Army infantryman Tim Senkowski lost both of his legs, most of the muscle in his right arm and buttock among other serious injuries in an I.E.D. blast last October in Afghanistan. On patrol, a good friend, who was a few feet away, stepped on the bomb. It was a fatal mistake and one that would forever change Tim’s life.

The last time I interviewed Tim, I remember this one moment so vividly. He ran his finger over the skin just below his right eye and told me about a nail that ripped through his skin in that very spot. It was inches away from taking yet one more thing away from him when the bomb detonated.

Tim has two young boys with his wife. He missed his 1-year-old son’s first steps, and as he learns how to strengthen his stride with prosthetics, his son will slowly begin to lose that toddler wobble. It’s a parallel that was at first, very sad, yet it has become something else completely. Despite his loss and despite the daily pain, Tim hasn’t given up. He is a fighter who is determined to keep a smile on his face, and he is planning for his future because HE LIVED.

At a recent fundraiser for the family, with their buddy ‘Chaps’ at the helm, I saw something great and heard something even better, plenty of laughter. I was introduced to ‘biker games.’ Any thoughts?? Well, just think… the delicious smell of an outdoor barbecue just outside a biker shop with plenty o’ leather inside, a row of bikes in the lot, all lined up, some with their proud papas revving their engines, and some interesting contests involving empty kegs and hot dogs on a string. It was a trip, and it was a lesson learned.