Barring minor issues with my skin, I have been up and moving without pain since 2017. I was stuck prior to having the amputation. It bogged me down big time. Now, I never let anything stop me. I live my life like I don’t have a limitation.”
In September 2021, Korona became the recipient of a new home from Homes for Our Troops. “After I got out of the Army, we lived in a house that had a lot of stairs, and it was very difficult for me to get around on crutches,” he said. “This house allows me to be in a wheelchair, so I am able to function and it takes away my limitations. I use my wheelchair every night.
Korona continues, “It’s incredible to be not stuck in a prosthetic all day. I can do everything with a leg, but now in a wheelchair. To have been given an opportunity to have a mortgage-free home allows me to be able to pursue other things and I don’t have the financial limitations either.”
Originally from Massachusetts, Korona now lives with his wife and two sons in New Hampshire. “I have PTSD and am an amputee, but I don’t let it get in my way more than it should,” he said.
From receiving his MBA and becoming a senior subcontracts administrator to running 5Ks and 10Ks and playing on the Wounded Warrior football team, being medically retired hasn’t stopped Korona from achieving his dreams.
“I don’t look at myself as someone who has a disability,” he said. “I look at myself just like everyone else.” Read more Veteran inspirational stories here.
