Wounded vet gets Gen. Petraeus' support

It's a very big week for the FOX 13 Care Force , and because it's Veterans Day, Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay has taken on the task of helping rebuild and refurbish the homes of several veterans.

First Lieutenant Brian Brennan's home in Riverview required some adapting to his needs. Brennan lost his legs in combat.

His story is remarkable, not because of the injury, but how he began to recover— and how he has moved on into the next phase of his life.

"For me, being a lowly old lieutenant, having a four-star general converse with me and physically train with me is unbelievable. I never thought that I would be able to do this, ever," Brennan said. "It means so much more than I could ever put into words."

The commander of U.S. Central Command, General David Petraeus and Brennan recently stretched together before an early morning run at MacDill Air Force Base.

It's something you don't see everyday, something that just a short time ago would have seemed impossible.

"The first time I saw this guy, he had his eyes wide open and was seeing absolutely nothing," Petraeus said. "He's had quite an odyssey."

How the journey started

To understand their relationship, you have to go back more than a year. Brian Brennan was injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in May 2008.  He lost both legs and suffered a severe brain injury.

At Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Brennan lay in a coma.  Nothing would bring him out of it -- not even a visit from General Petraeus.

But as the general was leaving the room, he turned to Brennan and shouted, "Currahee."

"Sergeant Major and I shouted that out there at his door at Walter Reed," Petraeus recalled. "It speaks to what our regiments are and those who serve in them. And, magical words like 'Curahee.'"

What happened next was a miracle.

"Well, it was a great deal of movement. And there hadn't been any at all," Petraeus continued. "There
hadn't been any response to any stimulus that had been tried. So that was quite extraordinary to see his legs literally bouncing, stumps in truth, bouncing up and down and his head moving around and so forth."

"Curahee" is Cherokee and the motto of the famous Band of Brothers regiment of the 101st Airborne.

Curahee is in Brian Brennan's DNA. It's everywhere about him, even on the wall as he showed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had come to help, around his home.

So what does it mean? Curahee means "stands alone."

And as you watch Lt. Brennan stand alone on his new running legs, you understand.

"I fall and I get back up," Brennan said. "It's OK."

He now works at U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, helping the military learn from his experience.

"I wasn't sure I'd ever see the day that he could actually talk. So, this has been an extraordinary journey that he's been on," Petraeus added.

The road to recovery

Brennan continues to get healthy. It is still slow, still much recovery ahead, still getting used to his new legs. But he has come so far.

His family is grateful.

"I'd never that I would see the day he would run, much less run with General Petraeus," Brennan's mother Joanne said.

"Just to see him doing everything that he's ever done before and overcome every odd that's been put in front of him," Brennan's sister Kerri said. "It's my brother 10 times better."

Brian believes that things happen for a reason.  Now he's just getting started with a new mission in his life.

"I try and help as many people I can help. And I just continue to serve my country," he added. "It's what I want to do. It's what I want to do for the rest of my life.

"We enjoy freedoms that need to be fought for."

Lt. Brennan has also formed the Brennan Stands Alone Foundation to help other injured veterans. For more information, click on over to brennanstandsalone.org .