Army veteran speaks about struggle with PTSD, long road to recovery
The Express Times - LehighValleyLive.com
Lehigh Valley, PA,USA
Saturday, January 10, 2009
By JD MALONE
The Express-Times
The end of Rob Kislow's military career came as he crested a ridge on a mountain in eastern Afghanistan three and a half years ago. A Taliban fighter blindsided the 19-year-old soldier from East Allen Township with three shots from a high-powered rifle.
He lost most of his right leg. His right forearm is so reconstructed it feels like a steel pipe. He kept the bullet that pierced the back of his skull.
During the months that followed, spent lying in bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Kislow skidded into depression. In spite of his injuries, the brevity of his service, and the uncertainty of his future, Kislow said his despair wasn't about him -- it was about his fellow soldiers who died on that mountain so he could live.
"It was all about my guys," the former 82nd Airborne Division specialist, tears rolling down his cheeks, said.
Now 23, after myriad surgeries, a fling with drug abuse and a suicide attempt, somehow Kislow roars on.
Finding his way
"The injury is nothing now," Kislow said, pointing to the side of his head, "it's the fight up here now."
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