The wounds of war: physical, psychological injuries legacy of Afghan battle
By Dene Moore, The Canadian Press, July 3, 2010
Master Cpl. Jody Mitic
VANCOUVER – Master Cpl. Jody Mitic was a sniper on patrol with his unit in Kandahar province in January 2007 when he stepped on a land mine and lost both legs below the knee.
In the split second it took for the charge to explode, Mitic’s life changed instantly, irrevocably.
“I’ve been a soldier since I was 17 and I’d hoped to be a soldier until the day I died,” the young father, nary a hint of self-pity in his voice, said in a recent interview. “In my heart I will be, but I’m just going to have to choose a new career path now.”
Mitic is one of the more than 500 Canadian soldiers who have been wounded in action in Afghanistan; even more suffer from “invisible wounds” that range from mild depression to debilitating post-traumatic stress syndrome, experts say.