FALLS CHURCH, Va.- Sometimes a sense of humor and a positive attitude can be the best medicine, especially when you realize there’s no way to make up a story like this. Captain Stefanie Faull’s terrible fall on June 30, 2020 changed her life forever. “I was in physical therapy school and ironically it happened the night before our foot and ankle exam,” she laughed.

It’s no laughing matter how Captain Faull ended up at the Soldier Recovery Unit at Joint Base San Antonio. “I went to the SRU with an elective amputation of my right leg below the knee. It was the result of a freak accident that dislocated my leg and broke a bunch of bones. I had a few surgeries and it didn’t get me back to where I wanted to be in my life.”

Faull said the limb-saving stage he was in for the first few years wasn’t working and he knew he had to make a tough decision. She started calculating potential problems, like going out to dinner? Everyday chores? What about sports, which were extremely important to her? “I had trouble cycling and swimming, and the only thing I could do was row. It was more of a single leg row. In the first two years, however, we covered more than 2 million meters,” she said confidently.

She said her parents were supportive and her mother came to stay with her for a few months to help her. “My mother had to admit, after the amputation, I looked like myself again. I struggled mentally for several years before the amputation. My mother needed to see me as my old self again. It’s such a strange concept, but I always tell people that if you get to a point where you’re seriously thinking about it, it’s probably not an elective amputation for that person. It’s a must.”

She emphasizes that she did not take this decision lightly. Her other big concern was the future of her career as a physical therapist in the military. She made it clear to her support team at SRU and the Center for the Intrepid that she wanted to return to work. “I had an incredible prosthetist at the Center for the Intrepid, John Ferguson. He recently passed but was an incredible support. He was able to help me through physical therapy school, and last August, it was a month of three for me: graduation, graduation, and amputation!”

Faull is returning to work and, in fact, is about to head to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for her next assignment as an Army physical therapist. “I think a lot of people, and especially amputees, think it’s crazy that I want to stay in the military. Well, I think the best place to be as a PT and as an amputee is in the Army – it makes sense to me to be able to treat patients. Sure, having only one and 2/3 of a leg is a bummer, but it doesn’t have to be the end of your life.”

She says she has come to appreciate a patient’s entire day in physical therapy and will focus on treating the whole soldier and not just biomechanics or structural limitations. “As a PT, we see someone for an hour a day for therapy. We don’t get to see them the other 23 hours of the day when they might be suffering, so I can really relate to that now with my situation.”

Grateful for her time in the SRU, Faull says she is doing very well today and wants to be an example of why the SRU is there for every soldier in need. She encourages the adoption of SRU as the best way to succeed. “You get out what you put into it. It’s easy when you feel like you’re withdrawing, but try to find help within the SRU as the staff and cadre are there to help in any way you need. Get your network of social support and be open and honest with them. There are people who will stand by you in the hard times.”

She is proud of her progress and moves forward with a positive attitude and a little humor, looking ahead to how long her Army career will last. “If I’m going to leave the army, I’m going to do it on my own terms, not because my leg won’t cooperate with me.”