With a prosthetic leg in place of the right leg he lost as an Army sergeant in Baghdad, Murphy steadily made his way around the fourth floor of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he has been recovering for three months.

"I feel great," said Murphy, 24, of Palm City, clearly pleased with how far he had progressed since the last time he walked two weeks ago, when he managed barely over 100 feet.

As Murphy leaned heavily on his walker, physical therapist Carrie Haussermann gently reminded him to bend his knees. She kept her hand on his back as he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other while gripping the walker's handlebars tightly.

As Murphy, a 2000 graduate of South Fork High School south of Stuart, walked out of the physical therapy room into the hallway, Haussermann jokingly said he looked taller.

He walked at a labored but consistent pace down the hall, with his prosthetic leg sticking out from under his gym shorts. The prosthetic, which is a metal rod with a cosmetic foot, has a gray sneaker on to match the height of his left leg, part of which also was blown off when an explosive device tore through his Humvee at the end of April.

Surrounding Murphy's lower left leg is a round metal frame that clamps the pins holding his bones together. The large scars on his leg are evidence of skin graft operations and other surgeries to reconstruct his calf.

As Murphy continued walking down the hall, Kristine Golod, his girlfriend of seven years, followed patiently, pushing his wheelchair in case he needed it.

Over her arm she carried an oversized tote bag, which she took great care to keep upright. Even so, every once in a while the bag would move the slightest bit or a pair of furry ears would stick out.

The ears belonged to a Yorkshire terrier named Jose, a gift from Murphy to Golod last week to keep her company when she returns to Florida State University in August, where she will live alone in an apartment.

Blood flow in Murphy's amputated leg is interrupted, so his right thigh shrinks slightly over time, affecting the fit of the prosthetic leg.

Most afternoons, he returns to his room in the Malogne House, an independent living facility at the medical center where he was transferred about two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, he had surgery to remove some of the smaller pins in his left leg. The next day, he felt sick from being under anesthesia and did not go to physical therapy.

But Murphy is determined to get out of his wheelchair as soon as possible. Once he can walk independently with his prosthetic leg, he can go home. That could be as soon as Thanksgiving, but no one knows for sure.

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