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All Things Paul Franklin (merged)

old medic said:
Story Update:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060122/canadian_soldier_060122/20060122?hub=TopStories
Click link for full story.
Thank you for the update.  All three of them continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.
 
Well, today it is 8:58 am on Monday 23 January (I think the date is correct).  Yesterday Paul had some extensive surgery on his right leg, got all the gunk out, and now he has a very cool dressing on his right leg that continues to suck the junk out.  Last I saw him he was out but Cpl. Amy Pennington was up last night and he was awake and joking around with her.  He amazes me. 
In Germany it is finally sunny outside and still quite cool.  A nice long walk seems in order to clear our heads. 
If all goes to plan, we can head home on tuesday, but our medical evac team is doing an evaluation this morning to make sure everyone is fit to travel.  I can't wait to get home and get going on this right leg process.  We will know more when we meet with our orthopedic surgeon once we get back to Edmonton.
Thanks for all your wishes and I have passed along the messages to Paul for everyone.
Audra
 
Audra, Paul, Simon and all back in Edmonton....this is the Murphy's (Stu & April) in Gagetown...sure wish we could see you in person and give you all the hugs we want to. Our thoughts are with all of you daily and wish Paul a speedy recovery once back in Edmonton. Danielle and Tonya have been keeping us updated. We will contact you personally when things settles at home again. Until then all our love and hugs for the whole family.

Love April & Stu
 
Mrs Franklin,

From all of us from 2 Fd Amb not currently deployed in Kandahar, we wish Paul the best of luck and a speedy recovery.

 
From those of us in Gagetown that haven't yet sent our regards, get better quick.

Cheers.

Sean K
 
Maimed but alive, 3 soldiers coming home

All three Canadian soldiers injured in a suicide attack in Afghanistan nine days ago are on their way home.
They boarded a plane in Germany on Tuesday morning for the flight back to Edmonton, their home base.
They are scheduled to land at about 4:15 p.m. local time.....

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/01/24/soldiers-return060124.html

Click link for full story.

... Medical officials were expected to offer an update on the condition of Corporal Jeffrey Bailey, Private William Edward Salikin and Master Corporal Paul Franklin following their arrival. ...

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060123/canadian_soldier_060124/20060124?hub=TopStories
 
Wounded Canadian soldiers back home

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/01/24/cdnsoldiers060124.html

The three Canadian soldiers injured in Afghanistan earlier this month are now back home and being treated at Edmonton's University of Alberta Hospital.
The soldiers and their families received a low-key welcome when they arrived at the Edmonton International Airport. They were met by Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, and Lieut.-Gen Marc Carron, the commander of the army.
A specialized Canadian medical team also made the nine-hour flight from Germany.

Click link for full story.
 
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1138143048339&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home

Injured soldiers back in Canada
Jan. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
BILL TAYLOR
FEATURE WRITER


EDMONTON—The routine is established now as Canada prepares to go to war. This is how we bring home our wounded heroes.

With care, tenderness, dignity and respect.

After a nine-hour flight from Landstuhl, Germany, no one was about to rush.

Pte. William Salikin, of Grand Forks, B.C., was brought off first; then Cpl. Jeffrey Bailey, of Halifax, then Master Cpl. Paul Franklin, of Edmonton. The men, part of a NATO peacekeeping force, were cruelly injured by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan on Jan. 15. The attack took the life of senior Canadian diplomat Glyn Berry.

The wounded men arrived home yesterday as the first troops for Canada's upcoming combat mission in Afghanistan are leaving for the war zone around Kandahar.

The casualties were airlifted first to Germany, where they were met by a team of military doctors flown in from Canada. The doctors waited until the last minute to decide if Bailey was fit to travel. He has massive head injuries. He and Salikin, who also has head injuries, were placed in medically induced comas for the trip home.

Franklin lost his left leg below the knee. Doctors are still fighting to save his right leg. But he was alert and wise-cracking yesterday as he came back to Canadian soil.

Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff, flew into Edmonton International airport from Ottawa in a sexy midnight blue Challenger jet to meet the sombre-hued Airbus that brought the wounded men from Germany. It touched down in the brass-bright glow of the dying sun and taxied, engines moaning softly, to a hangar away from the main airport. A specially constructed ramp was waiting to get the men off the plane and into three ambulances.

They were taken with their loved ones, including Franklin's 6-year-old son Simon, to the University of Alberta hospital.

Their platoon commander, Capt. Manuel Panchana-Moya, wheelchair-bound with leg injuries after being blown up in Kandahar last December, was also there to meet the men.

A Mountie in dress uniform provided a splash of colour amid the drab military fatigues.

As Salikin, Bailey and Franklin were painstakingly disembarked, a small executive jet scuttled by, whistling like a disrespectful boy.

Even wounded soldiers aren't exempt from Canada Customs, but the formalities were brief.

While he was on the Airbus, Hillier presented the families of the three men with Afghanistan Campaign Stars and the Southwest Asian Service Medal.

He also pinned the service medal onto Panchana-Moya.

Salikin's partner, Desirae Hasen, flew back from Germany with him yesterday. She told Canadian Press earlier that they had often talked about his chances of being hurt.

"That's part of the duty of someone in the military," she said. "It's a constant danger. He made it very clear that he might come home, he might not."

The first 140 troops left for Kandahar last Sunday with more due to leave Edmonton today for a mission lasting up to nine months. About 1,250 Canadian troops will be part of a multinational force, about 6,000 strong, to be commanded by Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser. The force, including about 4,000 British and U.S. troops, will aggressively pursue Al Qaeda, the Taliban and drug warlords in the weathered terrain of southern Afghanistan.

"We are going into a very dangerous area," Fraser told the Star last November. "We're well-trained, well-equipped and ready to deal with the threat."

And also, now, to bring home the inevitable casualties of war.

Asked if yesterday's routine would become standard, Hillier replied forcefully:

"If you mean world-class medical care, absolute support for the families and all of the dignity, care and respect they reserve, absolutely. Is that clear enough? I don't want there to be any doubt."
 
Welcome home everyone! To say the entire country is watching and praying for you all, including the families, would be an understatement.    :salute:


potato

 
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060126/soldiers_wounded_060126/20060126?hub=Canada

Master Cpl. Paul Franklin of Halifax, who lost his left leg in the explosion, is facing more hardships. He will have to decide with doctors in the next few days whether to have his remaining right leg amputated, or face reconstructive surgery.

Click link for full story.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Franklin

I have created a Wikipedia article on Paul, as I had just finished watching this terrible news and I had nothing better to do.  Since I don't know him personally or anything, please feel free to add/edit to make it the best possible.

I realise now that quite a bit of the information has changed since I wrote it, and I can't seem to find the Victoria Cross article anymore, but any information is great.  You can PM it to me, or just add it yourself!
 
I think perhaps you should have waited until the actual official version of the incident came out. A point to edit in your article, his place of birth is Halifax NS not Edmonton.
 
That Wikipedia article is BS.
You took one editorial and made an entry with it.

What is this:
"B Company, 4th Platoon, 3rd Battalion 1 Field Ambulance"
that is an utter fabrication. There are is no B company and definately no battalions of 1 Fd Amb.

Don't destroy what could be great by pushing out half truths to those who don't know different.
 
I sent the poster of the Wikpedia a very long PM detailing the glaring inaccuracies in their article. Something this glariningly inaccurate does more harm than good, especially before the "facts" are even known.
 
OK

Too much speculation going on here.  The matter is under investigation, and we can rest assured that when the matter is resolved, the appropriate Awards will be given to the deserving people.

Not to turn this into a 'media circus' full of gossip and half truths, we will restrict this topic to solely the facts and the concerns of friends and colleagues of MCpl Franklin.

George
Staff
 
A brief update on MCPL Franklin's & CPL Bailey's conditions (did the search, and saw this wasn't up yet)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060216/bailey_amputation_060216/20060216?hub=Canada

"A soldier seriously injured in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan last month is now expected to survive.  Cpl. Jeffrey Bailey remains in critical condition and in a reduced state of consciousness, but has been moved out of intensive care, the military said in a medical update Thursday ...  Meanwhile, fellow soldier Master Cpl. Paul Franklin of Halifax, who had already lost his left leg at the knee, has had to have his lower right leg amputated as well."

For a bit more:
http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/Fatal%20IED
 
Time for a good update.
Paul has gone to the Glenrose to start his rehabilitation today!
If anyone wants his contact info, please pm me.

Jeff seems to be coming along well, and if a few things happen, he should be joining us at the Glenrose within a couple of weeks.

One step closer to home... ;D

Audra
 
Got this e-mailed to me, didn't look like anyone had posted it yet. It's his first press conference, he gives a detailed account of what happened and how he was treated.

http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060319/franklin_speaks_060323#
 
Similar coverage carried by cbc:

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/03/23/franklin-injuries-060323.html

"The military has said that they will keep me on. There's lots of jobs for me, from desk jobs to training, and what I really enjoy is teaching," Master Cpl. Paul Franklin told reporters in Edmonton on Thursday.
 
Hey Audra.

I served with Franklin in 1 Fd Amb until I released in 2003.  I thought I was going to be sick when I was watching the news the night it was all reported.  You never think it's going to happen to someone you know.  The funny thing about the forces is that once you're in you can never leave.  I may not be there in body... but my soul still remains.

He's a good man and the forces are lucky to have you guys in their ranks.

Best wishes to you and Franklin.  I am confident that future medics are going to enriched by his knowledge and experience much like I was.

Tell Franklin to drop me an email sometime.  It would be awsome to catch up!

Pte Ryan Ruch (aka. Red Light Ruch)
 
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