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thedrifter
05-03-03, 10:21 AM
Marine with amputated leg sets goal of running marathon
5/1/2003 10:02 PM
By: Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO -- A Marine who lost part of his right leg and broke his left one in Iraq wants to run the Corps Marathon again.

Staff Sergeant Eric Alva spoke Thursday with reporters at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

On March 21, Alva stepped on a land mine.

The 32-year-old San Antonio native no longer has his right leg from above the knee down, and he has a fracture in his other leg.

Alva has a broken right arm and he can't move his right hand because of nerve damage.

He also has pieces of shrapnel embedded in that arm and his left leg.

Alva has had seven surgeries to date, with more pending.

He spends his days in physical therapy, doing a lot of stretching to keep his muscles limber as he waits to be fitted for a prosthesis.

Alva's goals are to be able to walk by the end of the summer, and sometime after that, to finish the Marine Corps Marathon for a fifth time.


Copyright 2003 Associated Press,



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