Fighting the Good Fight
Two soldiers battle back from spinal cord injuries to return to duty.
Written By Bill Sanders
Photography By Russell Klika and Abby Greenawalt
U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. First Class Tom Boone, 30, is a Green Beret soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He sustained an incomplete C-4 to -5 spinal cord injury in an ATV accident in 2010. He was diagnosed with central cord syndrome. Today, he has returned to duty as a medic and instructor.
TOM’S ACCIDENT, Rescue and Rehabilitation
For Tom, it felt as if his whole life was in front of him on Sept. 10, 2010. He had a beautiful new bride, and the rigorous, meticulous training required to become a Green Beret was behind him. His personal and professional life seemed set.
Then, on a family reunion weekend in Nashville, Tom’s wife, Meredith Boone, went boating with part of the family while Tom went to ride ATVs with his uncle and cousins.
“For some reason, I had a bad feeling about him going riding that day,” Meredith recalls. “I kept telling him to be careful and check in with me. When his Uncle Bobby called me, I thought he was joking at first. This couldn’t be real.”