Head injury won’t slow him down

An injured soldier is learning to run all over again.

GREENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Despite a head wound from a sniper’s bullet in Iraq that temporarily stole his ability to run, Freddy Meyers is back on his feet and trying to get in shape for a return to action.

Meyers, 21, of Greenville, was a sprinter on his high school track team and a star linebacker for Greenville High School. But it was in the Army, running with his platoon in Hawaii, when the running bug grabbed him and wouldn’t let go.

Meyers is close to regaining his running form, but is still working to get his coordination back to 100 percent.

It has been four months since a sniper’s bullet pierced Meyers’ helmet and ripped across the top of his head while he was out on patrol in Iraq. The force shattered his skull and left him with a traumatic brain injury. It has been called the signature wound of this war, with VA medical centers treating 2,669 patients to date.

In May, Meyers gradually awakened from a drug-induced coma, but it was weeks before he uttered his first word, even longer before he learned how to walk again.

At Dayton VA center

For seven weeks he has been back home in this western Ohio city continuing with his recovery, undergoing therapy at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

“What are your goals?” asked physical therapist Brent Jividen during their first meeting Aug. 6 in the VA’s rehabilitation clinic.

“I want to run again,” Meyers declared.

Meyers wears protective headgear resembling the helmet of his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes football team. It’s not the statement of a crazed fan; it’s an essential protection over where a portion of his skull has been removed because of his traumatic brain injury.

At first he can’t run on his own, so Jividen puts him on a treadmill.

The next time they meet, Jividen takes him outside and ties a cloth belt around Meyers’ waist. “Let’s go,” he says, tugging the belt as he starts to jog. Meyers’ body automatically moves with him.

Suddenly it all clicks. A broad smile crosses Meyers’ face. He can finally run.

In November, Meyers will fly to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to have doctors reattach the portion of his skull that was removed.

Says Meyers: “I can’t wait until I can put my beret back on.”