MWSS-274 Marine survives near fatal accident, deploys with his unit

Photo By Cpl. Ryan Rholes | Cpl. Cardell Walker, originally a motor transportation Marine now serving as a...... read more read more

Photo By Cpl. Ryan Rholes | Cpl. Cardell Walker, originally a motor transportation Marine now serving as a semi-refueler operator, poses beside his refueling truck as the sun sets behind him on the edge of Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan. Walker was in a comma for two weeks after a severe car wreck last September. After making a full recovery, Walker worked over time with his doctor and extended his current contract to accomplany his unit on this deployment.  see less | View Image Page

HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

04.29.2010

Story by Cpl. Ryan Rholes 

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

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CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan - Unconscious, suffering from hypothermia and tangled in his seatbelt upside down in a ditch flooded with water, survival seemed like a far shot for one Marine from Marine Wing Support Squadron 274.

But after going several minutes without oxygen, losing his pulse and enduring weeks in a coma, Cpl. Cardell Walker, a Tuscaloosa, Ala., native, battled back from overwhelming odds to live — and took it a step farther by volunteering to accompany his unit to war.

The 21-year-old Marine who drives a semi-truck used to refuel aircraft only remembers parts of what happened when he had a car accident, Sept. 24. Fearing he was late for work and stuck behind a slow driver on 9-Mile Road in New River, N.C., Walker attempted to pass a car in front of him. His memory is hazy from there.

"I remember losing control of my car when switching back to my lane, and I remember pushing on my door trying to get out of the car," said Walker, who was trapped in about five feet of stagnant water.

Luckily, the car Walker passed was full Marines with whom he worked. They immersed themselves into the same water that was drowning their brother, pulled Walker through the back window of his car and performed CPR until an ambulance arrived. Doctors at Craven County Hospital gave Walker a five percent chance of living upon admission. They also feared if Walker lived he would suffer severe brain damage after going so long without oxygen.

Doctors used a barrage of medication to kill an infection spreading through Walker's lungs, inserted tubes into his chest and used a free-moving bed designed to help drain the filth from his lungs. Although in a coma and heavily medicated, Walker does retain one memory from this experience.

"I woke up and saw my master sergeant standing at the end of my bed and I remembering thinking to myself 'I must really be late for work if he is here waking me up,'" said Walker with a smile.

Yet Master Sgt. Mathew Wyandt, the staff non-commissioned officer in charge of the MWSS-274 Marines here at Dwyer, vividly remembers staying by his Marine's side.

"Initially it wasn't whether he would have lasting injuries or not, I was just concerned with whether he would live or die," said Wyandt, who served as a liaison between the Marine Corps and Walker's family.

Wyandt flew Walker's mother to the hospital within hours of the wreck, and had the rest of his immediate family there within 24 hours.

"He really has a great family," said Wyandt.

Whether it was his family's presence or his resilience, Walker began to show rapid improvements after about his fifth day. Doctors moved Walker from intensive care when he awoke on his twelfth day, and three days after that he was home. Although he was able to leave the hospital, Walker still had some tough challenges ahead.

"They gave me a cane to help me walk when I left," said Walker. "The first night I went out to dinner with my family, people were staring at me like I was crazy, so I threw it out and never used it again."

While recovering, Walker discovered his unit was deploying and immediately requested to go with them.

"I felt like it was my duty," he said simply.

However, his physical capability was not quite as strong as his sense of duty, and Walker had to redouble his recovery efforts before doctors declared him healthy enough to deploy. Walker also had to extend his current contract. To extend, he had to guarantee his re-enlistment.

"I honestly think he inspired all of us," said Wyandt. "His drive to get on this deployment was impressive. Now, it's as if it never happened, he is the same person he was before the wreck."

After traversing between near-death in a ditch and full health in a combat zone next to his friends, you would think Walker might feel super human. The opposite is true.

"I know I shouldn't be this healthy," said Walker. "I'm just happy I am here."

Some may consider these to be surprising words from a young man serving in arguably the most dangerous region in the world.