Courtesy Photo | Lt. Col. Tim Karcher lost both of his legs above the knees when an explosively formed...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas -- Four and a half months ago, Lt. Col. Tim Karcher was in Sadr City, Iraq, commanding the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and preparing to complete the hand off of the volatile region to the Iraqis.
Today, Karcher is relearning how to walk.
The Attack
On June 28, Karcher was on his way to the transfer ceremony during which a joint security station on the southern side of Sadr City was to be returned to Iraqi control, when an explosively formed projectile hit the MRAP in which he was riding. Karcher lost both legs above the knees.
This was Karcher's third deployment.
He was shot in his left shoulder January 2006 during his second deployment but recovered quickly and returned to his unit in Iraq six months later.
This time, things were different.
Complications
Karcher was transferred from Landstuhl, Germany, to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., July 5.
In Washington, complications arose. Karcher's amputations of both legs above the knees were not the most serious of his injuries.
"Four weeks after getting to Walter Reed, they stopped talking about his legs," Alesia said.
Karcher lost 120 lbs., dropping from his original weight of 225 lbs. to 105 lbs.
Massive blood loss and the blast trauma affected Karcher's internal organs. He was nauseated and had difficulty eating. Karcher's kidney function was so poor he was on dialysis.
One medication caused him to go blind for a day, the only part of this journey that he said scared him.
Slowly, things improved and Karcher arrived at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Aug. 19.
Now he stays at the Fisher House at BAMC and receives outpatient rehabilitation and physical therapy at the Center for the Intrepid.
San Antonio's Center for the Intrepid is an outpatient rehabilitation institute that provides care to wounded warriors who have suffered amputation, limb salvage and some burn patients.
Now, the whole challenge is physical and Karcher said he is in the best place to overcome his physical challenges.
"This is the single most capable place on earth to get us better," Karcher said.
Family
Steadfast in their love and support, Karcher's wife Alesia and their three daughters, Anna, 14, Audrey, 13, and Abbey, 8, have been with him every step of the way.
Middle daughter Audrey has taken on the role of Karcher's caregiver during the time he stays at the family home near Killeen.
Karcher was concerned his teenage daughters would worry about the image of a father with no legs.
His concern was unfounded though, as all three daughters treat him the same as ever.
The family took a trip to San Diego recently for the Challenged Athletes Foundation Triathlon Challenge.
There, he saw his daughters helping some of the athletes and saw their desire to help others. They also saw there is nothing limiting people who cannot walk or see.
He attends soccer games, cross country meets and has had lunch at his daughters' school since the injury.
To his family, Karcher is the same upbeat man who loves a challenge.
"He is very much the same," Alesia said.
The support the family has received has been "overwhelming."
Support has come from Fort Hood, 1st Cav. Div., schools and their church.
"It makes you proud to be an Army family," Alesia said.
Karcher's injury has temporarily changed Alesia's plans.
She has stopped working as a home health care physical therapist to focus on her family.
"It definitely does not have to be the end of the world," Alesia said. "It could always be worse."
She said she looks forward to their new normal.
"I'm not afraid of it," she said. "I think our life will be different, but not in a bad way."
Her biggest challenge has been time management to ensure meeting Tim's needs as well as their daughters' needs.
While Lt. Col. Karcher stays in the Fisher House, Alesia splits her time. She cooks meals and brings them to San Antonio. She still does his laundry.
Home
Karcher said trips home bring him back to reality.
"This place is a cloistered environment," he said. "It's awesome to get to church, soccer games and cross country meets."
Seeing his children and being in his own home takes Karcher out of his comfort zone, and he likes that.
"It makes a huge difference to be able to go home and live in our own world," Alesia said.
Trips home remove him from his comfort zone at BAMC where everything is handicapped-accessible and catered toward people with injuries such as his. He likes the challenges, and knowing that he is learning about them so they can be addressed during sessions at the Center for the Intrepid.
"Being able to go home does as much for me as a week of therapy," Karcher said.
He also gets back into the family life.
"Life continues at home," he said. "I fit into it."
Church services, their daughters' activities and time with friends and family have filled their time on the weekends.
Plans made before June 28 have continued.
Alesia ran the Army 10-Miler in October that she had signed up for with a group of Cavalry spouses in April.
Rocker to Reality
After an injury, e-mails and calls taper off as friends, families and comrades get back to their everyday lives.
Some patients can have a letdown when the attention fades.
At first, a wounded warrior is a rockstar ... then it ends, Maj. Stuart Campbell, officer-in-charge, physical therapy, CFI, said.
"There is a protective bubble here," Campbell said.
Campbell oversees physical therapy at the Intrepid center.
"My job is to return these guys to the highest level possible," he said.
He wants to recreate reality for those who are spending so much time in the controlled environment at the Intrepid.
"Herc"
Campbell knows Karcher as "Hercules."
Everyone at CFI gets a nickname from Campbell.
"I'm bad with names," he said.
Campbell also gives the nicknames to encourage the feeling of being in a miltary unit, and the bonding that comes with that.
He treats those at CFI as he would anyone else.
Good-natured ribbing and joking is exchanged frequently.
Campbell works to recreate the unit environment to which these patients have been accustomed and from which they have been removed.
"When you come here, you would think you are in an infantry unit," Campbell said.
For these wounded warriors, the strongest piece of their rehabilitation is the peer support.
"That's as powerful as anything," Campbell said. "They motivate each other."
Figuring it out
Part of the therapy at CFI includes how to continue to do things such as cooking and laundry independently once released from outpatient therapy.
"He won't have to worry about either of those things," Alesia said with a laugh.
Even simple tasks need to be relearned or thought about from a different angle when balance is an issue, especially when someone has had both legs amputated above the knees.
For a bilateral transfemoral amputee, someone who has lost both legs above the knee, even picking up an infant is a major undertaking.
Amputees such as Karcher have to retrain their hip strategy and learn to balance using their hips, gluteus and core, Campbell said.
Karcher will always have to think to walk.
"A lot of this is mental," he said.
At this point, Karcher stands on stubbies but is still working on his balance.
He is getting his legs and muscles accustomed to bearing weight and fitting in sockets. As he progresses, he will get longer prosthetics and, eventually, knees.
"You work out muscle groups you didn't know you have," Karcher said. "It's a new challenge."
Things Karcher completed without a second thought before his injury have become obstacles.
Recently, the Karchers returned to the division's headquarters for a promotion ceremony.
First, they had to find the elevator. Then, once they got to the video teleconference room, Karcher had to find a way to negotiate the three steps into the room.
"You don't have those challenges here," he said. "You just figure it out."
Road to recovery
Karcher expects to be at BAMC for at least a year or 18 months.
He is progressing well, but wants to accomplish more. He is not sure how much more, but walking is a definite goal.
He uses humor and willpower to embrace his new life.
"It's your choice of how you choose to handle it," Karcher said.
Many at CFI would be surprised to discover Karcher is a lieutenant colonel as he jokes around with younger Soldiers.
"We're in it together," he said. "There is a sense of equals."
Rank is a small thing right now; it does not really matter.
"We're all in the same boat," Karcher said.
He took his first steps Nov. 3, traveling a distance of 15-20 feet on stubbies.
New normal
At CFI, amputees work out in often unorthodox ways to strengthen their bodies and stop boredom.
A modified rock wall, a wave pool and creative exercises throw some diversity in to break up the monotony of physical therapy.
Among the wounded, there is a hierarchy of injuries. There are jokes and laughs, and many of them come from Campbell.
"The last thing we want is sympathy," Karcher said.
He doesn't want people tip-toeing around him.
"People stare, they point," Campbell said. "We make fun of them, treat them like they're in a normal unit."
Good natured teasing can be motivating as well as bonding.
"From the outside, it can look odd," Campbell admitted.
Inspiring encounters
For Karcher, seeing those with injuries similar to his who are farther along, the road to recovery is motivating.
"Morale here is great," he said. "Everybody wants to get better."
"You just need to use good judgment on where you are," he said.
Every case is different. While some are happy to sit back and just let things happen, others work harder to reach their goals.
Seeing buddies get better is motivating, he added.
"There's a total atmosphere here of seeing everybody excel, everybody getting back to where they want to be," Karcher said. "The only thing that limits us is ourselves."
In addition to the young Soldiers he sees daily, a special child has been an inspiration to the battalion commander.
Karcher met Cody McCaslund, 8, Sept. 17. Cody also is a bilateral transfemoral amputee. Born without knees and missing several bones in both legs, Cody lost his legs as an infant.
But do not tell Cody he is any different. He is just like other children — he runs around, jumping on and off things and acts like the Energizer bunny.
"That kid is a ball of fire," Karcher said. "He is just an awesome kid."
He offered to show Karcher how to use his new legs when he gets them.
Through Cody, Karcher saw the loss of legs does not mean the loss of a normal life.
"You realize he's as normal as any kid," he said. "You see a little kid doing (what Cody does) and you gotta stop feeling sorry for yourself."
Moving Forward
Karcher is quick to laugh and sees no sense in having a pity party about his injury.
"It's a waste of your time," he said. "It's not going to change anything."
Karcher knows his injury will limit him in some ways, but the staff is around to help the wounded figure out ways to do the things they want to do.
"There shouldn't be things we can't do," he said.
Karcher wants to stand 6'2 or 6'4 again. He doesn't want to have to buy new pants.
Amputees can change their height, but they want to be careful not to become unbalanced, Campbell said.
"Body image is a big deal for a lot of these guys," Campbell said.
Expectations are different for each person.
"Walking is an expectation. Sports are an expectation," Campbell said.
Life goes on
Karcher expects to continue his journey with humor and with his family by his side.
Throughout his recovery, the Soldiers of 2-5 Cav. Regt. have been consistently on his mind and in his heart.
He keeps in contact with his Black Knight Soldiers via e-mails. Many have visited him at BAMC and WRAMC.
Karcher said he always wants to know how his battle buddies are doing, and the fact that they are still in harm's way is never far from his mind.
"It feels rotten," he said.
While his Soldiers are completing their mission in Iraq, Karcher is focused on his mission at home — recovering.
One of Karcher's biggest goals is to be standing on Cooper Field to welcome home his troops.
"I'm just wondering what is next," he said. "Right now, I am focusing on the here and now."
He wants to stay in the Army.
"I am hoping to stay in," he said. "I've been in 20 years and this is the only thing I want to do."
| Date Taken: | 11.12.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2009 12:44 |
| Story ID: | 41471 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 569 |
| Downloads: | 391 |
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