limbs... and I looked at myself and I just really thought I 'm one of the lucky ones and I kind of made a decision then that I was going to live my life for those who could n't. Stockwell learned to walk with her new leg and become independent, but she knew she would n't feel like herself until she got back into sports. Luckily there are organizations out there that really grab the wounded veterans from their hospital rooms and get them out doing things that they may not have ever done with two legs, she says. Four months after her injury, she went skiing in Colorado. The experience gave her an incredible feeling of freedom and opened up a world of new possibilities. After spending a year at Walter Reed, the Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient medically retired from the Army. Stockwell went back to school for a new career in prosthetics at Century College in Minnesota. Basically you fit amputees with artificial limbs, she says. I did n't know the field existed until I needed a leg, but then I thought, Well that's pretty cool. After moving to Minnesota, she joined her first competitive swim team. A presentation about the Paralympics inspired her to fight for her country on a new battlefield. I dreamed of going to the Olympics when I was younger, she says. And now it was almost like I had a second chance. So I decided to try in the sport of swimming. It was easy for me to