Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions,
Section 29, of the
Copyright Act.
Left to right, Major Mark Campbell, Cpl. Jake Wilkinson and Sgt. Lorne Ford at Edmonton Garrison. The soldiers, all wounded in the line of duty, participate in the Soldier On program that, among other things, teaches sports skills. Photograph by: Chris Schwarz, Edmonton Journal
Sports program helps wounded to Soldier On
Jamie Hall, Edmonton Journal, 4 Jul 09
Article link
Knowing he could still ski, even without the use of his legs, was a transformative moment for Mark Campbell,
Even more life-changing was the realization that he was not alone in his struggle.
"That was the first time I had come into contact with other disabled soldiers," said Campbell. "It was huge for me."
Four months ago, he joined a handful of other soldiers from across the country--including two from Edmonton--in Mount Washington, B. C., for a weeklong ski trip arranged through Soldier On.
Like Campbell, many of the soldiers were amputees.
A major with the Edmonton-based 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Campbell had both legs amputated above the knee after he knelt on a buried landmine in Afghanistan's Panjwaii district during a tour of duty a year ago.
Since 2006,438 Canadian soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan. That number includes a wide range of injuries; from a minor cut caused by a piece of shrapnel to catastrophic wounds that lead to the loss of limbs, or sight.
A program of the Canadian Forces, Soldier On was established in 2007 to offer permanently injured and disabled soldiers services, support and opportunities to maintain an active lifestyle through physical fitness and sport.
In B. C., Campbell found himself navigating a slope he had skied 20 years before.
"I knew the hill, but it's a little different when you're cinched into a little bucket seat and you're this high off the snow as opposed to standing up," said Campbell, 44.
"I couldn't even sit upright the first day, even balancing with those little outriggers."
He persevered, ignoring the dull throb in his shoulders. On Day 3, something clicked.
"I got my groove back, I got my centre of gravity back," said Campbell.
Schussing down the mountainside to the sound of hooting and hollering from his instructors and friends, Campbell felt as though he'd gone "from zero to hero."
Since then, at other Soldier On clinics, he has learned about a number of disabled sports, among them wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, rock climbing and swimming.
Sledge hockey remains his hands-down favourite. "It really is a lot of fun," said Campbell.
It's also one of the most popular sports in the Paralympic Games; soldiers are often joined at the clinics by members of the national Paralympic team.
"The military has its share of 20-something soldiers who have been permanently disabled and are looking for challenges," said Campbell.
"They're fit by virtue of their training and their lifestyle."
Sgt. Lorne Ford credits that lifestyle with his survival on the night of April 17, 2002, when his unit was bombed by a U. S. fighter pilot while on patrol in Afghanistan. Pte. Richard Green died in the attack, as did Pte. Nathan Smith, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Sgt. Marc Leger. Ford lost an eye and suffered nerve damage in his left leg that has left him with a permanent limp.
"One of the many factors that helped me survive that night was my fitness," said Ford, who was with Campbell in B. C. "General fitness is tied so closely with physical and mental well-being; it doesn't matter if you're injured or not.
"But for someone who has been wounded, you're much better able to cope with things the more fit you are, there's no doubt in my mind."
Cpl. Jake Wilkinson was also on the ski trip. He called his involvement with Soldier On an "eye-opening experience," a term he says he has used frequently in the year since he lost the vision in his right eye.
"I seem to use it all the time," he said with a rueful smile.
Wilkinson's unit was towing a vehicle with a tank last April when it struck an improvised explosive device that blew the protective gear off his head. He still has his eye, and there's a chance he may regain some vision over time, but there's no guarantee.
Wilkinson attended his first Soldier On clinic last December in Kingston; until then he had never heard of the program. News of the program is generated solely through word of mouth; privacy issues prevent the type of widespread awareness that would benefit wounded soldiers.
"The very people that Soldier On targets--those who are permanentlydisabled-- are the very people whose medical conditions cannot be divulged because of confidentiality," said Campbell.
The trio has made it their mission to spread the word.
"Going from fully fit and able-bodied to disabled with no legs instantly is a tough row to hoe, it really is," said Campbell. "Everything you used to take for granted is now a deliberate undertaking. Everything takes longer and everything's extremely difficult.
"But at the end of the day, it's programs like Soldier On that make your new life 'tolerable,' for lack of a better word.
"It would be easy for me to feel sorry for myself, but I refuse to do so. Soldier On, and being part of the army, teaches you not just specific sporting skills, what it teaches you is that there are new things you can do.
"It also teaches you that the journey's not complete, and that you're not alone."
jhall@thejournal.canwest.com
:yellow:
ushup:
