{"id":70535,"date":"2019-02-22T17:13:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T17:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/22\/an-ied-took-both-his-legs-but-that-wont-stop-this-vet-from-driving-18-wheelers\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:09:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:09:48","slug":"an-ied-took-both-his-legs-but-that-wont-stop-this-vet-from-driving-18-wheelers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/22\/an-ied-took-both-his-legs-but-that-wont-stop-this-vet-from-driving-18-wheelers\/","title":{"rendered":"An IED took both his legs \u2014 but that won\u2019t stop this vet from driving 18-wheelers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Erin Schaefer has always felt most like himself behind the wheel of a truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve always had what a lot of people say is the trucker\u2019s blood,\u201d he said. \u201cI like to get out and drive and live on the open road. All my life I\u2019ve just loved to drive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He spent a decade in the Army doing just that. Then one IED blast damaged his legs so badly that they had to be amputated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After spending years rehabbing and learning to drive with prosthetics, Schaefer is now close to reaching his long-time goal of getting his commercial driver\u2019s license and becoming a professional truck driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schaefer, 42, was born in South Dakota but raised primarily in Everett, Wash. He joined the Army in 1999 and rose to the rank of sergeant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In April 2010, Schaefer was on a re-supply mission with the 101st Airborne Division during his fourth deployment in Afghanistan. He was riding as a passenger in a semi-truck that was part of a larger convoy. The rear vehicle broke down, forcing the entire convoy to stop and hitch parts from that vehicle onto Schaefer\u2019s truck. He said that after the convoy got going again, his truck went \u201cabout the length of a football field.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then the IED detonated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His initial surgery was conducted at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. He was then flown to Germany, and once coming out of an induced coma, he was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center in Rockville, Md. Finally, Schaefer ended up at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, where he received his first pair of prosthetic legs in July 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schaefer spent a good part of the next decade exercising and working with physical therapists to regain lower-body mobility. He got into hand-cycling and learned how to bowl on his new legs. He came out the other side with good health and spirits \u2014 but getting to that point wasn\u2019t particularly fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI tried to be positive in the beginning,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cI know there were still expectations or goals I wanted to do but wasn\u2019t quite sure how to get back into working. I\u2019ve worked my whole life. Some things worked out, some things didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Schaefer1.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Schaefer1.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Schaefer1.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Schaefer1.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Schaefer1.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sgt. Erin Schaefer spent a decade as an Army truck driver before an IED blast damaged his legs so badly they had to be amputated. Despite that setback, he is close to becoming a professional truck driver. (Photo provided by Erin Schaefer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After medically retiring from the military, he and his family \u2014 which includes his wife and four kids, who now range in age from 17 to 23 \u2014 moved to Portland, Ore. He worked various jobs there, like a volunteer gig taking veterans to doctors\u2019 appointments and a job at an airport. Schaefer even enrolled in community college but found that \u201ccollege wasn\u2019t quite the avenue\u201d for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One day, he saw an ad for the Truck Driving Institute and decided to enroll. Schaefer had to jump through plenty of hoops, including getting a skills performance waiver from the Department of Transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, he\u2019s one test away from earning his commercial driver\u2019s license, or CDL. That\u2019s also currently being held up by a few forms he needs to get signed by his VA doctor. Schaefer described the constant red tape he\u2019s faced as \u201cfrustrating,\u201d but he\u2019s learned to \u201croll with the punches.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve come to try to take it one day at a time, accept what it is, just like in the military,\u201d he said. \u201cDeal with things when they come up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schaefer, who has \u201calways dreamt of doing long-haul, going coast to coast\u201d as a truck driver, wants his story to serve as an inspiration for anyone who may feel broken or useless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want them to know that it may seem daunting and kind of frustrating, but if you have your mind and heart set on a goal don\u2019t give up,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cReach out, keep researching. Accomplish whatever\u2019s in your mind and heart.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Erin Schaefer, an Army veteran and double amputee, is close to achieving his long-time dream of becoming a professional truck 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