Gary Sinise Foundation Helps Veteran Who Lost His Leg by Building Adaptive Home

Gary Sinise is the gift that keeps on giving. Even during a time when the world is full of unknowns, Sinise and his foundation have continued their life-changing efforts in supporting veterans and their families. Most recently, the Gary Sinise Foundation has turned its attention to Staff Sgt. Rico Roman, a veteran who experienced the unthinkable while deployed overseas.
Roman was deployed four times between 2001-2007, but his time with the U.S. Army left him forever changed. During his deployment to Iraq in 2007, an IED hit his team’s Humvee. At that moment, Roman had a terrifying realization.
“I’m not walking out of this,” he thought.
The following three months of Roman’s life were spent in the hospital, undergoing multiple surgical procedures on his legs. The surgeries left him in agonizing pain, and ultimately, Roman decided to have his left leg amputated.
Finally free of the pain that held him back, Roman began to live his life to the fullest again. He played adaptive sports, winning a Paralympic medal and joining the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.
Though Roman was able to engage in adaptive sports, daily activities within his home were a challenge. His home wasn’t built for someone with a prosthetic leg, and Roman had to find ways to do daily tasks that we take for granted. Fortunately, the Gary Sinise Foundation stepped in, utilizing their R.I.S.E. program which creates smart homes with adaptations for wounded veterans. Best of all, those houses are provided to veterans who need them 100% mortgage-free.
“The Gary Sinise Foundation is honored to provide this deserving hero and his family a specially adapted smart home to ease their daily burdens,” the Foundation said.
Rico Roman now has one less enormous challenge to worry about in his daily life, and it’s all thanks to Sinise’s incredible foundation.