Recently, I received an email from Lisa Solonynko who is a great inspiration to all.

Lisa was born and raised in Ontario, and had been living in Alberta for 20 years before heading to Cyprus. Her family is currently in Cyprus very isolated, completing a 2 year United Nations Peacekeeping mission. They are dedicated to helping support their community.

While in Cyprus, her family has endeavored to keep their community spirit going. They work with the International community in Cyprus as well as housing abandoned dogs in their home until they are healthy enough to be adopted. Canada is always in their minds and they are raising money for the MFRC through her greeting card sales. Because of my link to Mike McTeague's Wounded Warrior Fund, she has included them as a charity.

Her site makes it easy for both soldiers and families of deployed soldiers to send cards to their loved ones. Simply pick a card...customize the inside message and provide the shipping address. She will send it for you.

If you need a custom design, just let her know and she will create an original piece that is exactly what you need.

Lisa says: Thank you so much for your sacrifice and confirming my Canadian pride. and to Families of Deployed Soldiers: Thank You for your sacrifice and the support you give our members. I know how hard it can be while a loved one is deployed.

Thank YOU Lisa from the bottom of our hearts here in Canada. You're a true inspiration to us all. All the best to you for all you do for our soldiers and families and to your husband on his mission.

Lisa's Cards can be seen and purchased at:

or: http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/lisasphotographydesigns

Proceeds from her store will go to the following Canadian organizations: Woundedwarriors.ca, and the Military Family Resource Centre.

2nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament

Saturday, July 26, 2008, Windsor Ont the CAW (Local 2458) and The Canada South Blues Society partner in a Golf Tournament supporting woundedwarriors.ca.

2nd. Annual Charity Golf Tournament.
In support of Injured Canadian Soldiers and WoundedWarriors.ca

Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund

Saturday July 26, 2008

at the Fox Glen Golf Club

7525 Howard Avenue,

McGregor, ON

Great Contest & Prices

Blues Bands of the course

Fox Glen Golf Club$ 125.00 per golfer

To enter, contact: Bruce Dickie or Tuilo DiPoni at 519-254-8630

or Entry forms available at the Windsor Pub, 3032 Dougall Avenue.

Map to Golf Course:

View Larger Map

Bikers Everywhere Supporting our Troops

The "Bikers Everywhere Supporting our Troops" Ride in Canada

In Support of all soldiers: past, present and future.

All proceeds go directly to The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund

on

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

Start: Hespeler Legion at 26 Schofield Street Hespeler (Cambridge), ON
Registration Fees: Riders - $20.00 Passengers - $10.00

2008 Schedule of Events:

09:00 - Registration Opens

10:30 - Pre-ride safety talk

11:00 - First riders depart

14:00 - First riders begin to return, barbecue starts, cash bar opens

15:00 - Live entertainment begins

17:00 - Last riders return, closing ceremonies

18:00 - Event ends

Pledge forms can be downloaded from HERE

Last year, $2,000.00 in donations was passed to the Wounded Warriors Fund!

If you would like to pre-register, click here.

Happy Birthday Mike !!

Join me in extending

personal birthday wishes

to

Sapper Mike McTeague

Add birthday wishes to the "comments area" of this note.

You've come a long way!! and are loved by many!

We are very proud of you Mike!

.

Happy Birthday my friend!

.

Some may ask.. who is this? Below is a synopsis of his journey and the birth of the Wounded Warriors Fund.
On September 18, 2006 a suicide bomb was detonated in Panjwayi District, Kandahar Province Afghanistan, killing 4 Canadian soldiers and severely injured several others. One of those was 20-year old Sapper Mike McTeague of Orillia, Ontario.

Pictured here: Sapper Mike McTeague receives his wound stripes from General Rick Hillier

Photo by: Military Mom

.
Mike was rushed to Landstuhl, Germany where he received urgent medical care and was joined by his family. He then returned to Canada and was cared for at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto. The physical and emotional ordeal was experience enough for Captain Wayne Johnston and Mike’s father Mr. Sean McTeague to launch the Wounded Warrior Fund in Mike’s name.

The fund is designed to deliver quality of life, financial and benevolent assistance through three (4) programs;

Direct Support and Donation Program

When an injured soldier leaves an operational theatre, they do so quickly and without warning. Often they have with them just the clothes on their back and it is here where they are at their most vulnerable. This program sets out to alleviate this inconvenient deficiency by contributing quality of life items to the soldier.

“Wounded Warrior Packs” will contain a variety of items, which includes individual entertainment devices (like DVD player, MP3 players) to personal blankets among other items.

In addition, hospitals that care for Canadian Forces personnel are to be installed with an entertainment library of video games, music and DVD movies. As well an Internet-equipped laptop loan pool and telephone service will be established.
As part of this program a small Padre’s Contingency Fund has been established in Landstuhl, Germany to aid in the morale and welfare soldiers and families and used at the discretion of frontline healthcare workers. To date some $6,000 has been put into this and will be revisited as required and a similar fund is being developed domestically in Canada.

Family Assistance Program:

Hospital stays, while stressful for the patient, can be equally stressful for the family both mentally and financially. This program aspires to reduce this impact by assisting families with out of pocket expenses at hospitals in Canada once the Canadian Forces support to the families ends over the long term. These expenses can include parking limited to a specified dollar amount and TV rental for a specified limited time period. In addition the fund will explore the possibility of wireless Internet connection. It is the fund’s intent to provide equal universal support to all as required. It is also recognized that some wounded warriors will be in hospital longer than others. These will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Fisher House Endowment

The Fisher House is a unique program similar to the renowned Ronald MacDonald House charity. It supports the families of those under serious medical care by providing free accommodation, co-located to the hospital. Like Ronald MacDonald house it is free for families of patients and relies on donations. While the Fisher houses were started to provide assistance to the families of wounded US service people they have opened their arms to Canadians. Therefore it is the goal of the fund to provide goods and services in support of Canadian families to the Fisher House in Germany. These services will be dependant on the requirements of the other two programs".

Advocacy and Awareness
The fund will assist a wounded CF serviceperson where required in gaining entitled benefits from Federal departments. Indeed the fund will advocate on behalf of all wounded CF servicepersons on quality of life matters and issues. We will where required engage politicians of all parties on behalf of individual and as a whole in order to reach a solution. In addition it is the mandate of the fund to ensure that public awareness of the issues of those wounded remain a top priority. Any wounded CF soldiers needing assistance, please click here to get in touch with the Wounded Warriors staff.



CONTRIBUTION
In addition to cash donations, the following list of items is appreciated by the Canadian Forces support team in Europe, as well as here in Canada:

• DVD movies


• Music CD's


• Books on CD

As of September 13th, The Canada Revenue Agency has recognized The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund as a registered charity. They are now in a position to issue a tax reciept for donations of $20.00 and over.

CONTACT:
Send donations, cheques or correspondence to;
The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund
PO Box # 141
Stn. Brooklin
Whitby, Ontario L1M 1B5

Remember our soldiers

Kitchener-Waterloo's Red Rally

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS - WEAR RED

AT

WATERLOO's

“FRIDAY RED SHIRT RALLY”

Join Families Of Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan

Friday, October 26th, 2007

12:00 – 1:00pm

At the Waterloo Cenotaph

Beside Waterloo City Hall

100 Regina Street S., Waterloo ON

(On Regina Street between William and Erb)

***

Available to purchase: Official "Support Our Troops"

Merchandise sanctioned by the CF

BBQ provided by M&M Meat Shop

Proceeds to: Sapper Mike McTeague's Wounded Warrior Fund

~Sign a banner being sent to our Troops in Afghanistan~

Everyone is welcome!

Search your closets find something red to wear- a red hat, a t-shirt, or a red ribbon - wear something RED- or just come out and show your support!

-------------------------------

Your hosts: Jeff Allan from 570 News and Dave Schneider from KICX FM

-

http://www.redfridays.ca/ ------- http://www.mmmeatshops.com/

"Forward information/link to friends and family"

(click on "envelope" icon below)

Charity Golf Tournament

.
Charity Golf Tournament
Sunday, July 29, 2007
in Support of
Injured Canadian Soldiers
and the
Sapper Mike McTeague
Wounded Warriors Fund

Fox Glen Golf Club
$125 per golfer - Shotgun Start 2:00 pm
GOLF AGENDA
~1:00 pm Registration
~ 2:00 pm Shotgun Start
~ 7:00 pm Dinner (all you can eat chicken & ribs)
~ 8:00 pm Guest Speaker, Awards, Raffles

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Hole sponsers will be acknowledged in the tournament programs and with signage on golf tees. Financial, prize and auction item donors will be acknowledged in the program.
Unions, corporations and individuals are welcome to assist the tournament in raising money for the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund through sponsorship of, or donations to, the golf tournament. There is a sponsorship level to suit your budget and every dollar raised will go to provide comfort to those brave soldiers who have sacrificed for our security.
Also available are Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Sponsorships.
Please Contact:
Bruce Dickie (519) 254-8630
Tullio Diponti (519) 254-8630
Harry W. (519) 566-3536
Kim Kelly (519) 903-0318

B.E.S.T. Ride July 15th, 2007

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Vrooooommmm....The B.E.S.T. motorcycle ride in Cambridge held July 15th was a great success. With an entry fee of $20, and extra donations, a total of $1500 was donated to Sapper Mike McTeague's Wounded Warrior Fund! A big HUA to all who donated and participated!
All the left over bbq items (pop, buns, hotdogs, burgers and water) were then donated to the Hespeler Legion. They in turn will be holding a fundraising bbq to support Legion activities.

"Bikers Everywhere Supporting our Troops"
Unsold patches are still available for $12 Canadian.
And Stickers are $2
Email Miss K. at : mistressk@rogers.com


-

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To donate to Mike McTeague's Wounded Warrior Fund, click here:
.
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www.woundedwarriors.ca

A Sea of Red and Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund

Mr. Thibideau and I are here to assist in uniting our country in Support of our Troops.

On April 21, 2007, the Town of Uxbridge Ontario held a parade and mass rally in support of our troops stationed in Kandahar, around the world, and at home. The turn out exceeded everyone's expectations!

Organizer Dave Thibodeau began by taping messages of support from local service groups and the idea caught fire, and it grew. As word spread about the event, other towns throughout Durham Region got involved. York Region also had some representation in the Parade.

Thousands donned red t-shirts and participated in a parade, drum-head service, songs and more. The military sent a helicopter, a C-130, and Canada's Top Gun Captain Steven Neirlich in a CF-18 Hornet, from CFB Bagotville.

This emotionally moving demonstration of support sent a clear message. As always, we support those who have put themselves in harms way, for the good of others.

They have created a short video as a contribution to the outpouring of support, and it went with Dave's video messages to Kandahar to show the troops that we support them. In view of recent events they felt this will be a much needed moral booster.

See their website at: www.clulowassociates.com/seaofred.htm

They are now creating a one-hour memento DVD of the entire event and it's available for sale. For a copy of a DVD of "A Sea of Red", send $20 and a copy of the order form click here to view (if you are having difficulty viewing the form, simply email me and I'll forward one onto you) and send to:

Sea of Red c/o Dave Thibodeau
Uxbridge Legion #170
109 Franklin Street,
PO Box 137,
Uxbridge Ontario,
L9P 1M6

You will receive a copy of "A Sea of Red" DVD AND the money you send (100%) will be sent and donated to the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund!

Note: Clulow & Associates, and the Uxbridge Legion have produced this video on a voluntary basis to ensure that every possible penny donated goes to the fund.

Help Support Sapper Mike McTeague's Wounded Warrior Fund.. order a DVD (or a few) today!

Now.. that's "Support for Support for our Troops!"

A big HUA for Dave and Diane Thibodeau, the City of Uxbridge, and Clulow & Associates

And a BIG HUA for Sapper Mike McTeague and Captain Wayne Johnston!

The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund supports wounded soldiers who are rushed from the battlefield for emergency medical treatment. During this very traumatic period they are separated from the support of their fellow soldiers, their families and all their personal belongings. The fund provides some support during this period of extraordinary stress. When an injured soldier leaves an operational theatre, they do so quickly and without warning. Often they have with them just the clothes on their back and it is here where they are at their most vulnerable. This special fund sets out to alleviate this inconvenient deficiency by contributing quality of life items to the soldier.The “Wounded Warrior Packs” drive will contain a variety of items, which includes individual entertainment devices (like DVD player, MP3 players) to personal blankets among other items. In addition, hospitals that care for Canadian Forces personnel are to be installed with an entertainment library of video games, music and DVD movies. As well an Internet-equipped laptop or computers, items such as pool tables and other games and telephone services and Personal hospital TVs will be established.Many of you may be wondering if this should be the responsibility of the Department of Defense or the tax payer. Although this is a reasonable question the answer needs explanation. This fund raises monies to purchase gifts and needs to support the wounded and their morale. It is very much the same as you sending a gift to a soldier in theatre over seas. Should the taxpayer or DND pay for your gifts? Simply no. We would rather send the gifts from Canadians who wish to show they care as you would too. As every Canadian who lives in this gracious country, must acknowledge the peace on our land we have for over a hundred years. Our military involvement world wide has resulted in peace in our nation by standing in harms way abroad so we don't have too here in Canada.This benevolent fund for the quality of morale and state of mind for injured soldiers during the healing or rehabilitation process is an honorable way for anyone to demonstrate their appreciation.

UXBRIDGE SUPPORTS OUR TROOPS

A SEA OF RED

Uxbridge showed its support for our troops by turning Main Street and Elgin Park into a Sea of Red as the crowd donned red t-shirts and participated in a parade, drum head service songs and more.

On Saturday April 21, 2007 the Town of Uxbridge Ontario, held a mass rally in support of our troops. Organizer Dave Thibodeau began by taping messages of support from local service groups, the idea caught fire, and grew
A video was created as a contribution to this outpouring of support, to be sent to Kandahar and all the deployment bases in Canada, to show our troops that we support them

Some of the participants in the Parade were the Uxbridge Legion Pipes and Drums, the Uxbridge Cadets, neighbouring Legion pipe bands, the Durham EMS, along with Army Jeeps and 'G'-Wagons.
Thousands donned red t-shirts and participated in a parade, drum-head service, songs and more. The military sent a helicopter, a C-130, and Canada's Top Gun Captain, Steven Neirlich, in a CF-18 Hornet from CFB Bagotville.

Featured acts at the fair Grounds after the parade included One Voice Choir, The Retrofits, Town Crier Bill McKee and a Comedian with John Cavers acting as MC. A 130 Hercules transport did a fly over along with a CF 18 Hornet from CFB Bagotville piloted by Captain Steven Neirlich who was born and raised locally and a CH 146 Griffin tactical helicopter from CFB Borden flew over during the parade.
Other communities also joined this emotionally moving demonstration. The message is clear. We support those who have put themselves in harms way, for the good of others.

Unlike many countries our forces are not conscripts. Members of the Canadian Forces are not drafted or conscripted, they voluntarily sign on knowing that they will continually be putting their lives on the line for us and others in this global community in which we live.
In addition to standing on guard for the hard fought for freedoms we enjoy in this country today our Armed Forces have always played a key role in helping to maintain peace around the Globe. While few would say that they support war or strife it is only appropriate that we all support those who strive to minimize the impact it has on our lives, our land and throughout the world

To view the video, click on: http://www.peopleintown.ca/video/seaofred.wmv (thank you to our reader in the comments section)

Thank you Sapper Mike McTeague for all you have done for us.. you have given us great inspiration. Proud of you!! Thank you, from Military Mom

Bikers Everywhere Supporting our Troops Ride

The Bikers Everywhere Supporting our Troops Ride in Canada

Sunday, July 15th, 2007

Start: Hespler Legion

26 Scholfield Street

Cambridge, ON

In support of The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund

This will be an approximately 200km blind poker run (cards are sealed in envelopes, so you don't know what you've got until the end) with stops at 4 different cenotaphs in towns surrounding Cambridge, ON.

There will be a 50/50 draw, live music after the event, and prizes for the best poker hand, top pledge earners, and more!

The location for the ride has now been established!We will start and end this ride at the Hespeler Legion at26 Schofield StreetHespeler (Cambridge), ONClick here for a map

If you would like instructions on how to get there from your area, please email Miss K with your starting location and preference and she will give you directions either via limited-access highway (401, QEW, etc) or via overland routes.

Schedule of Events:

09:00 - Registration Opens

10:30 - Pre-ride safety talk

11:00 - First riders depart

14:00 - First riders begin to return, barbecue starts, cash bar opens

16:00 - Last riders return, closing ceremonies

17:00 - Live music

19:00 - Event ends

Registration Fees:

Riders - $20.00

Passengers - $10.00

Extra Cards (if you want to discard - maximum 2) - $5.00 each

"B.E.S.T." patches will be available on the day of the ride, at a cost of $12.00 each.

Any profits from the sale of patches will be included in the donation to the Wounded Warriors Fund.

Pre-Register for the ride here!

Download the Pledge Form here!

Details to be announced as they are confirmed.

For more info, contact Miss K

8 Year old Donates to Our Soldiers

Joe Warmington, a columnist for the "Suns" and a constant supporter of our troops

(Joe had initiated the "Red Friday Rally" in Toronto.) .. thank you Joe W.! :)

Well yesterday, he wrote this article which I found intriguing..

If an 8 year old girl can do this.. what can the rest of Canada do?

March 28, 2007
A little girl made a big decision for her 8th birthday and brought some music into the lives of some wounded Canadian soldiers ...
By JOE WARMINGTON

She could have gotten a new iPod for her eighth birthday.
But Erin McClary sings a different tune, and wanted a wounded Canadian soldier to have it instead.
In fact, she accepted no presents at all -- instead asking every guest invited to her birthday party Sunday in her hometown of Washago to bring some money in lieu of.
They did -- $2,830 to be precise. Her party ended up having 49 people -- all gung-ho and just as impressive with their donations. "It was really something," said her mom, Maureen, who with husband Patrick and their 5-year-old son Daniel are proud of their new celebrity. "So many people wanted to do their part."
It takes kids to teach some lessons sometimes.
"I really wanted to do something for our soldiers," explains Erin.
And there you (and I) were becoming all cynical thanks to the latest scandal involving greedy lotto insiders. There's still some good stories out there, folks. And some good people.
"She is a national treasure," says Capt. Wayne Johnston, who was overwhelmed when he heard about this little girl in Washago who wanted to do something for her troops.
Erin said it was simple to her. "I don't need any (more toys). I just want to help them," she said. "My mom showed me the story about the wounded soldiers in the newspaper and I wanted to raise some money for this."
The story was about Sapper Mike McTeague, badly wounded by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan last September. His dad had helped start the Wounded Warrior Fund to assist soldiers during their time in recovery.
Having visited Mike several times in hospital, let me tell you it's hard time for them. And when over in Germany at the U.S. military hospital, Capt. Johnston noticed that while they had everything medically they needed, there was little to occupy their minds.
So in the name of McTeague the fund was started to raise some cash so that a kit could be readied to send to a soldier at a moment's notice. In it would be things like iPods and MP3 players, and DVDs and CDs, and perhaps a Team Canada hockey sweater and some other treats.
It's so important because remember some hospitals charge for phone and TV rentals -- and that can add up if you are in there for a year. Believe me, some of them have.
Mike McTeague is one -- although the Miracle Kid is on his way back. And he was there Sunday at Erin's party. "I was kind of shaky because I was so excited to meet him," she said. "I told him he is a real hero."
She ought to know about heroes because it's selfless like hers that's the definition for me. When they hand out the Order of Canada medals next time, her name likely won't be there but should be instead of some political hack.
Her timing is perfect since, sadly, we may be mere weeks away from potential severe warfare and more casualties. The fund is ready. "We have raised more than $75,000," said Johnston, another guy who should get one of those Orders of Canada.
Don Cherry, who everyone knows amazingly is not a member of the Order either, is a huge supporter of this program.

If you want to help out, you can send any donation to :

Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund

P.O. Box 141,

Stn Brooklin,

Whitby, Ont.,

L1M 1B5

Web Site www.woundedwarriors.ca ...or attend a function March 29th featuring Canada's Three Tenors at 7:30 at the Immaculate Conception Church, 300 Ansley Grove Rd., in Woodbridge.
We all wonder how difficult it is to get this stuff for our soldiers -- yet someone like fired Ontario Lottery Corp. boss Duncan Brown can get a severance package for 10 times more at $750,000. It's nuts. I say, take it back and put that money for healing troops. Until logic like that kicks in, it will be people like an 8-year-old girl named Erin who have the back of the men and women who risk it all in our name. I still think the kid should get an iPod for her birthday, but she said she'd donate it to a wounded soldier anyway.

Available now: The Eternal Flame Broach

Roses, always a symbol of love in the military community
are represented by the firm, unyielding stem of a budding rose -
just as military wives and mothers and sisters are firm in their commitment;
in the face of adversity, and in facing all the challenges they must.

The velvety leaves of the rose, represent a softness which corresponds
with the supportive hearts military wives and mothers possess - and a willingness to always be there for each other.

The flame of the broach, represents all women in the military community
who continue to keep the home fires burning

This beautiful broach, which is fast becoming the

national symbol for military wives and mothers,
is now available.

Cost is $6.75 each (including shipping)

Please make your cheque payable to:

"The Eternal Flame"

Mail to: 16 East Street, Petawawa, ON K8H 2N8

Proceeds from the sale of these broaches will be directed to

The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund

For information or questions, please email Dianne at : tcollier@renc.igs.net

Keep the home fires burning
While your hearts are yearning
Though our lads are far away,
They dream of home.... Ivor Novelo/Lena Ford 1914

Our Wounded Warrior

Physiotherapists encourage Sapper Mike McTeague

to walk at St John's Hospital

To help other injured soldiers, his father Sean and family friend Captain Wayne Johnston have established the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund, their attempt to create something positive out of something terrible. The fund, started in October, has collected about $50,000. The goal is $250,000. The warriors fund would pay for hands-free phone sets, DVD players, iPods, laptop computers, whatever is needed. It could also help families defray smaller expenses, such as hospital parking, that add up during long recoveries back home. And, say the men, it would show the wounded they're not forgotten.
"It can aid in the healing," says Johnston, president of the fund. "It's an extremely effective way for Canadians, regardless of political leanings, to show they support the troops."
McTeague's hospital room is decorated with a poster and letter from grade school kids, and he's got plenty more cards stored away. One girl, nearly 8, wrote that for her birthday party she wanted donations to his fund instead of presents. And could he or a family member attend?
Shy and soft-spoken, McTeague reacts to the attention with a quick smile and a slight blush.
He was the kind of kid, he says, who liked playing with his army men and asking his father about his experiences in the reserves. "I'm following in his footsteps," says McTeague, who joined the reserves after high school and hopes to become a police officer.
He volunteered for Afghanistan, attracted by the money, experience and chance to travel. No regrets, says the 6-foot-1, rail-thin soldier, wearing a red T-shirt boasting an army logo.
His memories of the bombing are sketchy. He recalls being on patrol in a village, staring off into the desert, when he felt a wave hit him and he blacked out.
He woke up on a stretcher, hearing his name, feeling a tourniquet on his leg. Helicopters landed nearby. He woke up next in hospital in Kandahar with a breathing tube down his throat.
He woke up again in Germany. Doctors there removed part of his bowel. Shrapnel had entered his lower abdomen and exited on the side above his hip.
During all this, he never thought he'd die, he says. "I just kept thinking, `Now I'm on the way to recovery.'" He was upset, however, that he'd missed out – his unit had been promised two beers after the patrol.
"We were talking together before we got blown up," his buddy Denver Williams, 30, reminds him.
Williams, from the same unit, has dropped by to visit. His hand and lower legs were badly injured in the same attack. A toe was blown off, but was found in his boot and reattached. His dog tag, hanging over his heart, stopped a ball bearing. "I'd be a goner," he says.
On this day at St. John's, on Cummer Ave. in Willowdale, word spreads that a new guy has arrived. It's Master Corporal Jody Mitic from Brampton, who stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan and lost both his legs below the knees. McTeague and Williams will visit him.
The two buddies, both in Afghanistan for less than two months, talk about the trip to Europe they had planned for an upcoming leave. "We'll still make the trip, when we're healed," says McTeague.
There's a ways to go. At home in Orillia, he'll continue physiotherapy.
The extent of the nerve damage caused by the ball bearing through his neck is unknown. He can't have an MRI scan because of the metal fragments still in his body.
"We're working without a diagnosis," says physiotherapist Sydney Johnson.
Doctors at Sunnybrook hospital performed skin grafts and operated on his legs. His left leg, so shattered that a metal bar holds the bones together, can't yet fully bear his weight.
"There are days I'd get depressed," he says. "I'd think, `How much longer will I be here? When will I do things on my own?' It would feel like forever.
"Then, the next day, I'd wake up feeling better. When you make progress, it keeps you up."
A big milestone, he says, was feeding himself. Scratching himself was good, too, he remembers with a laugh.
It's time for physiotherapy and the long, lanky soldier looks like he's unwinding as he slowly stands up. Johnson has him climb stairs and come down using only one crutch. "The army mentality kicks in," she says. "He's not afraid to push hard."
Following behind, Tom Succamore, 77, pushes the wheelchair in case McTeague needs it. Succamore, a retired construction superintendent who served in the British army, heard about the injured soldiers and started visiting McTeague and Williams nearly every day.
"I leave here so enthused," Succamore says. "I rejoice in myself seeing their progress."
McTeague's therapy finished, he and Succamore head to the hospital cafeteria. A man in the cashier line sizes up McTeague – army T-shirt, wheelchair – and says, "Proud of you, bud."
"Thanks," says McTeague, quick smile, slight blush. Complete Story

For more information about the Wounded Warriors Fund click: www.woundedwarriors.ca

Wounded Warriors Benefit Concert

Benefit for the

Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund

Saturday, February 3rd

8:00 P.M.

Fiddler's Green, Cambridge, Ontario

$25 per ticket

Julian Austin

Country singer Julian Austin may be coming to Cambridge for the first time on Saturday . . . but it will be for a farewell as he's going to close the bar he's playing. Literally.
After a decade on the scene, owner Nash Cohen has sold Fiddler's Green Irish Pub -- everything, including its longtime resident Emily, the oft reported ghost of the Green.
"It was an offer I couldn't refuse," says Cohen, of the closing that marks the second prominent live concert venue to disappear within six months following last year's abrupt relocation of the Lil Big Horn to Brantford.
Cohen, nevertheless, wants Fiddler's Green to go out in style, so he's organized a benefit for The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund featuring Canadian country star Julian Austin, bagpipe rockers The Mudmen and AC/DC tribute band For Those About To Rock.
Tickets are $25 and all door proceeds will go to the fund, which contributes quality of life items such as personal blankets and individual entertainment items designed to lift the morale of soldiers wounded on the front lines.
Country performer Austin will be donating $5 of each sale of his current Red & White CD to the fund, which is near and dear to his heart.
"I do a lot of stuff for the military and that's a rewarding passion for me as well, working alongside our men and women in uniform," said the New Brunswick-born Austin on Tuesday from the home he shares with wife Angela in Steinbach, Man.
"It's a great cause."
As for Austin, named Rising Star at the Canadian Country Music Awards in 1997, he's on the comeback trail, having led the kind of life worthy of an immortal country song.
In his rather frank MySpace.com posting, Austin writes about his previous life and arrest as a cocaine dealer and later, his rise and fall as one of this country's most promising country music stars.
Spawning an earthy likeability that captured the hearts of many Canadian country music lovers, Austin earned a platinum album for his 1996 debut What My Heart Already Knows and a big chart-topping hit with Little Ol' Kisses.
Even though his criminal days were behind him, Austin's substance abuse still remained a major bug-a-boo that the singer admits eventually derailed his career.
"Later on down the road I ran into problems with my record company BMG due to the fact that my half-a-tonne of cocaine I was blasting up my nose a day made me quite unmanageable to say the least and quite the insane madman to deal with, plain and simple," Austin writes.
Commenting on the posting, Austin says his life is an open book for a reason.
"I'm not ashamed to share my past for both good and bad," explains Austin, clean and sober since 2003.
"I receive a lot of e-mails and people come up to me time-to-time telling me they can relate with my story in that they've gone through the same thing or are going through the same thing, or they're doing better because of reading my story.
"We all have our struggles in life and we all have our demons. It's been quite a lot of time for me and my demons are at rest. And I must say, I like my life better a little toned down and not so reckless, wild and selfish."
Now living a life of "weight training, walking, jogging and eating healthy," Austin has taken two-and-a-half years to make his self-financed album Red & White, taking time wherever possible out of his schedule to entertain the troops.
"What NATO is doing and the Canadian soldiers are doing for the people of Afghanistan is pretty great," says Austin, currently working on a new album.
"I love them." .. story continued

For More information about The Wounded Warrior's Fund: http://www.woundedwarriors.ca/en/index.php