Ben Maenza, 24, from Brentwood, Tenn. has biked from St. Augustine, Fla., to San Diego, raced in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and plans to race in the Music City Marathon next month. The difference between Maenza and most other racers is that he does it with no legs.
Maenza had been in Afghanistan for 28-days in October 2010 working as a combat engineer in the Marine Corps when a horrific explosion from an improvised explosive device (IED) resulted in the loss of both of his legs.
“We were supposed to look for a body that was supposedly digging in an area that was a known site for IED’s,” Maenza explained. “Everything was regular, a regular patrol.”
Maenza and his team went on patrol and secured the area when they came upon a riverbed they needed to cross. The area was a flooded cornfield, and the ground density caused the medal detectors not to work.
“I got a really bad feeling about this,” Maenza said. “Just on the way that it was, it was like that was the way they wanted us to go. We went to look for another way. We found something, but the Sergeant was very persistent. He said ‘we’re going to cross where I want to cross.’”
Maenza jumped into the river and led the team down the river towards where the body was. Four days prior, Maenza was involved in another explosion in the same area that claimed one life and wounded two others.
The squad didn’t find what they were looking for and decided to walk back.
“I got the Sergeant across the river, and while I’m standing there the Lance Corporal had fallen behind,” said Maenza. “When he came to catch up with me, he stepped off my track and stepped on the pressure plate which blew up the IED I was standing on.”
Maenza remembers waking up seconds later lying on his back.
“I couldn’t feel my feet,” said Maenza. “I opened my eyes and I said The Lord’s Prayer. That was the first thing I did.”
In the blast, Maenza lost both his legs and suffered deep gashes, burns and nerve damage to his arms. He also suffered nasal and skull fractures.
Maenza would be medically evacuated in a helicopter. “The last thing I remember is that some British guy put a mask over my face telling me that I’m going to be really drowsy. I fell asleep and that’s when I died,” Maenza said.
Maenza was resuscitated in the helicopter and later woke up in a medical facility. He was later transferred to a military hospital in Germany, where he began his recovery – but emotional challenges were starting to mount.
“I’ve had times where my spirituality hasn’t been upbeat. The first 6-months were probably the most trying,” Maenza said. “Just trying to wrap my brain around what happened and what life was going to be like. “
After reading The Shack and How High Can You Bounce, Maenza turned his mentality and life around.
“Instead of trying to figure out why it happened, I started to think about what I was going to do about it,” said Maenza. “I started doing stuff. I started taking classes and participated in sports. I started working out harder, walking and doing stuff like that. Instead of just sitting there and pout about it, I just moved on.”
Maenza doesn’t take any credit for his recovery. He gives all the glory to God.
“My spirituality has been a big part of it. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without God,” Maenza said. “He has never left me hanging. I wouldn’t be here today.”
Maenza is now in his second-semester at Lipscomb University. He plans on finishing his degree and is currently preparing to race in the Music City Marathon.
Video by Kelly Dean and Monaih Sam