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MICHAEL STAPLES
staples.michael@dailygleaner.com
Published Tuesday June 5th, 2007
Appeared on page A1
http://www.canadaeast.com/ce2/docroot/article.php?articleID=5987
A former Fredericton man is slowly winning a battle against pain medication, a year after being seriously wounded in a bomb blast in Afghanistan.
Capt. John Croucher, a graduate of Fredericton High School and the University of New Brunswick, has overcome a lot of obstacles since almost being killed May 25, 2006.
But he said battling addiction is the toughest fight of all.
"It's one of the most difficult things that I have had to do (especially) with the type of injury I have had," Croucher said in a telephone interview from Vancouver.
"Pain medications are a life saver but there is a price to pay with that and the price is addiction to it."
Croucher, 34, served as a platoon commander with A Company of the First Battalion, Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (1PPCLI) out of Edmonton, while in Afghanistan last year.
He was leading a Canadian patrol in Gumbad, about 75 kilometres north of Kandahar, when a roadside bomb detonated alongside his LAV III armoured personnel carrier.
The blast left him with a broken leg and ankle, a smashed heel, a severe puncture to his thigh, along with first, second- and third-degree burns to his arms and legs.
While it's a slow process, he said he is being weaned off the pain killers and now only takes about a third of what he was consuming when released from hospital last year in Edmonton.
"It's very difficult to get off these pain medications," said Croucher, who is now working with Canadian Forces recruiting while he continues his recovery.
"It's not like you can just stop; it's very, very difficult."
But Croucher said he has no complaints with the way the military has helped him -- noting that it has gone out of its way to provide what's required for him to get better.
That includes treatment at the physio centre at the University of British Columbia, which is nationally renowned for its sports medicine.
Croucher can walk, although with some discomfort. He has orthoscopic surgery scheduled for his knee in a couple of weeks.
Croucher, who got married in December and is preparing to be a father in January, said if his ankle doesn't improve, he may not be an infantry soldier again.
"It's been difficult on all fronts because there is just not one thing that I have had to face; it's been a myriad of problems that all required attention."
Croucher said he wants to return to Afghanistan and finish what he started but is concerned about how that may impact his family.
His parents and his wife have gone through a lot.
"I can tell you that it was difficult for me but I can only break the surface on what they have had to go through. Every time there is an announcement of a soldier who has been killed or hurt overseas, my mom cries. She realizes how close I was to that."
Croucher said when he hears of soldiers losing their lives in Afghanistan, he feels for the families because he knows what his loved ones have endured.
"It's incredible what a family has to go through, whether it's an injury or the most extreme with someone coming back in a casket. There is nothing to compare it to."
Croucher said he sees the next 12 months being a reintegration period -- one that will determine whether he will be fit enough to return to the infantry.
The other options are to return to school or pack up and pursue something at the civilian level.
"I have had other offers to go to other places outside the military. Over the next 12 months, those decisions will be made."
Croucher will be back in Fredericton on Aug. 5 for two weeks vacation with his family.
staples.michael@dailygleaner.com
Published Tuesday June 5th, 2007
Appeared on page A1
http://www.canadaeast.com/ce2/docroot/article.php?articleID=5987
A former Fredericton man is slowly winning a battle against pain medication, a year after being seriously wounded in a bomb blast in Afghanistan.
Capt. John Croucher, a graduate of Fredericton High School and the University of New Brunswick, has overcome a lot of obstacles since almost being killed May 25, 2006.
But he said battling addiction is the toughest fight of all.
"It's one of the most difficult things that I have had to do (especially) with the type of injury I have had," Croucher said in a telephone interview from Vancouver.
"Pain medications are a life saver but there is a price to pay with that and the price is addiction to it."
Croucher, 34, served as a platoon commander with A Company of the First Battalion, Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (1PPCLI) out of Edmonton, while in Afghanistan last year.
He was leading a Canadian patrol in Gumbad, about 75 kilometres north of Kandahar, when a roadside bomb detonated alongside his LAV III armoured personnel carrier.
The blast left him with a broken leg and ankle, a smashed heel, a severe puncture to his thigh, along with first, second- and third-degree burns to his arms and legs.
While it's a slow process, he said he is being weaned off the pain killers and now only takes about a third of what he was consuming when released from hospital last year in Edmonton.
"It's very difficult to get off these pain medications," said Croucher, who is now working with Canadian Forces recruiting while he continues his recovery.
"It's not like you can just stop; it's very, very difficult."
But Croucher said he has no complaints with the way the military has helped him -- noting that it has gone out of its way to provide what's required for him to get better.
That includes treatment at the physio centre at the University of British Columbia, which is nationally renowned for its sports medicine.
Croucher can walk, although with some discomfort. He has orthoscopic surgery scheduled for his knee in a couple of weeks.
Croucher, who got married in December and is preparing to be a father in January, said if his ankle doesn't improve, he may not be an infantry soldier again.
"It's been difficult on all fronts because there is just not one thing that I have had to face; it's been a myriad of problems that all required attention."
Croucher said he wants to return to Afghanistan and finish what he started but is concerned about how that may impact his family.
His parents and his wife have gone through a lot.
"I can tell you that it was difficult for me but I can only break the surface on what they have had to go through. Every time there is an announcement of a soldier who has been killed or hurt overseas, my mom cries. She realizes how close I was to that."
Croucher said when he hears of soldiers losing their lives in Afghanistan, he feels for the families because he knows what his loved ones have endured.
"It's incredible what a family has to go through, whether it's an injury or the most extreme with someone coming back in a casket. There is nothing to compare it to."
Croucher said he sees the next 12 months being a reintegration period -- one that will determine whether he will be fit enough to return to the infantry.
The other options are to return to school or pack up and pursue something at the civilian level.
"I have had other offers to go to other places outside the military. Over the next 12 months, those decisions will be made."
Croucher will be back in Fredericton on Aug. 5 for two weeks vacation with his family.
