I-Ward 57 Walter Reed Amputees - "The War After the War" - Anne Hull

I-Ward 57 Walter Reed Amputees - "The War After the War" - Anne Hull - Washington Post

Soldiers' Battle Shifts From Desert Sands to Hospital Linoleum

Byline: Anne Hull, Tamara Jones; 2003-07-20; The Washington Post; pages A1

Report: Inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center 2003, 2007 - Salon, The Washington Post

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Article via Washington Post website

On TV, the war was a rout, with infrared tanks rolling toward Baghdad on a desert soundstage. But the permanent realities unfold more quietly on Georgia Avenue NW, behind the black iron gates of the nation's largest military hospital.Here, the battle shifts from hot sand to polished hallways, and the broad ambitions of global security are replaced by the singular mission of saving a leg. Ward 57, the hospital's orthopedics wing, is the busiest. High-tech body armor spared lives but not necessarily limbs.

Description:This lengthy article is the first of a set of two articles about amputees at Walter Reed focused on Ward 57, Walter Reed's orthopedics wing, where amputees struggle to adapt to their injuries and move on with life.

Rights: Access to online material.