MAKING LAS VEGAS A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE

Wounded Warriors compete in Tough Mudder

By Beth Fisher

CREATED Oct. 5, 2012

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  • The Tough Mudder -- an obstacle course race -- will take place this weekend in Beatty, Nev. Video by ktnv.com

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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- Hundreds of men and women take to the ropes, the freezing water, and the thick mud to prove a point. They are competitors in the Tough Mudder. And some of the toughest soldiers on the planet compete -- United States Wounded Warriors.

Action News met some of the finest. Joe Perez and Todd Fahn were both injured in Iraq. Perez suffered a spinal cord injury in a prison riot in Abu Grab. Now, he's a peer mentor for Project Wounded Warrior.

Perez says, "We get phone calls from wives, mothers, fathers, and they're looking for something not's right. He's not come home the same way. He's barricading himself in his home. What can we do?"

Perez is helping injured army man Todd Fahn prepare for the Tough Mudder. He says it's important for guys like Todd to get out of the house. Fahn was injured 5 times in Iraq.  He was shot twice and bombed three times.

Fahn says, "I wouldn't leave the house. I'd bunker in my room. Uncontrolled. I can't handle being out in public. I can't have people behind me. I'm on my meds right now. So I'm ok."

Still Todd says he'd serve again in a heartbeat. Competing in the Tough Mudder is a challenge he's looking forward to.  A portion of the proceeds from the Tough Mudder event go to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. That project helps injured soliders and their families.