Franklin Marine heads to Beijing to compete in Paralympics
WKRN | by Nikki McGee | February 2022 | Link to Article FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) – This week, a local Marine is leaving for Beijing to compete in this year’s Paralympics. Corporal Joseph Woodke will compete as part of the U.S. Men’s Sled Hockey Team. Although he now glides on the ice with ease, it’s the last place he thought he’d be a decade ago. He was on his second deployment to Afghanistan when he was injured in a way that would forever change his life. “I was wounded by an improvised explosive device, an IED,” Woodke said. “When I stepped on the pressure plate, that initiated the blast; it amputated both of my legs above the knee. So I’m a double above-knee amputee.” Woodke would spend the next year and four months at Walter Reed Medical Center. Eventually, the Michigan native was discharged and decided to move to Franklin. That’s where he learned about sled hockey from a friend and eventually went on to join the Nashville Sled Predators.
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