Denver officer injured during Nuggets parade thriving with new prosthetic leg: "I'm back on my feet"
Justin Dodge is determination in motion.
"I actually feel blessed because I got to walk for the second time," he said. "I got to relearn how to walk."
And he's walking confidently on a prosthetic leg he's only had a few weeks.
"I'm at a point where I'm comfortable just walking normal," Dodge said while walking around Denver's Washington Park in shorts on a breezy February afternoon. "Eventually, I'd like to get it to where if I had pants on you would have no idea whether I was an amputee or not. I know I'm getting close, but at 22 days, I'm not there yet.
His pace is remarkable -- not only in stride, but in how far the sergeant and SWAT officer for the Denver Police Department has come since his world turned upside down 8 months ago.
"There was never a time for me where I was like, 'I can't do this'," he told CBS Colorado's Kelly Werthmann. "There was never a time when I thought, 'This is over.'"
That mental grit was put to the ultimate test on June 15, 2023. While working parade security during the Denver Nuggets championship celebration downtown, Dodge was painfully pinned beneath an 80,000-pound fire truck. A horrifying accident that would lead to eight surgeries and amputation of his left leg.
"Even with the truck on top of me … I was already conditioning my mind to be like, 'You've got this,'" he said. "I actually sat up and took off my kit and I handed it to one of my teammates and I told him, 'Take care of this because I'm going to be back.'"
To get back, Dodge pushed forward.
"I got hit on the 15th and on July 1 I was back in the gym," he said. "I was in a wheelchair, I had people help transfer me to machines, and I had a wound vac. I literally had hoses coming out of me."
One of the most important things Dodge does to help with his recovery, he says, is create daily tasks. Both mental and physical goals to tackle every day.
"There were days when it was butt-scoot down the stairs, get to the couch, pack my leg in ice, and that was an accomplished task for the day," he said.
Of course, his road to recovery isn't traveled alone. Dodge has incredible doctors, supportive family and friends, his fellow officers, and top trainers helping him rebuild his strength.
"Dr. Mauffrey is amazing. I definitely credit him with saving my life. We have a very tight relationship and I feel very blessed about that," he said of his surgeon at Denver Health.
"And Steve Hess, he's a former strength and conditioning coach for the Denver Nuggets," added Dodge.
"He has kind of taken me under his wing the last three moths and really changed the way I work out. Having good people around me using the art of the mind and the science behind why things work has really helped me develop and get going on this faster. I feel like I'm thriving through what was a catastrophic injury and doing everything I can to make the best out of it."
Dodge is also grateful for the numerous charity organizations, community groups, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, plus people in Colorado and around the world who have encouraged him along the way.
"Still to this day I get letters saying, 'Keep it up' and 'You're inspiring me,' so that's been amazing," he said.
It all helped Dodge reach a pivotal and powerful moment last month when he proudly walked out of a clinic on his new prosthetic leg for the first time.
"When you watch that video [of you walking], how do you feel?" Werthmann asked.
"Accomplished," Dodge replied, "because I know how much work I put into making it look, I want to say look effortless, but just so everybody knows, it was not. It was not."
No part of Dodge's journey has been easy, but at no point has he been angry.
"I have never asked, 'Why me?'," he said.
In fact, Dodge says losing his leg gave him a new life purpose.
"[It's] giving me a sense to just do as well as I can, not just on the leg but in life in general so that I can help other people get through things," he said. "If I can reach people and let them know you can get through very difficult times – it doesn't have to be a catastrophic event on a limb, it could be a plethora of different things people are going through and challenges they're facing. As long as you keep continuing with those daily tasks that push you forward and keep your mental fortitude, you can get through this."
When it comes to the power of mindset, Dodge doesn't just talk the talk – he literally walks the walk. And with each step, he's proving his comeback is possible.
"Actually, just today I got cleared to go back to start doing some of the training to get prepared to be back someday at a fully operational level," Dodge said.
That is determination in motion. That is Justin Dodge.
"I'm back on my feet," he said.
