Will To Walk – Warren County soldier Eric Frazier is taking steps toward recovery

An explosion in Iraq claimed both of Eric Frazier?s legs and killed two of his fellow soldiers. But that explosion wasn?t able to even scratch his determination.

Thanks to a strong will and the wonders of modern technology, Frazier is making great strides in his recovery from the Oct. 23 roadside bomb that nearly killed him. Last week, he took his first steps on his new prosthetic legs and is now able to cover short distances with the help of a walker.

Frazier has set his goals high and is hoping to abandon his wheelchair completely by the end of the month in favor of a cane or a walker.

?I can?t change the past,? said Frazier, a 2004 Warren County High School graduate who was deployed to Iraq as a Marine Reserve. ?Right now I?ve got to start walking.

?I?m still trying to get used to my legs. It?s only been about five days but I?m moving around pretty good.?

Frazier is currently receiving treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. When his injuries were critical, he received treatment at Bethesda National Naval Hospital in Maryland.

While Frazier may be restricted in his walking right now, he doesn?t expect those limitations to last long. He says by the time his 12 to 18-month rehabilitation is complete, he can live an active lifestyle.

?With some of the equipment they have up here, I can do anything I want to,? said Frazier. ?I can ski, swim, run, ride a bike. It?s anything and everything. But since I didn?t like to run when I had legs, I don?t think I?ll like it any better with my prosthetics.?

Eric?s parents, Kary and Kimberly Frazier, have been staying in the area in a hotel room full time. Eric shares a separate hotel room with his wife, Amanda, who is also there full time. The Marines have provided both rooms.

A near-death

experience

If you want a list of Frazier?s injuries, you better have a pencil. Among his injuries, Frazier had:

? one leg amputated above the knee

? one leg amputated below the knee

? two breaks in his pelvis

? lacerated kidney

? lacerated liver

? broken arm, wrist and finger

? broken jaw in two places

? two broken teeth

?I?m lucky to be here,? said Frazier. ?I had somebody looking over me. I passed away on the road to Fallujah and they brought me back.?

Frazier doesn?t remember much immediately before his Humvee ran over an improvised explosive device (IED). But he does remember the mood earlier in the day and said ?things didn?t really feel right. I?m not saying I can predict the future or anything but something didn?t seem right.?

As fate would have it, Frazier was inexplicably replaced as the driver of his four-man team that day. Frazier said he was always the driver on every patrol and he enjoyed the job. But for some reason, his squad leader decided to replace him.

?I didn?t like it and I was complaining about it,? said Frazier. ?Usually when I would complain like that, he would change his mind, but not this time.?

In the cruelest twist of irony, the IED went off directly under the driver?s seat, a fatal blast. It killed Richard Buerstetta, 20, of Franklin, and Tyler Overstreet, 22, of Gallatin.

Frazier was sitting behind the driver and the explosion hurled him about 25 feet away from the Humvee.

?They actually called it in and said I was dead,? said Frazier. ?When they resuscitated me and brought me back, I was on life support in Fallujah and in Germany and even in the United States.

?The whole first month was a pretty bad month. I had a tracheotomy in my throat. I had constant blood draws and was on antibiotics. I had operations all the time. Now my body is starting to feel like it did before I went to Iraq.?

Dealing with grief

Frazier said heavy medication prevented him from thinking clearly about the life-changing explosion and the loss of his legs for several weeks. When he was finally taken off the medication, he said his thoughts focused on his fallen Marine comrades, not his own personal injuries.

?The first day I came to Walter Reed is when they took me off morphine for the first time and that?s when it sunk in that I lost two of my real good friends,? said Frazier. ?I had my mourning time, I can tell you that, and it was hard. Their parents have even come to visit me.?

An upbeat Frazier said he hasn?t felt sorry for himself. His thoughts are focused on ways he can rehabilitate his injuries and return to Warren County as quickly as possible.

He says one thing that?s helped him stay motivated is the overwhelming support he?s received from the people of Warren County and around the world.

?I?ve been flooded with support mail and I really do appreciate it,? said Frazier. ?I hope I can get to the point where I write everybody back, at least everybody in Tennessee.?

Frazier says he?s received mail from virtually every state in the country and even as far away as Athens, Greece. He doesn?t know how so many people heard about his injuries, or got his address, but it has made a lasting impression.

?It makes me want to hurry up and get well and get back home,? said Frazier.

The future

Eric and Amanda plan to resume their lives in Warren County when he has recovered. He says he would like to take classes at Vo-Tech and learn more about tool and die making or automotive repair.

Frazier says a continued career in the military is possible, but he doesn?t want to do the type of work that would now be required of him.

?I could stay in the armed forces,? said Frazier. ?They have positions for people that are permanent light duty, but it would pretty much be a desk job and I hate desk jobs. I?ve never liked writing and typing. I like working with my hands. And if I can work with my hands outside, that?s the ultimate.?

Frazier says he has worked construction before but doesn?t know if he can return to that line of work.