Don't call Bradley Walker disabled.
"I don't see myself as disabled. Disabled is a state of mind and that limits you if you see yourself that way," said the former Marine from East Tennessee who lost both legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq back in 2006.
"The only limits you have are those that you impose on yourself," said Walker.
He is one of more than 400 American troops who have lost more than one limb in the most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Walker spent close to two years in physical therapy on the campus of Walter Reed military hospital outside Washington, D.C.
"You don't know where things are going but you see all these other guys and you are like 'hey, I'll get there one day' and you just keep on progressing," said Walker sitting on a park bench in Fountain City Park.
More than five years after that bomb blast stole his legs, Walker has ditched the crutches he once used to get around and now walks only with a small hitch. He says if anyone notices, they typically guess he has a sore ankle.
"I've had people shocked when I pull my pant legs up," said Walker. The prosthetic on his right leg runs off a battery that can last up to five days and a microprocessor that helps him negotiate hills. His left leg is built to help him pivot on his feet.
"Improvise, adapt, and overcome," said Walker about his adjustment to the prosthetics, echoing the unofficial slogan among Marines. His Facebook pictures of him playing volleyball, skiing, and skydiving serve to back up his confident words.
Walker is now looking for the next step in his life. In addition to volunteering in a "Big Brother" program and serving as an advocate for troops wounded in combat as an officer in the local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Walker says he is exploring his options.
"I know I am still here for a reason and I'm just trying to figure out what that reason is," said Walker.