- Title: USA/FILE: Wounded U.S. military members recover with the aid of fly-fishing
- Date: 19th July 2008
- Summary: CLOSE UP OF RIVER VARIOUS OF CORMACK AND PROJECT HEALING WATERS GUIDE EIVAND FORSETH (ALSO INJURED IN IRAQ) FLY FISHING
- Embargoed: 3rd August 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: War / Fighting,Defence / Military
- Reuters ID: LVAE3SWOF7SIRMXE09UMJP4NNT4M
- Story Text: According to the U.S. military, more than 30,000 troops have been injured in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. One group, Project Healing Waters, is trying to get a number of these men and women back on track, mentally and physically, by teaching them fly fishing.
At the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, there's an unlikely sight on the hospital lawn most Tuesdays - novice fly fishing enthusiasts practicing their new hobby. The new fly fishers are mostly active duty members of the United States military who have sustained various injuries in the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan. They are participating in a rehabilitation program called Project Healing Waters. The non-profit group's sole aim is aiding the physical and mental healing of wounded military men and woman through the sport of fly-fishing.
The program pushes its participants, which also includes veterans from previous wars, to use their injured or prosthetic limbs while learning the craft of fly fishing.
U.S. Army Captain Ferris Butler lost his left leg and most of his right foot during an explosion in Iraq. He says the fly fishing program has helped his physical rehabilitation propel forward at a faster rate.
"I get to go out to all these varying terrain and wade through creek beds or climb up hills to get to ponds or whatever it is that day. It really teaches me how to use my new prosthetic legs, " said Butler.
Once trained, the novice fly-fishers head to trout fishing hotbeds like Rose River Farm in Madison, Virginia. Many can hardly contain themselves as they put their new skills to the test. They also say they appreciate the respite it provides away from their medical treatment facilities.
"This is the best psychiatrist that was ever invented as far as that goes. As far as getting you out of the stress and strain of the poke, prod needles, the whole nine yards. Getting here I was anxious as a little kid going Christmas shopping," said Staff Sergeant Jack Cormack of the West Virginia National Guard.
Cormack, who is in his fifties, sustained various injuries when he was hurt in a rocket attack in Balad, Iraq.
Cormack's guide for the day, Eivand Forseth, credits the group with lifting him out of depression after being severely wounded in Iraq and enduring numerous surgeries at Walter Reed. He described the process of coming back from a warzone and being unable to do things most people take for granted.
"You go from being incredibly independent - as warriors we are incredibly independent people physically and emotionally. And then to come back and not be able to do things for yourself, activities of daily living - feeding, washing and having to have someone do that for you is very demeaning.
It's easy to get to that deep dark place where you don't think you're ever going to come back. Some warriors have even felt sometimes that they wish they would have been left out there that they would have bled out on the battlefield. We realize how irrational that is when we get better. But, at that time you wish they would have just left you there," said Forseth.
The non-profit group, which began at Walter Reed and has expanded to various parts of the United States, has only one paid employee and relies on the generosity of donors and volunteers.
The organization's founder, Ed Nicholson, says seeing the veterans enjoying their new sport is payment enough for him.
"It's given me a great deal of satisfaction obviously because I can see the results firsthand. I work with these young men and women day in and day out, not literally but figuratively, and I can see the benefits. They tell me the benefits. They express their gratitude and of course, that makes anyone feel good, we're on the right track, we're doing the right thing," said Nicholson.
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