KRT: Soldier recovers after losing leg in Iraq blast

By Lauren Markoe

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - In Baghdad, his heart stopped twice.

Despite arriving in Washington unconscious, hooked up to a respirator, paralyzed on his left side and with his right leg amputated, he walks today.

It is a hesitant walk - only a few unsteady steps at a time - but Spc. Ramon Guitard, 22, knows that in time it will be a confident walk.

He also knows that it is no longer preposterous to plan for the day he leaves Walter Reed Army Medical Center, his home for the past 10 months.

Guitard will move to Columbia, where he and his wife want to raise their two daughters close to his family in Andrews and hers in Salters.

He can see himself at the University of South Carolina, getting his credentials and teaching middle school. He also wants to counsel soldiers. He has a message to share about seizing the future when someone has tried his best to take it away from you.

His discharge, he hopes, will come in the first few months of next year.

Semper Fi