On July 22, 2010, Rob Jones was a combat engineer in the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. While on patrol, Jones stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). It blew off his legs and sent him flying. When medical help arrived, Jones begged the attending doctor to kill him because he feared he would be permanently wheelchair-bound and unable to care for himself again.
The attending doctor obviously did not follow Jones’s request. And, ultimately, Jones’s worst fear did not occur.
As documented in his deeply moving autobiography, “Put Your Legs On,” Jones used his Marine Corps-infused determination and his own can-do spirit to forge a new life as a Paralympics medalist, bicyclist, and marathoner.
Building a Future
Jones goes into extraordinary depth in recounting his path to recovery and the reinvention of his life. He details the initial stages of his hospitalization, first at a military base in Germany and then at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. While drifting in and out of medicated sleep, he learned that his legs were amputated above the knee.During this period, Jones refused to fall victim to self-pity and anguish. He kept his sense of humor. Jones donned a pirate hat while in his hospital bed so his visitors could enjoy a laugh. He would later playfully quiz a nurse on why the medical professionals never came up with a more aesthetically-pleasing word to describe amputated legs than “stumps.”
A Champion’s Training
Going from an IED-damaged double amputee to a world-class athlete in a two-year period could have seemed quixotic, but not to Jones. He was transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, and underwent the rigorous physical therapy required to regain the strength he lost in the explosion.
Jones’s first attempt at walking on prosthetic legs was an uneasy stroll lasting a mere two minutes. He is frank and blunt in highlighting the difficulties he experienced with his prosthetics, particularly regarding the bruising, irritation, pimples, and heat they created.
But by November 2010, he was able to travel to Las Vegas, put on his uniform, and delight his fellow warriors by walking into the Marine Corps Ball.
The title “Put Your Legs On” has double meaning to Jones, as both the ritual to begin each day of his post-injury life and to steel himself for challenges that he set for himself.
After retiring from the Marines in 2011, his Paralympics quest became a dizzying example of goal chasing. He appointed himself to rowing, where his upper body strength could be channeled most efficiently.
Jones teamed with Oksana Masters in mixed double sculls. He was part of the U.S. team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where he won the bronze medal.
Achieving New Goals
“Put Your Legs On” goes further into celebrating Jones’s growing prominence as an athlete. He gained media attention as a dedicated spokesperson on behalf of wounded veterans. In this role, he raised funds in a highly-publicized cycling tour across the United States. Jones later by completing 31 marathons in a 31-day span.
Throughout his book, Jones finds himself in a toxic imaginary conversation with a phantom known as “Terrorist.” The specter repeatedly attempts to waylay him by throwing seeds of doubt, remorse, and self-pity in his path. But Jones wins every conversation, pushing past the obstacles that “Terrorist” tries to plant ahead of him.
Jones goes into extraordinary depth in telling his story, recalling both profound and benign incidents and conversations that framed his adventures. Sometimes, information could have been edited out, particularly his and Relph’s discussion about which U.S. sitcoms are popular on British television.
Jones ends his book in early 2020 but makes no mention of a rare defeat he encountered that year: his unsuccessful bid for the Republican Party nomination in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. He also never discusses his subsequent work as a motivational speaker.
What Jones puts into the book is an uplifting, soul-stirring tribute to his indefatigable desire of living each day to the fullest. This invigorating work is one of the most life affirming books now in release.
