Billy Costello has some advice for Lashawn Williams, the Northeast High School defensive lineman who needed his right leg amputated after a freak injury during a game last week
“The biggest thing for him is to surround himself with people who have been successful after an amputation,” says Costello, who has an intimate knowledge of the subject.
On Sept. 20, 2011, Army Staff Sgt. Billy Costello stepped on an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
Like Williams, Costello had his right leg amputated above the knee.
But unlike Williams, Costello has had a chance to adjust to his new reality.
And not only adjust, but thrive.
Since the IED exploded and his leg came off, Costello has climbed mountains, returned to scuba diving and is in the process of designing his own prosthetic leg that will allow him to do what he did as an Army Green Beret combat diver — operate on land and in the water.
Costello, who medically retired in March as a sergeant first class, has never met Williams. Taking a few minutes before his astronomy class at the University of North Carolina, where he is studying film and psychology, Costello says he wants to pass along the wisdom of someone who knows better than most about where the road ahead may lead.
“That’s a tough situation,” says Costello when I tell him about what happened to Williams, who just turned 18 last week. “It’s a whole new set of circumstances. Right now he is thinking about the permanence of his situation, how young he is, all the doors that have just shut for him. He is going to worry about the relationships that he is never going to form. The accomplishments not made.”
And that, says Costello, is why it is so important for Williams to get to know folks who have had to deal with losing a limb.
Since the injury, Williams has seen an outpouring of support, including from Steve Chamberland, an amputee who founded the 50 Legs Foundation charity.
The foundation, according to my colleague Anastasia Dawson’s very fine story, has donated the “best prosthetic money can buy” to Williams — a $35,000 state-of-the-art leg. Chamberland is paying for Williams to spend three weeks at his Orlando facility being fitted for the prosthetic and having physical therapy to learn to walk on his new leg. Williams’ head coach, Jeremy Frioud, also has arranged for a well-known trainer with the Axis Foundation, former Navy SEAL Raphael Ruiz, to give Williams free strength and conditioning coaching for life, and the door in his apartment will be widened to make it wheelchair accessible.
But the attention, says Costello, who has been the guy in the hospital bed on the receiving end, eventually subsides.
As someone who has been there, done that, Costello says Williams needs to set goals for the future as soon as possible and capitalize on the attention he is receiving right now.
“One of the things I knew early on was that while I got a lot of attention up front, it was not going to last forever,” says Costello. “So taking advantage of the opportunities afforded him now is important.”
With Williams receiving support of Bucs’ players, Costello says he should figure out what he wants to do and “not be afraid to let people know he wants to be part of that community. He can’t think that he can’t do stuff. He needs to find a way to fit in and find a means do to it.”
In general, says Costello, “things will be all right. It is not as dire as it seems.”
Still, Williams might be in for a tougher transition, says Costello. Though both lost their right leg, Costello says that as a soldier, he was more mindful of the eventuality.
“I was in a dangerous profession,” says Costello. “I knew that I accepted full and well the hazards of my profession. I knew the possibilities of bad things happening, and I was mentally prepared for something like this.”
Costello says he would like to meet Williams and show him that a bright future awaits. When given Costello’s email to pass along to Williams, coach Frioud, who is acting as a spokesman for the family, says such a visit “would be amazing.”
For Costello, a huge turning point was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with the Combat Wounded Veterans Challenge. It is an experience that he says he would like to share with Williams.
“Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was the first success I had after my amputation,” says Costello. “It made all the difference. I didn’t know if I was going to make it. I didn’t know if my leg would hold up. I didn’t know if I was still capable of doing that, but I had to prove to myself I was able to do it.”
It was an accomplishment, says Costello, “that gave me something to be proud of. It restored a little bit of the prestige I felt I lost from falling off the Special Forces team. And yes, hitting a major milestone like that will help decide how quick and how strong a recovery happens.”
Both Costello and David Olson, a retired Navy captain who founded the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge, would like Williams to join them in their activities.
Aside from climbing mountains and training for the climbs, the organization has a two-week scuba trip in the summer to Key West. It is a chance for amputees to both test out prosthetic devices and help restore the coral population.
When I tell coach Frioud about the invitation, he says that Williams won’t scuba and probably won’t even snorkel.
But Olson has a message for Williams.
“You don’t have to go near the water,” says Olson. “You can live with the guys in the house. If you want to swim, fine. If you want to rehab, that’s good too.”
Having spent time with Olson’s crew in Key West, I have seen for myself the value in the wounded and injured gathering together like that.
No one but them really knows what it’s like. And, as mission-oriented folks, being part of a team trying to accomplish something has great healing power.
Though the trips have catered to veterans, Olson says any amputees are welcome.
“Anyone who needs help, that is the inspirational part of our program,” says Olson. “It doesn’t matter how you lost the limb. If we don’t help, then we don’t belong in this business.”
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Things are going well for Olson’s outfit.
The team is training for a new climb, this time Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. The 30-day climb kicks off in February, Olson says.
And there is success on the water as well.
“We have a big deal in Galveston,” he says. “We have crews taking part in the Paralympics sailing trials. We have crews of three, who are paralyzed, missing limbs, have post-traumatic stress disorder. They never stepped on a boat before, but they keep winning.”
The Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge is also working on a big fundraiser next year.
Retired Adm. William McRaven, former head of U.S. Special Operations Command, agreed to be the keynote speaker at the event, scheduled for Oct. 2, 2015.
But there is another big-name guest the group is trying to attract.
And Costello, who puts together videos for the organization, is playing a big role, says Olson.
“He is working on a video invitation to President George W. Bush,” Olson says. “During our Alaska climbing trip, each of the guys had a line to say. It was a unique way where the president just can’t say no.”
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The Pentagon announced a death in support of Operation Enduring Freedom last week.
Cmdr. Christopher E. Kalafut, 49, of Oceanside, California, died Oct. 24, in Doha, Qatar, of a non-combat related incident at Al Udeid Air Base. The incident is under investigation. He was assigned to Naval Amphibious Liaison Element, Combined Forces Air Component Center, U.S. Central Command.
There have now been 2,340 U.S. troops deaths in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation’s longest war. And two in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the nation’s newest conflict.