thedrifter
08-05-08, 07:30 AM
'Haircuts for Heroes'
August 5, 2008
By CHARITY BONNER Staff Writer
ELGIN -- Marines don't usually like to get pretty, but Lance Cpl. Kenny Carleton-Smith of Evanston received some much-deserved pampering in the form of a pedicure on Monday.
Carleton-Smith laughed and joked while he allowed students at the Salon Professional Academy here to give him the pedicure after refusing staff members' attempts to convince him to let them streak his hair with pink highlights or frost the tips blond.
Before sitting in the chair, he and Sgt. Waymon Vela, a volunteer with the Wounded Heroes Foundation, accepted a $2,158 check to the foundation from the academy. Salon Professional Academy, 1029 N. Randall Road, raised the money as part of its "Haircuts for Heroes" promotion by donating $1 from every service rendered in July to the organization.
Carleton-Smith, 25, told a story of tragedy and healing. He was in a Humvee as part of a supply convoy in Iraq in 2004 when a roadside bomb exploded, rolling his vehicle and sending shrapnel up and down his body. The worst of it was sent into his calf, but shrapnel also crushed a kidney, spleen and most of his pancreas, deflated his left lung and broke his bottom two ribs. His fibula was broken in two places.
Immediately afterward, he was flown to Germany for emergency medical care and following that to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, where he spent a month in initial recovery. It took him six months to reach full recovery.
"This is a major morale booster," he said. "It is a tangible way to experience the community's support for us. These kinds of functions mean a lot to us."
He talked about how thankful he was despite the fact that he will always have to wear a brace on his badly wounded calf. He said he bonds quickly with fellow veterans at Wounded Heroes events. Some have had 98 percent of their bodies burned or amputated limbs, he noted.
"I get a huge emotional boost out of being with these guys," Carleton-Smith said. "I have never seen people who are living life so fully. They have gone through so much more than I have, but they all have such positive attitudes."
Wounded Heroes Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides for the financial needs of wounded veterans. Since many of the veterans are too proud to ask for help, they often are referred to the organization by fellow vets who see them struggling.
Sometimes the wounded veteran can't pay a bill or drive his own vehicle. The organization provides help with financial needs, such as making mortgage or car payments and providing vehicles specially designed for disabled drivers.
Carleton-Smith said he is most thankful for the support network Wounded Heroes provides, including a car for him to commute to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he is majoring in physical therapy.
Ellie
August 5, 2008
By CHARITY BONNER Staff Writer
ELGIN -- Marines don't usually like to get pretty, but Lance Cpl. Kenny Carleton-Smith of Evanston received some much-deserved pampering in the form of a pedicure on Monday.
Carleton-Smith laughed and joked while he allowed students at the Salon Professional Academy here to give him the pedicure after refusing staff members' attempts to convince him to let them streak his hair with pink highlights or frost the tips blond.
Before sitting in the chair, he and Sgt. Waymon Vela, a volunteer with the Wounded Heroes Foundation, accepted a $2,158 check to the foundation from the academy. Salon Professional Academy, 1029 N. Randall Road, raised the money as part of its "Haircuts for Heroes" promotion by donating $1 from every service rendered in July to the organization.
Carleton-Smith, 25, told a story of tragedy and healing. He was in a Humvee as part of a supply convoy in Iraq in 2004 when a roadside bomb exploded, rolling his vehicle and sending shrapnel up and down his body. The worst of it was sent into his calf, but shrapnel also crushed a kidney, spleen and most of his pancreas, deflated his left lung and broke his bottom two ribs. His fibula was broken in two places.
Immediately afterward, he was flown to Germany for emergency medical care and following that to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, where he spent a month in initial recovery. It took him six months to reach full recovery.
"This is a major morale booster," he said. "It is a tangible way to experience the community's support for us. These kinds of functions mean a lot to us."
He talked about how thankful he was despite the fact that he will always have to wear a brace on his badly wounded calf. He said he bonds quickly with fellow veterans at Wounded Heroes events. Some have had 98 percent of their bodies burned or amputated limbs, he noted.
"I get a huge emotional boost out of being with these guys," Carleton-Smith said. "I have never seen people who are living life so fully. They have gone through so much more than I have, but they all have such positive attitudes."
Wounded Heroes Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides for the financial needs of wounded veterans. Since many of the veterans are too proud to ask for help, they often are referred to the organization by fellow vets who see them struggling.
Sometimes the wounded veteran can't pay a bill or drive his own vehicle. The organization provides help with financial needs, such as making mortgage or car payments and providing vehicles specially designed for disabled drivers.
Carleton-Smith said he is most thankful for the support network Wounded Heroes provides, including a car for him to commute to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he is majoring in physical therapy.
Ellie