Tulsa World: She's a soldier on a mission

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She's a soldier on a mission

Oklahoma Army National Guard Spc. Kisha Makerney, who lost part of her leg in a motorcycle crash, holds her "Cheetah" artificial limb that she runs with. She is on leave from Iraq, where she trains Iraqis to become correctional officers. Courtesy

By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
Published: 7/6/2008 2:30 AM
Last Modified: 7/6/2008 3:01 AM

Kisha Makerney wouldn't allow an accident to halt her career

Most soldiers test their heroism and patriotism in the field of battle.

Then there a few standouts like Oklahoma Army National Guard Spc. Kisha Makerney, who tested her commitment to God and country after losing part of her left leg in a motorcycle accident.

The 23-year-old Makerney had dreamed of a career in the military since she was 9, and when she turned 17 she joined the Oklahoma National Guard.

Between 2004 and 2005, she served in Iraq as a gunner and helped provide battalion security while attached with the Okmulgee-based 120th Engineers of the state National Guard.

On June 24, 2005, just a few months after her return from Iraq, Makerney was riding a motorcycle on U.S. 70 near her hometown of Fort Towson when the front tire blew out, sending the bike careening across the highway.

Makerney was hurled against a highway sign, which severed her left leg below the knee, and sent her rolling into a drainage ditch.

She remembers looking up at her mangled motorcycle, which she had just bought the month before, and getting mad because it was wrecked.

Then she looked down and saw that her lower leg was missing.

In a flash, her first thought was that her military career had ended.

In great pain, Makerney dragged herself out of the ditch and managed to flag down a passing motorist. She was taken to a hospital at nearby Hugo, before being flown to a hospital

in Dallas.

Makerney joined the Guard in 2002 out of a sense of patriotism, because "I love our country and our people."

It was in the military that she discovered that her fellow troops also became some of her best friends, her second family.

As soon as word spread about her accident, those dear friends, that second family of hers, rallied and rushed to her bedside.

"Even before I was out of surgery they were waiting in the halls," Makerney said.

It was during her recovery that Makerney gave thought to somehow staying in the military.

Her family had always told her as a child that she could be anything she desired, and she used their counsel to push for a military career.

Now she was facing that same counseling in her desire to remain in the Army.

That's when her Army buddies came to the rescue. They researched and discovered that Makerney, fitted with the proper artificial limb, could still pursue an active military career.

While in the hospital for two weeks, she was fitted with an artificial leg and was soon walking.

It couldn't have come at a better time, she said, "because my company was going to receive its honors" for serving in Iraq, "and I wanted to be there for that."

She walked up to receive her individual honor, aided by a crutch, which she no longer uses.

She said everyone in the military encouraged her to continue her career, despite the loss of her limb.

Makerney passed the military's physical evaluation and is now certified for any sort of duty, even combat.

Besides being able to walk on an artificial leg, Makerney can also run with a "Cheetah," a special blade that fits to the end of her leg.

Being mobile again, she volunteered to return to Iraq this year when 2,600 Oklahoma Army National Guard troops were called up for duty there.

While in Baghdad, Makerney has been training Iraqis to become correctional officers. She is joined by her brother, Spc. Tommy Makerney, who is a cavalry scout for the Oklahoma Guard.

Makerney is home on leave now in her native Choctaw County, but she plans to return to Iraq on Thursday.

Beyond the advice she received from her family, Makerney said her faith, her belief in God, is what got her through her ordeal.

"I wanted to give up a million times," she said, but each time she reached out to God.

The loss of her leg offered one drawback. She said she can never be an officer. A sergeant would be the highest she could go in the military, and she's driving toward getting that rank.

Makerney also has another goal in mind beyond the military.

She said she wants to be a professional firefighter and plans to attend Oklahoma State University to earn a college degree in that field.

She's already done her homework.

"There are a lot of firefighters out there with missing limbs," she said.

Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment chase, (7/6/2008 7:42:49 AM) chase. you go girl, we are very proud of you and all our soldiers.thank you.for keeping us safe.
	Report Comment Jester1969, (7/6/2008 9:50:33 AM) Please explain how this is a "puff piece"? She is a member of the Oklahoma Guard and is therefore a citizen of this State. I know that you would probably prefer only negative stories about our military based on previous posts that you have done, but this is what is called a special interest piece. It speaks of the strength of this individual, the advances that have been made in prosthesis and that a loss of a limb does not have to end ones dreams or career.
	Report Comment Ranch Hand, (7/6/2008 5:01:25 PM) That military you hate guarantees your right to make idiotic statements.
	Report Comment tfromtulsa, (7/6/2008 6:57:41 PM) Wow! Thank you for your service, Miss Makerney. You are unstoppable! People like you explain why the U.S. military is the finest in the world. I'm sure you will be successful at anything you do!
	Report Comment RockBoston, (7/7/2008 5:41:04 PM) As a fellow service memember I say thanks Miss Makerney...Don't let those that support terrisom rain on your parade. I was a marine so Semper Fidelis..... Seymour Didn't your mother tell you if you haven't anything nice to say don't say anything at all.??? Your unamerican dude.
	Report Comment WHAT???, (7/7/2008 7:34:43 PM) Ok. I have had it with everyone being negative on all of this war stuff. 1. I do not believe that we are there doing what we should be doing. Where is Osama anyway? 2. I am a decedent of MANY veterans and I only have one thing to say, thank you for serving. 3. Until the promise of equal rights and democracy in this country are upheld I do not see this as being for MY rights this is a Bush family vendetta. So keep in mind we need to make democracy work here at home before we try to make other countries follow rules we do not follow.
	Report Comment Tony G, (7/8/2008 7:34:24 AM) I wish this girl the best in the world, although I wish she would use her drive in a more positive manner. I am against the invasion of Iraq, and believe George Bush should be impeached for it.
	Report Comment Aussie_Chic, (7/16/2008 7:30:14 AM) I'm curious...When did we lose the ability to read such an inspiring story and see it for just that?? This story is further proof of what the human spirit can overcome with love, support and a healthy dose of tenacity. Kisha is nothing short of remarkable. If only we all had this much courage of conviction, drive and patriotism. maybe the world would be a better place. Congratulatiuons Kisha, you're truly amazing and I wish you the best of luck.
	Report Comment solo, West Sacramento (7/16/2008 8:55:42 AM) For the clueless Seymour...For those who have fought for it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know. Thank you for your service Kisha. You are truly an inspiration to all of us. Semper Fi from an old warrior.
	Report Comment golfballtx, (7/22/2008 10:26:42 AM) Seymore, you probably feel threatened less by Osama...of course I bet about 3000 people in WTC felt the same. Liberals are just as big an enemy to the US as Al Queda and radical Islam. All want to eliminate the things that have made our country the greatest on the earth. It's time we start questioning the patriotism of liberals....they are the enemy as surely as Osama Bin Laden...they just have a different way of hiding.
	Report Comment golfballtx, (7/22/2008 12:52:44 PM) It's not the words you speak that are dangerous; it's the fact that liberals NEVER put their countrymen first.....EVER!!! Tommy Chong and Martha Stewart broke the law!!!!! But liberals don't see it that way....because it was just a little weed...hmmm, why do you now hold up MS as a cause celeb...isn't she one of the evil rich you people hate with such vitriol? You should be thanking God that a democrat is not in the White House....or else your words "Bin Laden determined to strike in US" would have come true SINCE 9/11....and we would have gotten on our wobbly liberal knees to beg forgiveness! It's about time we recognize the enemies in our midst.....liberals!!! Yes, I didn't choose the word enemies lightly. I'm tired of hearing Rush, Sean, Mark Levin, and countless Republican talking heads preface their criticism of liberal ideas by saying "I'm not questioning their patriotism....." The time has come where WE MUST QUESTION THEIR PATRIOTISM! Webster's defines patriotism as "love for or devotion to one's country". This isn't a complete definition in my book. Patriotism also means putting country BEFORE party...something completely antithetical to the strictures of the democrat party. You MUST toe the party line in ALL things or else.....ask Joe Lieberman about that!! Patriotism means putting your country before OTHER countries. Obviously, the support of the Kyoto protocols and liberal propaganda about global warming are espousing the opposite. I know we all have to live on this earth and I'm lucky enough to live in the US, but when liberals tout laws, policy, and rulings that are against the interests of the US and it's citizens, they are NOT PATRIOTS! Patriotism means that you stand on the side of your countrymen....and liberals WILL NOT DO THAT....because they have only one goal....POWER AND CONTROL OVER YOU! And they will lie (global warming), cheat (do anything to advance the cause of liberalism) or steal (largest tax increase in decades on the way) to get it!! Shame on everyone who doesn't "question their patriotism"...it's time we start!!
	Report Comment golfballtx, (7/22/2008 5:25:34 PM) Right out of the talking points. Wow....
	Report Comment SGTSCRT, (7/23/2008 9:28:35 AM) Gentlemen, Come on, please. This article isn't about foreign policy. It's not about liberals versus conservatives. It's simply about an inspiring soldier who under dire circumstances persevered and is continuing to do what she loves. She didn't make policy decisions for President Bush...She's not killing Iraqi's on your tax dollars. She's helping a growing country to become self-reliant so that American soldiers can go home. Simply put, please take your back and forth garbage to the privacy of your email. Please, please, please quit the back and forth bickering! Tony G---I wish this girl the best in the world, although I wish she would use her drive in a more positive manner. I am against the invasion of Iraq, and believe George Bush should be impeached for it. SPC Makerney is using her drive in a positive manner. She and all troops in Iraq (including myself) are making a POSITIVE difference in this country. What we're doing now has ramifications for the future. This article has nothing to do with you being for or against the invasion or for your calling for the impeachment of our president. It's simply about a women who persevered. Let's celebrate that, instead of basically berating her for her service.

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