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Shortly after losing one of his legs while on duty in Afghanistan, Capt. Simon Mailloux asked his major how good his chances were of getting back to the battlefront.
Nearly two years later, Mailloux is sporting a high-tech prosthetic leg and preparing to return to the war-torn country in November.
"Although there were some rough patches, my determination to go back never faltered," he said in an interview Wednesday. "I want to finish the work we started."
The Quebec City native lost half of his left leg when the armoured vehicle he was commanding struck an improvised explosive device on Nov. 17, 2007. Two other soldiers — Cpl. Nicolas Beauchamp and Pte. Michel Levesque — were killed in the blast. Mailloux had to undergo four surgeries but recovered surprisingly fast.
The 25-year-old is said to be the first soldier to return to Afghanistan after a major amputation.
Mailloux credits the good rehabilitation techniques and advanced prosthetic leg technology for being able to return to the war zone. He also hinted at a shift of policy on the part of the Canadian Forces.
"It was a decision from the higher command to say we're taking an injured soldier and we'll work with him," Mailloux said.
The soldier said he didn't get preferential treatment and had to prove he could handle the rigours of redeploying to Afghanistan.
"I'm not as fast as I used to be, but I passed all the physical tests," he said, noting that with his prosthetic leg he walked 13 kilometres with a 60 pound load on his back in two hours and 22 minutes....
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