Steve sustained a gunshot bullet in his right tibia while serving in Operation Freedom. It required two surgeries to have a functional leg: external fixation followed by a plating. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) replaced the acute pain from the initial injury and surgical procedures. After five antidepressants, three atypical antipsychotics, several trials of narcotics, a spinal cord stimulator, gabapentin, countless hours of psychiatry sessions, and group therapy, CRPS was not resolved. Steve made peace that the leg had to come off. Phantom limb pain would be his next challenge.