Veteran Anthony ‘ATrain’ Smith overcame life changing obstacles with help of the Challenged Athletes Foundation

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – While Anthony “ATrain” Smith was serving in Iraq, a  rocket propelled grenade went through his body during a firefight.

At first, Smith was listed as missing in action because they couldn’t find him. Since he was listed as missing in action, Smith’s files were sent to the front.

Miraculously, Smith was found underneath a dead soldier. He was pulled out, only to be put in a body bag and labeled killed in action. A nurse later opened the body bag to get his dog tags, saw bubbles by his trach and realized he was still alive.

Smith was in a coma for over 60 days and when he woke up he realized he was missing part of one arm, he was blind in one eye, he was missing part of his skull and his hip had been destroyed by the RPG.

At one point during the recovery process, things got so bad that Smith weighed over 300 pounds, lived in a motorized wheelchair, and was smoking three packs of cigarettes a day.

This is when “ATrain” met Nico Marcolongo from the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Marcolongo runs the CAF’s Operation Rebound program for injured troops and first responders.

CAF got him on a bike and he has since rode 450 miles down the coast of California and has done numerous bike rides and triathlons. Smith’s first love is martial arts, and not only is he competing, he has opened up martial arts studios for at risk kids.

Anthony Smith’s profile from the Challenged Athletes Foundation is below: