"They're about through piecing me back together," joked Acosta, who also suffered traumatic brain injury.
Acosta has traveled the country as a motivational speaker, particularly for wounded returning vets, and although he's G.I. Joe all the way, he's a harsh critic of the healthcare that awaits soldiers upon their return home.
"Did the V.A. have anybody to facilitate my getting back into the work force? The answer is no," said Acosta, who added that he fought the bureaucracy to get his placement at Junior Blind, and he encourages other injured vets to fight just as hard for proper care.
When I asked his instructor, Louie Herrera, how Acosta is doing, he smiled.
"He's doing fantastic," said Herrera, who has been blind since he was 3 1/2 .
Acosta also speaks to new residents at Junior Blind, many of whom are newly disabled. I asked what he tells them.
"Don't let this hamper your goals," he said, telling me he finds it disturbing that 70% of blind people are unemployed.
"Blindness is no excuse not to be employed. I'm not going to let those yo-yos across the water take the best out of me. I am not finished.
"I am not finished."
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steve.lopez@latimes.com
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