inMotion Magazine

Living Well 35 “I was 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds and dropped down to 98 pounds in the hospital,” Doudt says. “Had compound fractures in my tibia and fibula in both legs. The infections in my body were literally sucking the life out of me. The decision was made, and it was night and day. Honestly, I had been in a lot of pain. There was a lot of pain trying to get the bone to grow back together. There were several millimeters of bone that were completely gone. We did the amputation and I started getting better right away.” There was no time to wallow in self‑pity. “I think Special Ops just has a different mindset,” he says. “For me, this was just another challenge, if that’s the right word. It was another obstacle to overcome, and I just did it. I just went a totally different road, different career, and got involved with disabled sports.” Doudt played wheelchair basketball for 10 years, got involved with the sitting volleyball national team and competed in the Paralympics. Along the way, he met his wife and they have three children: Matthew, 29, who is in the Navy; Casey, 23; and Jason, 16. They also have three grandchildren. “When I first got hurt, the prosthetics they had were pretty rudimentary,” he says. “The equipment really started to explode and get better around 2008. Guys were getting injured in the war, and companies needed to step it up. Me, I spent six to eight months in the hospital. Now, these guys can get new equipment, daily rehab and they can get up and walk out of the hospital.” But it takes more than good prosthetics to get on with life. It’s easy to fall into a funk if you don’t have the right attitude. Doudt says: “My job now is I want to help some of these new guys out. Twenty-five years ago, I didn’t have the guidance. Had to figure this out because the system wasn’t ready. If you don’t know who to ask, it’s easy to get frustrated, and that leads to other issues like depression and anger.” Doudt’s role as a mentor is why he plays such an important part of the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. “He’s been a great addition to the crew because he is such a role model in the wheelchair basketball community,” says Dave Tostenrude, director of the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. “We brought him on to provide great competition, but to also help with the education and links our veterans need when they go home.” The Games are co-sponsored by VA and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. “We’re just the launching pad to the other 51 weeks out of the year,” Tostenrude adds. “We know people who get involved and come here are more engaged with work and school, and they spend less time in the hospital the more they are involved in adaptive sports. “We can say that, but when Steve says it, he’s a peer. They see what he’s done in his life and in his career, and he’s a role model. He’s been successful. He’s living the life. There’s much more credit in it when he says it.” Doudt’s advice to his fellow veterans is simple: Get moving. “What I tell people is, ‘Get yourself around like-minded people, whether it’s a support group or some other organization like Paralyzed Veterans of America or Disabled American Veterans, ” he says. “If you get around someone with similar disabilities, they can help you through the process. Come at it with the best attitude and not laying down. Some guys will struggle and struggle, but that all changes when you get out and get active.”