[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/27/carroll.levi.t1port.jpg caption="Army veteran Chris Levi was wounded in Iraq."]
So much is being said these days about the economy. Who's repsonsible, who's losing what, what should be done to fix it all. But when you meet someone like Chris Levi, a 26 year old Army veteran, everything is quickly put into perspective.
I met Chris at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he has been undergoing treatment for the past year.
Last year, his humvee hit a I.E.D. in Iraq. He lost both legs in the resulting blast. His arm was badly damaged. I wasn't sure what to expect when I met Chris. But I know I didn't expect to meet an incredibly upbeat 26 year old. Chris cracked jokes throughout the entire time we spent with him – moments often not caught on camera. Internally I wondered if Chris has really come to terms with his condition. After talking, I knew that he had. It's just that was Chris. We were there to talk to Chris and his family about life after he was released from Walter Reed. Life at home at his parents house in Long Island. The home would have to be retrofitted to make it handicapped accessible. It would cost at least 100-thousond dollars; money his family didn't have. Chris's worry wasn't for himself, it was for his family, telling me, "I thought I might be a burden on the household. I know my mom and dad, no one in the family would see it that way but that's the way I saw it..."
His sister Kim teared up and said, "my greatest fear was that we're going to bring him to this house where there's stairs up and stairs down and we're going to stick him in back room and he's going to playing video games for the rest of his life and this is a kid who is a proud amazing kid, he doesn't deserve that."
A charity organization called Building Homes for Heroes stepped in and raised the money to help Chris and his family retrofit the home so Chris can live more independentally and as he says, live without being a burden to his family.
Chris walked on his two prosthetic legs and we chatted about his recovery. The fact that he was walking at this stage, and walking so well, was a testatment to his strength. I'm not sure how much that strength was captured in our story... I hope it is here.