http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/03/14/1487855-cp.html
By CAMILLE BAINS
VANCOUVER (CP) - A Canadian soldier who suffered severe head wounds in an axe attack in Afghanistan has gone from a drug-induced coma to quipping with nurses about his beer-drinking skills, according to his wife.
The recovery of Capt. Trevor Greene, a civil-military co-operation officer, after the incident on March 4 is detailed in a blog by Debbie.
She responded by telephone to an e-mail request for an interview and confirmed she wrote the entry, but she declined to provide any more details or give her last name.
"Some would say it is a miracle he has made it this far," she said in the entry, dated Wednesday.
She said Greene began physiotherapy this week at Vancouver General Hospital, where he was transferred after a brief stay at a U.S. military facility in Landstuhl, Germany.
Greene, 41, was attacked while he was sitting down for what he thought would be a friendly gathering of elders in an Afghanistan village.
He had put down his weapon and removed his helmet during the meeting when a villager in his teens snuck up behind him, pulled an axe from his clothing and struck him in the head.
Following the attack, the villager was shot dead, kicking off a firefight where insurgents threw a grenade and traded small arms fire with Canadian and Afghan troops.
"Every week we see improvements in Trevor's recovery - sometimes big, sometimes little - but the trend is definitely upwards," Debbie said in the blog that includes hundreds of postings from well-wishers, including Greene's childhood friends.
Debbie said Greene has begun eating a regular diet, including a daily latte, chocolate, sushi and fresh fruit.
"He is now in the longest chapter of the healing process - rehabilitiation."
Debbie described Greene's speech as "soft and a bit patchy," adding that a nurse remarked how the soldier told him: "Wow, you can sure suck back the water!"
"Having said nothing to her all night, he said, 'You should see me drink beer!' Hopefully that gives some comfort about Trevor's state of mind," the soldier's wife wrote.
From his classmates in journalism school at University of King's College Halifax, to colleagues Greene worked with in Toyko before he joined the Canadian forces and even a man who met him in a Vancouver coffee shop, countless people have posted e-mails to express their shock at what happened to Greene.
Postings on the blog describe him as a selfless and dedicated soldier with a great sense of humour and a love for music.
There's one from a family whose daughter dated Greene in high school, another from a man whose son played minor football with him 25 to 30 years ago and still another from a childhood friend who worked on a model airplane with the soldier when the two were kids.
"We went to Japan together in September 1988 and had some great times," said one posting.
"I was convinced he was never going to be able to learn Japanese! He proved me wrong, big time. I think he is the type of person that touches everyone he comes across."
Debbie said in the blog that Greene continues to receive letters and cards that will all be shared with him.
"Keep them coming, he'll get a great chuckle out of them one day."
Debbie said despite Greene's experience, she still supports Canada's mission to Afghanistan and that she'd known since he met him that he wanted to help the country's people.
"I don't feel any anger or acrimony towards the Afghan people for the accident," she said. "I don't believe Trevor would (either)."
"I have learned more about our involvement in Afghanistan and really feel that they need the help of our troops and the support of Canadians to enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted."