The latest on Cpl. Farrah's recovery - 6 Nov 08 photo below article - in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions,
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Windsor soldier recovers from head wound
Farrah tells how he survived a roadside bomb
Craig Pearson, The Windsor Star, 7 Nov 08
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It seemed like a routine early-morning patrol as Canadian Forces Cpl. Michael Farrah rolled through Afghanistan's badlands -- until a blast erupted under the driver's seat.
"My vehicle hit a roadside bomb and I was hit by shrapnel or something," Farrah said. "It smashed my skull and went into my brain a bit."
It was Oct. 5 in Maiwand district, west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan -- Taliban country.
The Windsor soldier was at the wheel of a light armored vehicle in a largely lawless area, on a road through hardscrabble desert outside the regular reach of Canadian soldiers based at Kandahar Air Field.
As he awoke somewhat dazed perhaps a half hour later, stained by blood, fellow soldiers attending to him, reassuring him, loading him onto a helicopter, Farrah could not quite make out what was happening.
"I was probably a little bit in shock at first," Farrah recalled this week, after attending a ceremony in his honour at Windsor Christian Fellowship Academy, where students learned about Remembrance Day and treated the injured soldier like a hero. "I was trying to figure out what was going on."
The LAV lay by the roadside, blown up and burned out.
No other soldiers suffered injuries in the explosion. But Farrah's head, already wrapped, ached.
The 23-year-old driver with the Petawawa-based 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, helping mentor members of the Afghan National Army, was airlifted to Kandahar Air Field where he underwent emergency surgery.
"I was in pain," he said of the medevac flight. "It's all good, though. They took care of me."
Farrah received 20 staples to repair the right side of his skull before being transferred to Bagram Air Base, and then being moved to a military hospital in Germany.
He returned home Oct. 15 to crowds of people withstanding rain and waving flags, offering him a solemn homecoming.
Farrah seems uncomfortable with the attention he receives, since he knows others have paid the ultimate sacrifice. But he also understands first-hand the necessity of paying homage to those who have fought for their country.
"Remembrance Day is very important," Farrah said. "A lot of people give up their lives, going back to World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, everywhere. People should know that they did it -- and why they did it."
On Thursday, students at the Windsor Christian Fellowship Academy listened to Farrah's story. They also watched a colour guard from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 594 lay a wreath, listened to Reveille, and recited the fallen-soldier poem In Flanders Fields.
"We had a young soldier, to teach about what's going on in Afghanistan right now," WCFA principal June Sigrist said. "And we had older ones to represent the things soldiers went through in World War I and World War II.
"We don't want to lose that, the price that was paid for our freedom. So it's important to teach students about it when they're young."
Students lined up to shake Farrah's hand, and gave him a signed picture as a thank you for his efforts.
His efforts from serving two tours of duty in a dangerous country, which has claimed 98 Canadian soldiers since the current mission began in 2002, will only continue.
He undergoes physiotherapy for his neck and jaw. And his speech, though good, requires more work.
"It's coming along," he said about his rehabilitation. "It's not 100 per cent yet. I know what I want to say but sometimes I can't say it."
Farrah's sister Dana Gobbato, the oldest of four siblings, provides her brother support.
She sees significant improvement already.
"Originally, he was speaking very, very slowly," Gobbato said. "He couldn't say more than a couple of sentences. Mind you, a lot of that was probably drugs, too, since we spoke to him directly after the surgery. His brain was pretty swollen at that point. But the swelling has gone down significantly since then. And his speech has really improved."
Gobbato said the family found the first days particularly difficult, especially since they could not go see Farrah, and the military provides only basic information because transmissions can be intercepted in Afghanistan.
"When we spoke to him he told us, 'Everything's fine, I miss you, I can't wait to see you,'" Gobbato said. "He knew who he was talking to. He knew where he was.
"And one of the first things he asked me was how his team was doing, if anyone else had been hurt."
Farrah still keeps his fellow soldiers in mind, still wants to help Canada complete its mission.
"I'm very lucky to be alive," Farrah acknowledged. "And I'm humbled to be back home. But I'd much rather be back over there with the rest of the guys."
Cpl. Michael Farrah smiles while being recognized during a remembrance day ceremony held at the Windsor Christian Fellowship Academy in Windsor on Nov. 6, 2008. Cpl. Farrah returned to Windsor from his tour of duty in Afghanistan after he was severely injured by an explosive device while on duty. Farrah was the guest of honour at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Windsor Christian Fellowship Academy in Windsor.
Photograph by : Jason Kryk, The Windsor Star
