|
|
|
|
By
RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
Christian
and Melissa Bagge had only been married for three months when he lost
both legs following a The next
four months were full of agonizing physical pain that led Christian,
now 28, to engage in a lot of soul searching about the meaning of
life. “I had
always been an avid outdoorsman and losing my legs really shattered my
self-image,” he said. “It was
really hard to pick up the pieces but I am a realist. I was in the
military and knew that injury was possible in a combat zone. My number
came up and I can accept that.” The former
staff sergeant in the Oregon National Guard underwent 15 surgeries at
two medical hospitals to repair nerve, tissue and muscle damage. He
also had to strengthen his damaged limbs enough to support prosthetics
– and then relearn the skill of walking. “I
remember feeling guilty for what I was putting Melissa through. At one
point, I told her to get a divorce and to go and be happy. She refused
to do that and I realized that this marriage was really about
something deeper,” said Bagge. For
Melissa, also 28, there wasn’t any choice to be made. She had promised
to love her husband “for better and for worse, in sickness and in
health” and she meant to keep those vows. “Divorce
just wasn’t an option,” she said. “I think it was a blessing for
us that the injuries happened early in our marriage before we had
children and established patterns. “I also
think it helped that we had been friends since we were 10 and really
knew each other well. Plus, Christian was really kind to me, and very
humble about the help that he was receiving; he really made it easy.” The Bagges
acknowledge that life after the IED (Improvised Explosive Device)
detonated during a desert patrol will never be the same. Every outing
with their son, Noah, 3, and daughter, Brynne, almost 9 weeks, has to
factor in Christian’s potential mobility challenges. For
example, the family is heading to the beach soon for a vacation.
Christian is determined to tackle with good grace the extreme
difficulty of walking with prosthetics in loose sand. “I want my
kids to have a normal life so I am going to the beach even if I have a
hard time and people stare,” he said. Christian
can only physically handle wearing his artificial legs for so long –
and then the discomfort drives him to respite in a wheelchair. “I tell
people that wearing my legs is like wearing big heavy boots that are
uncomfortable because they rub the wrong way,” he said. Navigating
in a wheelchair presents Christian with a completely different set of
mobility challenges. The
family’s temporary home in Both
Christian and Melissa are looking forward to having their new
custom-designed home built in Parkdale to accommodate his disability.
(See related story about Homes for Our Troops Build Brigade, page A1). “We are so
grateful and so humbled that so many people want to be a part of this
project,” said Christian. “We just
really want to extend our deepest thanks. I hope that I get a chance
to shake everyone’s hand that comes to help out.” What he
looks forward to more than anything, said the young father, is having
a level yard on which to play with his son and daughter. Bagge, who
grew up in Mosier, joined the National Guard at the age of 17 and
spent the summer between his junior and senior year in boot camp. “That was
a wakeup call. No one had ever spoken to, or treated me, so harshly,”
he said.
Nevertheless, he was proud to be serving his country and persevered
through basic training. He then
received training as a tanker and went from “weekend warrior” to
active duty in 2004 when the Guard was tasked with deployment to the
During a
two week leave in March of 2005, he married Melissa, who was raised in
The Dalles, and then returned to combat. She sent him a pillowcase
sprayed with her perfume that he treasured. Several
weeks later, Melissa received a telephone call from an Army major, who
informed her that Christian’s legs and one arm had been injured. Over the
next few days, Melissa received varied reports about his condition;
including a message that his left arm had been amputated. By the time
that Christian arrived at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
Washington, D.C., she had been accurately updated about the severity
of his wounds. “I kept
getting calls and every one was worse,” she said. Bagge’s
left arm had been severely injured by shrapnel. But it was his legs
that had taken the brunt of a second blast while he was checking on
soldiers rendered unconscious inside a vehicle that had been the first
target. The echoes
of that nightmarish time are still with Christian and Melissa. But
daily life has carried them beyond the anguish and into the busy life
of an active and happy family. The
Bagge’s faith has been deepened by their ordeal and they have learned
to look for moments of joy in every day. Christian
joined the Guard “to get help with his education and to have a little
adventure.” He said the answer to the question of whether he would
enlist again is not easily answered. “The pride
of serving your country is something that only a soldier, sailor,
airman or Marine – and their families – can really understand,” he
said. “But, if I
was 17 again and someone said, ‘We’ll pay for your college but you’ll
lose your legs, I’d probably say ‘No.’” His advice
to men and women who are now deployed to combat zones in Iraq and
Afghanistan: “Be proud of what you are doing whether or not people
agree with your mission.” He said it
is a morale booster for the troops to know that people back at home
are standing ready to give them assistance in their hour of need. Bagge now
visits other amputees in hospitals to share hope that a normal life is
waiting beyond the pain. “I don’t
think there’s a defining moment in your recovery; it’s definitely a
lifelong challenge,” he said. “I tell
people that their future is going to depend a lot on how much they
want to fight for it.”
|
|
||||||||
|
|
