The Jody Mitic Thread- Merged

[Jacqueline]

All the best to you and get well. Nothing but love. 

 

[simysmom99]

I read in the Edmonton Journal this morning that he had both his feet amputated.  It is a long road to recovery, but one that he is not alone on.
To those that know him, please let him know that Mcpl Franklin (Paul) and I are here if he wants some support from people who are recovering.  Best wishes to him and his family.

 

[manhole]

Our best wishes for a speedy recovery! 

 

[Big Foot]

Fair dealings, blah blah blah.
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/World/2007/04/01/3887863-sun.html

Sun, April 1, 2007

Long road home
UPDATED: 2007-04-01 03:46:53 MST

Master Cpl. Jody Mitic was on patrol in Afghanistan when his life changed forever. As his foot met the ground for the last time, there was no eerie click, no dramatic pause. There was a flash, a bang and his feet were gone.

By HOLLY LAKE, SUN MEDIA

 
The last steps Master Cpl. Jody Mitic ever took with his own feet, he was trying to regain his balance.

Three months later, both feet now gone, he's still trying.

It was 3 a.m. on Jan. 11 when he set out in the cool darkness on an insurgent patrol. As troops did a "soft knock" in an Afghan village, he and three fellow snipers from the Petawawa-based 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment watched for any surprises.

After crossing a grape field, the group passed through an opening in the surrounding wall, one by one, covering off the man behind them. As the patrol lead, Mitic was last in line. When he moved ahead, he lost his balance momentarily and tried to steady himself.

"I remember stepping forward with my right leg," he says.

As his foot met the ground for the last time, there was no eerie click, no dramatic pause as unfolds in the movies when a character realizes the gravity of what's about to happen.

Mitic never felt the mine underfoot, never knew what was coming. There was a flash and a bang, like a firecracker, only louder.


"I felt a bit of a concussion go over my body. My eyes closed instinctively."

He dropped on the spot, his ears and nose full of dirt. Then the pain hit, in excruciating waves.

"I realized I must have stepped on something. I freaked out ... I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I was calling (for the others) but they were already working on me to stop the bleeding."

Sweating due to shock, he started to shiver. Despite the bone sticking out of his left leg, he kept talking to his guys to keep his mind off the injuries. "My job was to let them help me, stay focused, to control my breathing."

Lying on the ground, all Mitic could think about was how uncomfortable it was, rocks poking into his back.

He thinks it's funny he even noticed. What's more, he kept apologizing to his patrol.

"I was just so pissed off with myself for messing up the mission," Mitic says. "We always got to where we wanted to go, saw what we wanted to see and got out undetected. Even now, I'm still a little pissed with myself."

Mitic was airlifted to Kandahar, where he phoned his family and fiancee. He didn't want them hearing about him in the news.

Soon, he had to digest some news himself: His right foot was gone and his left couldn't be saved. Although he'd assumed his right foot was gone, he thought he'd felt his heel touching the ground.

"So when (the doctor) told me ... it was still a shock."

Mitic has gone over those last steps many times in his mind. They don't stand out; they were as ordinary as the thousands he'd taken in the days before. Only an hour into a 48-hour patrol, he'd been more focused on the steps that lay ahead.

As the last guy in line, he wasn't so worried about the ground, but now he wonders how three others walked over the mine safely. Was it the heavy radio he was carrying? Did he step short or long? Or was it because, at 6-foot-4, he was the heaviest?

"I think about that all the time -- and they do, too," says Mitic.

Weeks would pass before he walked again. Just two days shy of the two-month anniversary of those final steps, he took his first steps at Toronto's St. John's Rehab Hospital.

He'd had the right prosthetic since mid-February, but with his left leg still healing, it was March before doctors cleared it to bear weight.

When the left prosthetic arrived March 9, Mitic hauled it on.

"I got up and started walking. By the third step, I was just trying to keep from pouring tears out of my face.

"I was crying like a little kid. I don't know why, but it hit me hard."

He walked the length of the parallel bars in the physiotherapy room, turned around and walked back.

"After that, everything was gravy."

Adjusting to life without feet has been all about baby steps, but the most challenging one didn't involve walking.

"You've got to get used to looking down and not seeing feet," Mitic says.

For the longest time he couldn't. When his bandages were changed, he had to look away. When he had visitors, he kept the blankets pulled up to his knees. He didn't want to see the stumps and he didn't want others to either.

"Now I'm able to deal with the fact that I've got nothing there."

He's not sure when he made that mental leap, but once the bandages came off for good, putting on shrinker socks without looking wasn't going to happen, so it forced him to get over it.

Today, he's wearing shorts, his legs stretched out in front of him, the blankets crumpled at the foot of the bed.

Before this, he'd never paid much attention to his feet. Like most people, he took them for granted.

"They were there. I clipped the toenails, peeled off dead skin, but otherwise, I left them to their own devices, let them hang out, do whatever they wanted," Mitic says.

Now, not a day passes when he doesn't think about getting back on them.

He's in his wheelchair far less these days, but Mitic must still use crutches when walking, as his left leg won't be able to fully bear weight until mid-April.

His right leg was amputated below the knee by the explosion, leaving a fleshy stump. His lower left leg was surgically removed and has an inch more of bone. Like the right, it's covered in angry red scars, but is wider because of a titanium plate that protects the shattered bone and is now Mitic's shin.

To further protect the bone, calf muscle was pulled around its end, so what was the back of his leg is now the bottom. Despite this, the bone's end is very sensitive and the scar's edge gives him constant pain.

Much of the skin has no feeling, but rubbing one area gives the sensation of striking the funny bone.

"The pressure of putting on the prosthetic is like a toothache," Mitic says.

"It really hurts."

Mitic has come a long way in a short time. He's told that he's ahead of schedule.

He initially spent several weeks at Toronto's Sunnybrook hospital in a morphine-hazed flood of fruit baskets and friends. He moved to St. John's Rehab on Feb. 1.

On this morning, he gets himself out of bed and into his chair to get his legs on. The layering of socks on his stumps is very much part of the morning routine.

He pulls on the legs one at a time. Today, the right leg is swollen and uncooperative. He stands, then changes the sock again.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" his mother Joanne asks.

"No. I've just got to force it in," Mitic says, straining.

Finally comfortable, he wheels down the hall in his chair, a grocery bag of different ply socks hanging on the back.

After weeks of physiotherapy, Mitic has the routine down. He starts on the mats, stretching his legs, pulling them to his chest one at a time.

He straps weights to his legs with velcro for leg lifts on his side and back.

He begins to work the inner thigh, moving quickly from one exercise to the next, stopping only long enough to wipe the sweat he's breaking.

He rolls his eyes as he turns over. The painful cries of Enrique Iglesias' Hero are too much.

"That's how bad Enrique is. I usually don't hear the radio," Mitic says.

Regardless, he's onto his stomach, lifting his upper body and weighted legs at the same time, strengthening his back.

He's silent, but for an occasional grunt.

"Hardest worker in the room," says a passing therapist.

And at 30, Mitic is also the youngest.

Clad in black shorts, his broad shoulders covered by a 1 RCR T-shirt, it's clear he has the strength of several other patients combined.

This isn't a struggle, just a good workout.

He does several sets of crunches before flipping over for pushups. On the last one, he gasps and collapses on his stomach. He hasn't stopped in 15 minutes.

Soon, he's standing between the parallel bars working on balance. His flex feet have some give, but nothing really bends and there's no sensation, Mitic says.

With his hands hovering just above the bars, he lifts his left foot and focuses on a spot on the floor.

He lasts 55 seconds and immediately tries to do better.

"Once you're weight-bearing, we've got all kinds of fun stuff -- you don't know the half of it," says Beth, his physiotherapist.

"I love it when you guys try to sound all hardcore," Mitic teases.

She has him get down on the floor to see if he can get up. It's only his second attempt, but in one sweeping movement, he's up.

"That's amazing," says an onlooker.

While many are impressed with his progress, for Mitic, it's not fast enough.

"My schedule is ASAP for everything, so if I'm a month ahead, then I think I'm a month behind."

These are his last days as an in-patient. Next week, he'll start treatment as an outpatient every other day.

Beth's also developed a strengthening routine to do on his own.

"Just pretend the legs are there," she says, as Mitic tries to position himself for a new stretch.

In assessing him, she asks if he's confident about stairs.

"As long as I have a handrail," Mitic says.

He's also mastered uneven pavement, sidewalks and sloping walkways.

They head out into the hallway to see how far two minutes can take him.

Though Beth tells him it's not a race, he covers 91 metres in two minutes and 132 metres in three.

"I'm so happy to see you go," says an orderly as Mitic walks back to his room. "It's beautiful."

At St. John's, Mitic had a standing afternoon date with his occupational therapist, June.

Today, they're discussing driver assessments. Until he undergoes one, any accident he's involved in while behind the wheel will be deemed to be his fault -- whether it is or not.

After lifting weights, it's onto bean bags. Although June doesn't even come up to Mitic's shoulders, she stands behind him in case he loses his balance as he whips the bags across the room.

"Grenades are area weapons. You just have to get it near the target," he deadpans as a third beanbag hits a nearby garbage can, missing its target.

June wonders about getting him to pick them up.

"You're the boss," Mitic says, as he uses a reacher to gather them.

"Good boy. It's time you go home," she says.

Mitic doesn't expect to be back home in Petawawa until July. For now, a condo rented by the army near St. John's is the next best thing.

Though grateful for the care that's brought him this far, Mitic was eager to leave his hospital "cocoon."

Despite having the bust of his beloved Elvis perched on a bedside table, wearing a hat his sniper buddies had made and being surrounded by pictures of loved ones, the space never felt like his own.

A regimental flag hanging next to a large "Welcome Home Jody" banner that his cousin made didn't do it, nor did the stacks of magazines, basket of books and large stuffed dog hanging off the shelf.

The condo feels more like his space. At least he can lock the door.

In many ways, however, life outside the hospital and the routine has reinforced the new reality he was already struggling to deal with.

As focused and committed as he is to healing, the fact he can't stand up to go to the bathroom because "I have to piss right now" is frustrating. He has to put on his legs or relieve himself in the chair.

"If I'm in the wheelchair, I have to piss in a cup or I can sit on (the toilet) like a girl, but I don't want to do that. So to piss, it's five minutes."

Whether he can wear the legs depends on how long he's going out for. When grocery shopping, he can only buy what fits in his backpack.

Putting on pants is difficult because he can't bend his legs. Getting them off is no easier.

Even making a cup of coffee and carrying it to the living room is out of the question.

"I can only use a travel mug with a lid that closes," Mitic says. "And forget about a bowl of cereal. Until I can walk without an aid, that's going to be an issue."

It's all about learning the little tricks, but there are situations where tricks won't help.

"I used to be the tallest person in the room, now I'm ass-level with the short people. I have to deal with the looks, the stares, with people opening doors."

As his fiancee Danielle leans in to kiss him on the head, he takes her hand.

"She doesn't think I'm less."

People always ask if he's okay. He wants to say he'd let them know if he wasn't, but holds his tongue because he knows they mean well -- and because he feels bad about the toll he's taken on loved ones.

"Everyone is upset because of me and because I did this job," Mitic says, looking down at his legs. "I feel guilty mostly that I caused them grief. I know they don't hold it against me, but you still feel bad about it."

The bizarre irony is that the feet Mitic no longer has still hurt.

Phantom pain can be so severe it makes him jump. His left foot sometimes feels like a needle is being pushed into it. In his right foot, the pain is more frequent, up to five times a day.

"It's there right now," he says, sitting on the edge of a physio mat.

"It feels like something is chewing on my toes and my heel. All the time, I'll reach down to try and scratch. Then you realize there's nothing there."

Despite the challenges in his path, Mitic is very much focused on the future. He intends to return to the life he had: Biking, jogging, driving, hiking and camping.

He may end up with as many prosthetic feet as activities, saying it's like buying a car.

"They're all the same, you just have to find one for you. But you can also have one for every situation you find yourself in."

Once rid of his crutches in a few weeks, he's giving himself a week with a cane. Should it take longer, he says he'll be disappointed in himself.

He has an important walk to take, but right now it has a floating date: He has to walk his new bride up the aisle.

"When I can walk without a cane and without a limp -- when I can just walk normal, right now that's the date," Mitic says.

"It's hard to plan around something like this."

Nice to see articles like this one once in a while. Very well written in my opinion.

 

[gillbates]

I agree. I hope prosthetic technology further improves so MCpl Mitic and others who have suffered similar injuries can enjoy a better quality of life.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Injured vet gets special motorcycle
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/04/15/4023678-sun.html
By TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA
 
BARRIE -- When Master Cpl. Jody Mitic lost his feet after he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan three months ago, one big question kept milling around in his military mind: "How am I ever going to ride again?"
Last night that problem was solved when he was presented with a custom-made Harley Davidson motorcycle built especially for a tough guy who can rise above almost anything.

It was the kind of surprise party that makes people weep and laugh at the same time. Burly tattooed bikers, hardened military soldiers, friends, family and Harley fans all cheered, then wept together as they watched the look of surprise on the soldier's face as the chopper was rolled in at the Harley dealership in Barrie.

"Now it's my turn to cry," Mitic said. "After this happened, I kept thinking to myself, how will I ever be able to ride again ... well, this is it. Now I know ... I don't know what else to say."
And with that, the speechless soldier hugged the two guys who built his bike: Steve Redford and Lorne Duncan.
Mitic was tricked into making the trip to Barrie by his brother, Cory.

It was three months in the planning for the Harley people after they learned of Mitic's tragic loss in his duty to his country.
The last steps Mitic took with his own feet was on patrol in Afghanistan in the middle of the night last January. He was on patrol with three fellow snipers from the Petawawa-based 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
There was a flash and a bang as he stepped on the land mine, and both his feet were gone.
Organizer Cory Wickham said he was touched more than he realized with Mitic's story.

"I'm a big fat biker guy with tattoos and I found myself crying," he said.
Wickham felt a part of it because it was his custom-made Harley that was featured on the cover of Mo-Jo magazine that Mitic fell in love with when he was in Afghanistan.
When Mitic saw the one-of-a-kind chopper, he contacted Harley to find out how he could get one.

Weeks later, after losing his legs, he sent the same Harley people an email:
"Well guys, things have changed," he wrote. "I lost my legs ... does anybody out there built a thumb-shift motorcycle? LOL."
The guys at Barrie Harley weren't laughing, however.
"Here is this guy who lost his legs for his country and over a week later he still has the inspiration to ride," said bike builder Redford. "That was it, this guy was going to get a new bike."

The Harley staff raised enough to put together a $50,000 custom bike with a hand-shift and hand break that worked both the rear and front breaks so that Mitic wouldn't need his feet.

 

[simysmom99]

Paul and I had the opportunity to meet Jody and his girlfriend for lunch about 3 weeks or so ago.  At the time, he seemed to be having a bit of a hard go, and took the opportunity to blow off some steam to people who could fully understand what they are going through.  I left feeling a bit worried about how he would cope moving forward.  Kudos to Barrie Harley Davidson for building this bike and giving it to a well deserving young man.  This is yet another step on a long road to recovery, and I hope that with this goodwill Jody can see the light at the end of the tunnel a little more brightly.

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

This is a great story. As a fellow "biker" I know how important this will be to his recovery and his feeling of independence...BZ to the people who made this possible for one of our "new" vets.

 

[Osotogari]

A very touching gesture........

http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/features/wounded_soldier.html

 

[Mike Baker]

That's very awesome. I love it. Kudos to them.   

 

[Fusaki]

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10310430212&ref=mf

Here's a link to Jody Mitic's Facebook group promoting the 9th Annual Achilles St Patrick's Day 5km Run/Walk. For those who don't know MCPL Mitic lost his feet to an IED blast in Southern Afghanistan about a year ago. Now he's supporting Achilles Canada by running a 5km race. Talk about a Hard-Ticket Royal...

Its a good cause and I encourage all to participate...

St. Patrick’s Day 5KM Run/Walk

Sunday March 16, 2008

St. Patrick’s Day 5KM Run/Walk

Registration Deadline: Friday Feb 29, 2008

WHERE: Steam Whistle Brewing (across from The Rogers Centre)

TIME: Race Starts at 10:15am


What is Achilles Canada?

A non-profit organization that provides people with disabilities an opportunity to receive the physical, psychological, and communal benefits of running.


How does the run/walk help St. John’s Rehab?

100% of monies raised (in addition to the registration fee) by St. John’s runners/walkers will fund Quality of Work Life initiatives at St. John’s Rehab Hospital
We will support Master Corporal Jody Mitic, a past patient and proud supporter of St. John’s Rehab Hospital, in his run for the hospital


What’s our fundraising goal?

One BIG St. John’s team, raising a minimum of $5,000
Fundraising goal of each participant is a minimum of $100


How do I register?

Contact either Lisa Caldana or Christine Etherington to obtain a registration form
Return the completed registration form to either Lisa or Christine no later than
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 29, 2008


What is the cost?

· Prior to February 15th - $30; After February 15th - $35

· PLUS – individual donations raised through fundraising

· Please make cheques payable to St. John’s Rehab Foundation


What do I do with the donations?

Bring in all monies to your St. John’s Team Leaders Lisa Caldana & Christine Etherington. (Please do not submit directly to Achilles Canada)
Make all cheques payable to St. John’s Rehab Foundation with the subject line: Achilles Canada. Please DO NOT make cheques payable to Achilles Canada




Want more information?

Lisa Caldana 416 226-6780 ext. 7236 lcaldana@stjohnsrehab.com

Christine Etherington 416 226-6780 ext. 7174 cetherington@stjohnsrehab.com

Links to Achilles Canada
http://www.achillescanada.ca/
http://www.achillestrackclub.ca/home.html

Achilles Canada is a non-profit organization that provides people with various disabilities an opportunity to receive the physical, psychological, and communal benefits of running. The club offers training and support by able-bodied members to its Achilles athletes of all ability levels. Guide runners and volunteers are always needed, and sponsorship is greatly appreciated.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/03/17/5027801-sun.html

Soldier who lost legs in Afghanistan finishes race

By JACK BOLAND, SUN MEDIA
The Toronto Sun   

For most, yesterday's St. Pat's 5-km fun run and walk was just that.

But for Master Cpl. Jody Mitic, 31, of the Royal Canadian Regiment, it marked another triumph on his road to recovery after a landmine blew off both legs below the knees.
On that fateful day -- Jan. 11, 2007 -- Mitic was leading his elite sniper team on a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan when his life changed forever.
He was on another mission yesterday with support from 70 people including family, friends and fellow unit members as he tested his new running legs and raised cash for the St. John's Rehabilitation hospital.

"I'm winded, that's for sure," said Mitic, as he sat on a bench to take off his new specialized prosthetic running legs and slip on his walking ones after crossing the finish line.
"Five K doesn't sound long. But it feels long once you are out there," Mitic said, who finished in just over 46 minutes with fellow unit members carrying Canadian and Regimental flags.

It was Mitic's first 5-km race and he wondered right from the start, laughing in the face of possible defeat, if he would finish.
"But it was all good. It was for a good cause," said Mitic. "I knew I'd be able to pull it off.
"I just wanted to raise money for the hospital and new equipment. They helped out me."

Younger brother Cory, 25, was beaming proudly at his brother's accomplishment.
"I think this means a lot of things. It means my brother is moving forward with his life and getting active again," said Cory. "I'm more than impressed. I'm inspired."
Mitic began walking last May, just months after the attack.

"And now, to see him running is incredible," said Cory, who recalled that as kids they both liked to tussle and his brother would "never give up."
"A lot of people give up when they are in that situation," said Cory. "It takes a strong man -- or woman -- to move on."
For their entire family and military family, Cory said "it has been tough" and the best part of yesterday's run was the fact his brother "is still around."
Other friends paying tribute to the Mitic and Canada's fallen soldiers was Trevor Hill of Elmira, who had 80 pounds of weight strapped to his chest in remembrance of the 80 who have been killed during the Afghan mission.

"I served with the RCR over in Afghanistan as well and lost some of my friends over there," said Hill. "So this is just my tribute to them."
"You can't say enough about the guy (Mitic). He has a real positive attitude and is an inspiration to all."

 

[ENGINEERS WIFE]

Injured soldier tells tale of landmine blast
Updated Tue. Nov. 11 2008 8:14 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

It's been nearly two years since Master Cpl. Jody Mitic has been in Afghanistan.

But he'll never forget what happened to him the last time he was there -- when he stepped onto an active landmine and lost both of his feet as a result of the blast.

It was in the early hours of Jan. 11, 2007, when Mitic, the leader of a three-man sniper team, was on patrol just west of the volatile Panjwaii district.

"We were coming to near the end of our tour," he said in an appearance on CTV's Mike Duffy Live on Tuesday. "I was the team leader of a sniper team."

With a higher-ranking officer deciding to tag along for the patrol, it brought their total to four.

The team was moving through a doorway to the start of a trailway and Mitic was bringing up the back of the patrol.

"I was the last one through the door," Mitic said.

"My good friend was on a knee covering down the trail. I tapped him on the shoulder. He stood up, turned to carry on."

Then Mitic stepped forward.

"When I took the step, I thought I was stepping where he was -- and that's when I stepped on the landmine," he said.

He was rushed to treatment at Kandahar airfield, but it was too late to save his feet.

"At the time, it was just my right foot that had been amputated by the blast," Mitic said.

"The left one was badly damaged and they made the call in Kandahar to surgically remove it. Their feeling was that even if I kept it, it would just be like a useless stump, basically."

The months that followed included a rehab process that "was not as easy as I hoped it would be," Mitic said.

He credits his friends and family with helping him make it through and he considers himself fortunate that he didn't lose more than he did.

"In amputee terms, I was lucky that I got to keep my knees," Mitic said.

"Just in general, I've been trying to get back into life," he said.

He's become a father, since his girlfriend -- a sergeant and combat medic in the Canadian Forces -- gave birth to a baby girl in recent months.

His girlfriend, in fact, was one of the people who came to rescue him when he was in need on the ground in Afghanistan.

"It was her ambulance that actually came and picked me up from that night when I was wounded," he said. "And that's pretty much where we met, it was on the battlefield."

And he's still working for the Canadian Forces at CFB Petawawa, acting as a liaison between injured soldiers and the services they may use during their recovery.

Since completing his rehab, he's also taken up running.

In March, Mitic ran a 5-K fundraising run that raised more than $50,000 for St. John's Rehab Hospital in Toronto.

"I did five kilometers in 45 minutes, with the help of everyone," Mitic said, something he accomplished by running on prosthetic blades.

And next March, he plans to do the same.

"This year we're going to try to raise $100,000 and maybe raise the bar a little bit," Mitic said.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Intriguing angle - well done to all pushing so hard to get better!  Shared with the usual disclaimer...

Injured veterans born anew
For former soldiers who have returned to Canada as parents, the mission is on the home front
SIRI AGRELL, Globe & Mail, 23 Dec 08
Article link (.pdf attached if link expired or doesn't work)

When Jonathan Klodt saw a man in a wheelchair in Shoppers Drug Mart recently, the two-year-old tried to climb in his lap.

"It makes me chuckle," said his mother, Deena Schreyer. "He associates them with his dad."

Jonathan was not yet born when his father, Corporal Chris Klodt, was shot in the spine in the Pashmul region of Afghanistan on July 7, 2006, and paralyzed from the chest down.

Jonathan arrived exactly two months later, with his father watching from the first of many wheelchairs.

"It made my life," Cpl. Klodt said of his son's birth. "It gave me a reason to get up."

Canadian soldiers injured in Afghanistan have had to cope with many challenges: loss of limbs and mobility, the impact on their careers and ability to return to the mission they believe in.

But some, like Cpl. Klodt, have also become parents since returning from Afghanistan, adding the myriad challenges of parenthood - from dirty diapers to temper tantrums - to their new reality.

Many say having children helped them find a purpose after their injury, allowing them to focus on the possibilities of a new life instead of past sacrifices.

"I was talking to my buddy the other day and he said it was the eeriest friggin' thing after I was shot, because I was smiling," Cpl. Klodt said. "And that's because I was thinking about Deena and Jonathan."

Master Corporal Jody Mitic was not thinking about meeting the future mother of his children when army medic Alannah Gilmore helped pick him up off the ground in January, 2006. A member of the Royal Canadian Regiment sniper unit, he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan, losing both legs below the knee, and Sergeant Gilmore arrived as part of the team dispatched to save his life.

Three months ago, on Sept. 17, 2008, the couple's daughter, Aylah, was born in Pembroke, near Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, where they are stationed.

"I know they say kids can't focus when they're born, but from Day 1 she's been very aware of her surroundings," MCpl. Mitic said of his daughter. "Its the sniper part of her. She's my kid: future warrior."

And Aylah has also helped renew her father's warrior spirit.

Since finding out he would be a parent, MCpl. Mitic has found increased motivation to master his prosthetic legs.

"I was a little worried about keeping up with her," he said. "I don't want to ever not be able to do something with her because of my condition."

Becoming a father has also helped him overcome some psychological scars.

Because he and Sgt. Gilmore met as a result of his injury, it is hard not to see Aylah as the happy result of a devastating incident.

"I don't really dwell on 'what-ifs' any more," he said. As bad as it was to step on a land mine, "I doubt if I'd go back and change it if it meant not having Aylah."

He thinks about what it will be like to tell his little girl how her parents met, not in a grocery store or night club, but on the battlefield.

She will also be raised with an appreciation of all she has in Canada, as her parents have seen the conditions faced by kids in other parts of the world.

"I just want her to know how good life is here," he said.

Aylah, like the children of other injured soldiers, is also unlikely to get away with much whining. With a parent who has overcome great obstacles, MCpl. Mitic said his daughter will learn resilience.

"There's never going to be a situation where I can't say to her: It will get better," he said. "I've been through something pretty awful and I know other guys who have been as well, and we got through it."

The generation of kids who will grow up with parents injured in Afghanistan is, sadly, growing.

Sergeant Mike Loewen's wife, Lyndsay, was seven months pregnant with their second child on March 3, 2006, when he put his arm out the window of his armoured vehicle as a suicide bomber detonated his device nearby, mangling his exposed limb.

"Pretty much the only reason I got to see her being born was because I was hurt," the Alberta-based soldier said of his youngest daughter.

Sergeant Greg White found out his wife, Khuong, was pregnant five days after he arrived in Afghanistan.

Their daughter, Darla, was born on Sept. 16, 2006, less than three months after his convoy was also hit by a suicide bomber.

His upper arm shattered, Sgt. White suffered extensive nerve damage that left his wife "with two babies to look after," he jokes.

Many of the challenges of his condition became evident after Darla was born, while he was still incapacitated.

"I dropped her head up against the wall trying to change her one time because I couldn't get my left hand underneath her head," he said.

But Sgt. White was raised by a grandfather wounded in the Second World War, a role model that helped him avoid making excuses.

"Having kids, you can't help but feel that your life is pretty important and if you have to kick yourself in the ass to carry on, that's what you do," he said.

Cpl. Klodt was in the hospital for three months after his son's birth, and when he was first released he could hold his baby only when seated on the couch.

But over the last year, his ability to deal with Jonathan has improved along with his own mobility.

He will throw himself on the ground to play with his son, and Jonathan will climb on his lap for rides around the house.

"I just want him to have fun," he said. "Your life is short and it can change in a flash. Enjoy it while you can."

His child has helped him move beyond his injury, but paralysis has also spared him from diaper duty, midnight feedings and having to attend toddler music class, which is on the third floor of a building with no elevator.

He and Ms. Schreyer plan to have another baby. Cpl. Klodt is considering having his first son's initials tattooed on his shoulder, near the Canadian flag inked above his heart. The bond he feels with the child goes beyond shared blood to common experience. His injury was like being reborn, and in that way he feels he and Jonathan came into the world at the same time, and are figuring things out together.

"I always did think that," he said, smiling. "We're racing and I'm winning."

 

[PMedMoe]

Soldier, medic met in Afghanistan
By JOE WARMINGTON

Article Link

For a trained sniper it was a routine patrol in deadly Afghanistan.

For a trained medic it was a routine medical emergency call that might involve death and dismemberment.

There is no such thing as routine for our strong men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces in a dangerous war zone.

And there is certainly nothing routine about what happened next.

As if it was scripted, the sniper and the medic's love blossomed while he was on a stretcher fighting for his life and she was bent over him trying to save it.

But it is not a script. This is Master Cpl. Jody Mitic and Sgt. Alannah Gilmore's real story.

Somebody call Canuck stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams because this is an all-Canadian story.

More on link

I'm sure this is "old news" to anyone who knows Alannah and Jody, but I thought it was fitting to post here.

 

[GAP]

Soldier gives back
Amputee runs to raise funds for those who helped him recover
By TOM GODFREY, SUN MEDIA Last Updated: 15th March 2009, 3:58am
Article Link

Double amputee Master Cpl. Jody Mitic believes in giving back to the community.

Just over two years ago, Mitic was leading an elite sniper team for the Royal Canadian Regiment in Afghanistan. Today he's charging ahead in the second Achilles Canada 5 km run to raise funds for St. John's Rehab Hospital.

"It is humbling how the run has touched so many people," Mitic, 31, said yesterday. "It all started because I wanted to help St. John's get some equipment."

Mitic lost both legs after stepping on a landmine in January 2007during a tour of Afghanistan.

He ended up at St. John's hospital, where he promised to give back after his rehabilitation.

$100,000 TARGET

Mitic, who's using custom-made prosthetic running legs, said last year's run raised $50,000 and he plans to raise $100,000 today.

Mitic said members of his Petawawa-based First Battalion have raised $6,500 for the event.

"I am totally gobsmacked," he said yesterday at a downtown hotel. "Things are pretty tight and for them to raise that much money is pretty humbling."

Funds will be used to purchase rehabilitation and mobility equipment for the hospital.

"Hopefully, they would be used by colleagues who suffered the same thing I did," Mitic said. "I hope it doesn't happen to anyone."
More on link

 

[tomahawk6]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/03/17/8785606-cp.html

TORONTO - As Master Cpl. Jody Mitic set out on patrol with fellow snipers in Afghanistan, he had no forewarning that a fateful step would be his last on his own two feet.

The moment Mitic stepped on a landmine in the early morning hours of Jan. 11, 2007, there was a loud flash, like that of a firecracker.

"I remember actually wondering what was going on," recalled Mitic, a member of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment based at CFB Petawawa. "Then when I hit the ground, I realized something had happened."

"My night vision (gear) was gone, my rifle was out of my hands, my eyes and my nose and my ears were all full of dirt, and then that's when it took a few seconds and the pain hit."

First aid was administered at the scene to help keep Mitic from going into shock. Yet it took more than an hour for a reconnaissance platoon with a medic to arrive and transfer Mitic away for further treatment.

Mitic says his right leg was "pretty much gone" from the initial impact of the landmine. But it was only after waking up following surgery that he learned doctors weren't able to save the left one either. Both were amputated below the knee.

Not surprisingly, Mitic admits to initially being in denial over the loss of his limbs.

"I would just look at where they were and I would think about (how) I'm never going to be able to wiggle my toes again .... It's a huge adjustment," he said.

"I've come to learn through my rehabilitation it's like losing anything. I've heard it compared to losing a loved one. You go through the same emotional roller-coaster, and I believe it, because it's lost. I can't really put it into words."

Mitic chose to channel his energy and focus on staying in shape and making progress in his recovery.

His conditioning and hard work as he learned to walk with prosthetic legs continue to pay dividends.

The 32-year-old recently joined others who participated in a five-kilometre run/walk in Toronto with a goal of raising $100,000 to support initiatives at the city's St. John's Rehab Hospital.

The target doubles the more than $50,000 that Mitic, a past patient at the hospital, helped raise in 2008 for amputee equipment.

Mitic said he wanted to take part "so I can feel like I'm helping out the people that helped me so much."

One of the supporters on hand to cheer Mitic on was Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of defence staff, who said he was inspired by the resilience of injured soldiers in bouncing back.

"When I hear from the medical professionals how surprised they are of how quickly our people get back at it - it's that sense of determination, it's the fitness, it's the leadership, it's the courage that they have . . . I'm really proud of them."

Mitic's determination was evident to the St. John's Rehab team who helped him on the path towards recovery.

Within two weeks of arriving at the hospital and barely a month after losing his feet, Mitic had a prosthesis on his right side, which had healed first following the accident. Three weeks after that, he had a prosthesis on his left side and walked in the parallel bars the full length and back.

"Jody broke down and embraced his mom, and the both of them were crying. It was unbelievable. And the prosthetist turned to me because I was behind him, and everybody had tears in their eyes," said in-patient physiotherapist Beth Mahy.

Even as she recalled seeing Mitic walk for the first time using prostheses, the emotion of that day still catches in Mahy's voice two years on.

"To see a young come back like that, it was really something," she said, her voice breaking. "He was just so determined."

But as Mitic admits, it hasn't been an entirely seamless transition, particularly with the use of his carbon-fibre running legs which he first started using in January 2008.

He was teaching himself at the time, and while he finished the course in 45 minutes, Mitic said the first five-kilometre run "wasn't pretty" and he was left feeling quite sore.

He recently spent a week in Calgary with Paralympic gold medallist Earle Connor and Connor's coach, Les Gramantik, who offered him tips and techniques on how to use the legs to their maximum potential.

It evidently paid off as Mitic shaved seven minutes off his running time, completing the recent Toronto run in 38 minutes.

Mitic continues to stay active, recently visiting Vancouver Island to go snowboarding. He also has his hands full as father of a six-month-old daughter with his girlfriend.

He works in casualty management where he provides support and advice to other injured soldiers, and said the military has also started a peer mentorship program where amputees are paired with others with similar injuries.

Despite his active schedule, Mitic said he hopes to return to Afghanistan in some capacity before Canada's mission ends in 2011.

"For me, it's just to close the loop, you know? Like that's where it started and that's where it'll end," he said. "My ultimate goal would be just to go back to my old job."

 

[the 48th regulator]

All merged into one.

dileas

tess

milnet.ca staff

 

[Timex]

Ottawa (August 12, 2009) - Ottawa's Master Corporal Jody Mitic, who lost both legs below the knee after stepping on a landmine while on duty in Afghanistan two-and-a-half years ago, has set his sights on completing his first-ever half marathon, in Canada Army Run, scheduled September 20 in the nation's capital.

More at link:  www.runnersweb.com/running/news_2009/rw_news_20090812_Army_Run.html

As well I read this morning that registration, which sold out at 7,000 last year,is well ahead of last years pace. So if your sitting on the fence................

 

[helpup]

Go Jodi, I hope you got your wife and daughter to join you.