Posted on 12/11/2008 12:52:33 PM PST by exg
To look at Trevor Greene today, his blue eyes sparkling with life and intelligence as he sits in a wheelchair in his Nanaimo home, you'd never guess he's the same Canadian soldier who was nearly killed on March 4, 2006, at the hands of an axe-wielding Afghan.
The attack horrified Canadians for its viciousness, and left Greene immobile and unable to speak.
Other people caught in similar circumstances might spend years simmering in anger.
But Greene, now 44, has found peace through forgiveness. He was released from the Canadian military last month, and now the author of three books and former journalist is writing a book about motivation. It's a subject close to the heart of Greene and fiancée Debbie Lepore. The couple has faced huge challenges as they cope with the many obstacles of Greene's recovery, including his having to relearn basic motor skills like talking and walking.
The axe cleaved into the area of the brain that controls his motor functions, leaving him unable to move or talk, although it didn't affect his cognitive functions.
His goal is to get out of the wheelchair and back on his own feet. He's already come so far -- he can move his legs a little, although the muscles have atrophied over the past 2 1/2 years. His hands are shaky, but he can move them. And he can talk again -- soft, slow and measured speech.
He gives the same intense, focused energy to daily therapy that he gave to his former job as a member of Canada's military reserves.
Greene, Lepore and their three-year-old daughter Grace moved to Nanaimo in September. It's Lepore's hometown and there's plenty of family support around. Their new home overlooks the Strait of Georgia and is on one level, perfect for Greene's wheelchair.
He's just happy to be home after spending a year in hospital and then 14 months at an Alberta facility that specializes in his type of brain injury. Now he can focus on family and getting on with life.
He admits it feels "kind of weird" to be the centre of media attention, but he understands the value of getting the message out that he's achieving his goals and others suffering similar injuries can achieve theirs too.
Greene had no memory of the attack, partly because of the brain injury and partly because he didn't see it coming.
"I remember the soldier to my left and his spiky hair. It doesn't make sense because we usually have helmets on."
That day Greene was sitting down with elders of an Afghan village. To show respect, he took off his helmet and laid down his weapon.
Then, out of the crowd, an axe-wielding teenager rushed at Greene.
Another soldier told Greene he saw hatred, pure hatred in the attacker's eyes.
"I'm glad I didn't see it," said Greene of the blow.
He learned later the attacker had been sent to the area by the Taliban to disrupt relations between Canadian soldiers and Afghans.
The terrible act makes sense to Greene, in a way: "I was in his country in uniform with a weapon. What's the difference between me and the bad guys?
"He was misled by the Taliban."
Greene's colleagues shot the young attacker dead, but the axe had sliced through Greene's skull and brain.
"The doctors gave him zero chance of recovery," said Lepore. "They said he wouldn't come out of the coma."
Greene had only been in Afghanistan for about six weeks. He had just recovered from minor injuries suffered a couple of weeks before after an improvised explosive device (IED) blew up near his army vehicle. Lepore heard the news about that mishap from a military officer and padre who showed up at the door of their Vancouver home.
But the second time she saw the two visitors on the doorstep, she knew something much more serious had happened.
"I asked if he was coming home and I remember him being kind of quiet, then saying 'Yes, he'll be coming home.'"
Now Greene finally is home and living on the Island. Ask him how he is and he smiles and says, "Excellent. I'm home with my family. The food tastes sweeter, the air feels marvellous."
There's no telling how far his recovery will take Greene, but he's willing to put heart and soul into daily workouts.
He's six feet, four inches tall and used to weigh 205 pounds. Now he's 185.
Greene is far from frail, however, having weathered two bouts of pneumonia. His cognitive functions haven't been affected by the injury so he has learned a valuable lesson -- to be patient.
"Things happen in good time," he said.
He's become more spiritual, as well, and drawn strength from it.
"I've never been angry -- I've just got on with it. I'll be in therapy for the rest of my life. I have to live my life as well as do therapy."
His message in the book revolves around the power within every individual.
"The message is 'You can do anything.'"
The family lives on Greene's military pension and a trust fund, created from donations from friends and strangers, pays for medical bills not covered by the usual sources.
The public support he's received is "tremendous," said Greene.
"It's amazing, bolstered my spirits and made me think I was not alone."
He would like other Canadian soldiers to feel the same support: "They're doing a great job in difficult circumstances. We should be proud of our troops."
Lepore added: "Trevor always talks about Canadians being the best damn soldiers in the world."
The writing comes easy to Greene, who spent much of his life documenting other people's stories. Now that he's writing his own, "the ideas stack up and fall out of me."
Months ago he awoke at night with nightmares. Now he wakes up with new ideas for the book.
He firmly believes Canadians should stay in Afghanistan but he's not sure for how long.
"It's an insurgency. It will take a generation to turn it around."
The violence in Afghanistan seems a long away from where Greene is now, reclined in his chair wearing socks his mother knitted for him.
He feels surrounded by love "especially when Grace is here."
Greene dreams of travelling through Europe but knows right now it would be just too difficult.
Lepore is his rock, stepping in to hook up the winch that transfers him in and out of the wheelchair when therapists aren't around.
"I didn't know I could adapt to this," said Lepore, who trained as a chartered accountant.
She tries not to fill the role of a primary care-giver, believing it wouldn't be good for their relationship. They plan to marry in July 2010.
"Trevor is a pretty unique, special person. It wasn't a question of whether I was going to do this, it was just doing it. I had to bring him back.
"In the first 24 or 48 hours after the attack he slipped from stable to unstable and I thought we'd lost him. Then he came back to stable and I had this sense, this intuition that everything is going to be OK. And everything is better than OK.
"Trevor is the same guy I fell in love with. We got lucky."
smcculloch@tc.canwest.com
The story of Greene's remarkable recovery is the focus of a CTV documentary to air Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
Photo gallery here: http://www.vancouversun.com/Gallery+Trevor+Greene+long+road+back/1032734/story.html
video: http://www.timescolonist.com/Nanaimo+soldier+long+journey+back/1035809/story.html
I’ll try the links again:
http://www.timescolonist.com/Nanaimo+soldier+long+journey+back/1035809/story.html
http://www.timescolonist.com/Nanaimo+soldier+long+journey+back/1035809/story.html
ping
bump
for radio interview with Trevor and Debbie Greene, go to “part 2” “Debbie and Trevor Greene”
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2008/200812/20081209.html
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