Canadian war veteran Paul Franklin speaks to a large crowd of students, staff and faculty at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre at Durham College.
On January 13, 2006, Master Corporal Paul Franklin sat on a mountaintop in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His legs were aching from the challenging climb with his fellow soldiers and during a recent visit to Durham College he noted that although he didn't know it at the time, that climb would be the last physical activity he would ever use his legs for.
The 38-year-old Franklin, a medic with the Canadian Armed Forces, spoke to a large crowd gathered in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre gymnasium on January 23, describing the events that took place later that day, forever changing his life.
As part of a convoy escorting Canadian diplomat Glyn Barry to a reconstruction site in Afghanistan, Franklin and his troops soon found themselves under attack, as an explosives-filled taxi slammed into their truck, killing Barry and at least two Afghans.
Thrown from the vehicle, Franklin found himself on the side of the road. His left leg was completely severed and his right leg was severely injured. Coincidentally, three days earlier Franklin had spent time showing a fellow soldier how to correctly apply a tourniquet.
"I had spent some time showing one of the soldiers how to use his tourniquet in the proper manner," said Franklin. "Had I not taken the time to show him how to use it, I would not have survived. And I promised my family (wife, Audra and son, Simon) that I would always come home no matter what."
Franklin was transferred to a hospital in Germany, eventually returning to Edmonton, Alberta where he underwent 26 surgeries; 21 of which were on his right leg, which was eventually amputated. He spent four months in rehabilitation, adapting to his prosthetic legs and learning to walk again. His experience and undeniable spirit inspired a book, The Long Walk Home: Paul Franklin's Journey From Afghanistan, written by Liane Faulder.
"I knew that everyone had heard about Rick Hansen riding his wheelchair across Canada and Terry Fox running across Canada," he said. "I thought to myself, 'What about walking my son to school?' That, in itself, was a huge accomplishment for me, and I wanted to let other amputees celebrate the small victories. Parts don't make a person. This is who I am."