In his book titled “Handed a Greater Purpose” Jason recounts his electrical accident. To save Jason’s life, doctors had to amputate both of his arms below the elbow. From that moment on, Jason set out on a mission to reach one goal and that was to hold his children in his arms again. Twelve days after the accident, Jason returned home and began teaching himself how to drive again. A month after returning home, he picked back up on his favorite hobby and went hunting for turkey. Over the course of the first year, Jason was fitted with prosthetic arms and relearned the essentials of life, including how to feed, dress and bathe himself. That same year, he also brought home a turkey, three deer, a goose from his hunting trips and even went deep-sea fishing. In July 2011, the family grew again with the arrival of his son, Axell. Four years later, Jason expanded his mission to include sharing his story with others, in the hope that he can be a source of encouragement to other amputees going through the same things he experienced. Whether it’s roaming the halls of VUMC and encouraging patients there, speaking in front of groups of people or volunteering with Texas-based amputee-assistance group Arms Within Reach Foundation armswithinreach.org, Jason has made it a new goal in life to use his story to help others. He has appeared locally in newspapers, TV news reports and nationally on CNN.
Episode 20: Handed a Greater Purpose with author Jason Koger, a bilateral arm amputee.
