Mason Poe has been through hell and back and lived to talk about it.
He served nine years in the Marines and was deployed to Iraq in January 2004. Four months later, an improvised explosive device (IED) changed his life forever. He was resuscitated three times, in a coma for 31 days, bedridden in a hospital for nearly four months, and confined to a wheelchair for almost two years.
Mason endured 34 surgeries on every major part of his body except his right arm. His right leg was amputated below the knee in 2010 after six years of attempts to salvage the limb.
If all that didn’t stop Mason, nothing will.
“I’ve known about Race Across America (RAAM) for two years, and I’ve been burning with desire to participate,” says Mason.
The Wounded Warrior Project® RAAM team is a determined group, and he is proud to be a part of it. Mason feels cycling has greatly impacted his life – calling it, “The only sport I can remotely participate in and a form of meditation in which I was unable to achieve prior to cycling.”
Mason fully expects his WWP team to successfully finish RAAM, and he’ll use two of his favorite quotes to fuel his desire to succeed:
“Lead from the front, back, left, and right” and “Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.”
With all he’s been through, Mason says the only thing that intimidates him is the possibility of getting a blister on his residual limb. Although he laughs when he says that, he also has a message he’s very serious about.
“Through my story, I want people to realize that they should never hesitate to ask for advice from those who have been there and done that,” he says. “Wounded Warrior Project is a great organization that will assist you in every way they can. And if they don’t know how to help, they know someone who does!”
