Injured Iraq veteran marking his recovery at Hospital Hill

Ryan Young

Jun. 7, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Bruce Dunlap woke up early Saturday morning to his alarm clock, looked over at his two dogs and decided he was ready this time.

"All right, let's get this done," he remembered thinking.

Dunlap, who was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in late 2006 and later received a Purple Heart, had made something of a triumphant return to the Hospital Hill Run two years ago when he completed the race's half-marathon on a hand-powered racing bike.

On Saturday, the 30-year-old crossed the finish line to the Hospital Hill 5K course on his own two feet -- continuing a remarkable comeback from the blast that nearly killed him.

"I'm just trying to get back to the normalcy of everyday life," Dunlap said after the race Saturday.

One step at a time.

Before he was an Army sergeant, Dunlap had been a runner. He competed in track and cross country at North Kansas City High School and later walked on to the track team at Northwest Missouri State. He also had run competitively at Hospital Hill.

Then the roadside explosion near the Hummer he was riding in south of Baghdad in December 2006 left him with significant injuries to his limbs and an arduous recovery.

Still, after rehabbing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he had found his way back to the Hospital Hill starting line about six months later. Biking that half-marathon then marked a significant accomplishment in his recovery.

But the two years since haven't been easy.

Soon after that 2007 race, Dunlap headed back to Walter Reed to continue his rehabilitation.

Since then, he's undergone one surgery on his right foot and three more on his left elbow -- to remove shrapnel that was pinching a nerve. He's seen the progress of his recovery plateau and frustration set in.

After being released from Walter Reed in January 2008, he was stationed at Fort Leavenworth until medically retiring from the Army on Jan. 27.

"About a year after everything, you start to realize the limitations," he said. "You stop getting better as rapidly, and that's when it really gets hard, I thought. As the days go by, it doesn't get easier; it just gets so much harder."

He remembers feeling especially sore after walking two miles at the Turkey Trail Trot in Parkville in November 2007. Still, he signed up for the 2008 Hospital Hill Run with intentions of walking the hilly course and continuing to test himself.

But when race day came, Dunlap stayed home. He was worried he wouldn't be able to finish the trek. He didn't think he was ready. Looking back, he said, "I kind of chickened out."

And that really bothered him.

"I've never not finished something. It was kind of like, 'What am I doing?' " he said. "I realized how I did get lazy and how I had kind of given up on a lot of things, and ... how I needed to get out of bed and needed to start living life."

Sure, he had his hesitations about Hospital Hill again this year. But when his alarm sounded Saturday morning, Dunlap got out of bed and decided he was ready.

After jogging about half of the first mile Saturday, he said, Dunlap walked the rest of the course. He had crossed paths with old high school and college friends during the morning and met new people along the way.

"Just to kind of be among the running community, just to be a part of the event, I just kind of enjoyed the atmosphere," he said.

He's lifting weights a few times a week now, swimming about four days a week. He's thinking about the future -- maybe he'll return to school for further education, maybe become a special education teacher or a social worker. Most importantly, though, he's staying active.

"This year, I just wanted to bring (my activity) back up," he said, "and stop watching life go by."

On Saturday, Dunlap took five more kilometers worth of steps in that direction.

To reach Ryan Young, sports reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4706 or send e-mail to ryoung@kcstar.com

Newstex ID: 35567650