thedrifter
05-04-09, 07:06 AM
Injured Marine shares story to inspire others
By David Carter, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, May 3, 2009
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Lance Cpl. Matthew Bradford was nervous.
Twiddling a pen in his right hand to calm his uneasiness, the 22-year-old Marine on Friday shared a personal story of tragedy and perseverance with corpsmen at U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka.
In January 2007, Bradford was on patrol in Haditha, Iraq, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device.
The explosion severed his left leg. The damage to his right leg forced doctors to amputate it. Shrapnel ripped through his left eye, and the blast detached the retina in his right, leaving him completely blind.
He also suffered a broken right hand and shrapnel wounds to his intestines.
Bradford said he spent three weeks in a medically induced coma and the next 18 months recovering.
Since then, he’s traveled the globe, sharing his war experiences and his plans to stay on active duty in the Corps.
"The last two years have been the best of my life," he said. "Going through rehab and meeting the people I’ve met has been great."
Bradford is on temporary limited duty while his case is under medical review.
"Once the review goes through," he said after his talk Friday, "I’d like to work in a liaison office, so I can work with injured Marines returning from combat."
The lance corporal has high hopes of remaining an active-duty Marine.
"That’s the good thing about the Marine Corps," he said. "They’ll keep you in if you want to stay in."
Bradford said he believes his experiences will aide him in helping others deal with theirs.
"It’s fun talking to new people who have been over there," he said. "I like listening to their stories and sharing mine with them. … It makes it easier to relate to them."
Bradford said he hasn’t allowed his injuries to sideline his desire to continue living life to its fullest. In the past year, he’s tackled jet skiing, water skiing, rock climbing, surfing and scuba diving. He hopes to add skydiving to that list.
His most recent accomplishment was the Bataan Memorial Death March, a 15-mile hike in the desert sands of New Mexico.
"I only made it 10 miles this year, because my [prosthetic] legs were bothering me," he said. "Two days later, I signed up for next year, though, because I want to do the whole 15."
Bradford said he has no regrets about his tour in combat and what happened to him. He cracked jokes throughout his talk with the hospital staff, and his upbeat demeanor delivered a message to those in attendance.
"It’s very inspirational to see someone wake up every day and love what they do," said Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Sandoval. "I think it was a bit of motivation for us all but especially for the junior guys who haven’t deployed yet."
Sandoval, a corpsman who’s scheduled for his third Iraq tour this summer, thinks Bradford’s visit was just what the hospital staff needed.
"You never know when you’ll be called upon to care for someone," Sandoval said. "When you provide care for someone in combat, they’re going to remember you for the rest of their lives."
Bradford attested to the bonds that exist between medical teams and their patients. He remembers the first time he went back to Bethesda Medical Center in Maryland to see the nurse who cared for him.
"I was walking on my [prosthetic] legs for the first time, and she broke down in tears," he recalled.
Bradford’s inspirational story has even reached people through Donald Trump’s television show "Celebrity Apprentice." One of the contestants met with Bradford and was so moved by his story he raised $750,000 to support the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, the charity that funds the facility that helped care for Bradford.
Ellie
By David Carter, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, May 3, 2009
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Lance Cpl. Matthew Bradford was nervous.
Twiddling a pen in his right hand to calm his uneasiness, the 22-year-old Marine on Friday shared a personal story of tragedy and perseverance with corpsmen at U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka.
In January 2007, Bradford was on patrol in Haditha, Iraq, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device.
The explosion severed his left leg. The damage to his right leg forced doctors to amputate it. Shrapnel ripped through his left eye, and the blast detached the retina in his right, leaving him completely blind.
He also suffered a broken right hand and shrapnel wounds to his intestines.
Bradford said he spent three weeks in a medically induced coma and the next 18 months recovering.
Since then, he’s traveled the globe, sharing his war experiences and his plans to stay on active duty in the Corps.
"The last two years have been the best of my life," he said. "Going through rehab and meeting the people I’ve met has been great."
Bradford is on temporary limited duty while his case is under medical review.
"Once the review goes through," he said after his talk Friday, "I’d like to work in a liaison office, so I can work with injured Marines returning from combat."
The lance corporal has high hopes of remaining an active-duty Marine.
"That’s the good thing about the Marine Corps," he said. "They’ll keep you in if you want to stay in."
Bradford said he believes his experiences will aide him in helping others deal with theirs.
"It’s fun talking to new people who have been over there," he said. "I like listening to their stories and sharing mine with them. … It makes it easier to relate to them."
Bradford said he hasn’t allowed his injuries to sideline his desire to continue living life to its fullest. In the past year, he’s tackled jet skiing, water skiing, rock climbing, surfing and scuba diving. He hopes to add skydiving to that list.
His most recent accomplishment was the Bataan Memorial Death March, a 15-mile hike in the desert sands of New Mexico.
"I only made it 10 miles this year, because my [prosthetic] legs were bothering me," he said. "Two days later, I signed up for next year, though, because I want to do the whole 15."
Bradford said he has no regrets about his tour in combat and what happened to him. He cracked jokes throughout his talk with the hospital staff, and his upbeat demeanor delivered a message to those in attendance.
"It’s very inspirational to see someone wake up every day and love what they do," said Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Sandoval. "I think it was a bit of motivation for us all but especially for the junior guys who haven’t deployed yet."
Sandoval, a corpsman who’s scheduled for his third Iraq tour this summer, thinks Bradford’s visit was just what the hospital staff needed.
"You never know when you’ll be called upon to care for someone," Sandoval said. "When you provide care for someone in combat, they’re going to remember you for the rest of their lives."
Bradford attested to the bonds that exist between medical teams and their patients. He remembers the first time he went back to Bethesda Medical Center in Maryland to see the nurse who cared for him.
"I was walking on my [prosthetic] legs for the first time, and she broke down in tears," he recalled.
Bradford’s inspirational story has even reached people through Donald Trump’s television show "Celebrity Apprentice." One of the contestants met with Bradford and was so moved by his story he raised $750,000 to support the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, the charity that funds the facility that helped care for Bradford.
Ellie