Procter & Gamble launched its Tokyo Olympic Games campaign with two moving short films depicting the beauty of motherhood and being the good in the world. The organization then announced the recipients of their Athletes for Good fund, with one extraordinary Army veteran and Paralympian among them.
United States Army combat veteran Melissa Stockwell was the first female service member to lose a limb in combat. It didn’t slow her down — rather, fueled her to go even harder. “I lost my leg while serving over in Iraq in 2004 from a roadside bomb. So, I was suddenly 24 years old trying to navigate life with one leg,” she explained. Seeing fellow service members around her with what she considered bigger losses and traumas, she decided to count her blessings.
“I really realized how lucky I was and it helped me accept the loss of my leg and move on…that decision helped propel me into a life I could have never imagined otherwise,” Stockwell said.
Move on she did. Stockwell not only pushed through healing and reintegrating into her new life, but then decided to try out for the Paralympics on top of it. Her reasoning? Why not. She learned about the Paralympics after losing her leg and decided she wasn’t going to let her loss stop her from doing anything.
“What greater honor than putting on a USA uniform and representing our country that I had defended in Iraq on the world’s biggest stage,” she explained. “You fast forward a whole bunch of years and I am now a two-time Paralympian going for my third.”
