"It sucks," he said. "I mean, I did all the training with all my friends and, I mean, we were moments away from going."
Belken and his family wished he didn't have to deal with the vaccinia in addition to the leukemia. They didn't think a smallpox attack was very likely.
"I think it's a big chance they're taking, giving them the shots," Skaggs said.
She was just glad he ended up at a hospital that had enough experience to handle her son's case. "If we wouldn't have tried these experimental drugs, he could've died from it, you know," she said.
Belken has a long road to recovery, but he is making progress.
After a four-month stay at the San Diego hospital, he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility about a week and a half ago. With the help of a front-wheel walker, Belken can now go about 50 feet on his new prosthetic legs without taking a break. He is taking such long, fast strides now that sometimes his physical therapists ask him to pull back because they are worried he might reopen some sores on his amputations.
He was also promoted to corporal last week.
Bone marrow tests lately have shown no evidence of leukemia, and Belken is eagerly preparing for a transplant. Doctors think they have found a pretty close donor match.
Belken's grandmother Judy Weekley said she has heard there is a 20% chance her grandson won't make it through the surgery. But she said the family is holding on to the guarded optimism that has sustained them through this ordeal.
"God's kept him alive through this; he's not going to let him down now," Weekley said. "Cory's a fighter. He wants to live. Real bad."
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jia-rui.chong@latimes.com
