Friday, December 6, 2013

Canadian Soldier with PTSD no longer faces discharge

Soldier with PTSD no longer faces discharge
Bay Today Canada
Murray Brewster and Terry Pedwell, The Canadian Press
December 05, 2013

OTTAWA - Master Cpl. Kristian Wolowidnyk is no longer facing an imminent discharge from the Canadian Forces because of his post-traumatic stress disorder.

The former combat engineer and Afghan war veteran, who survived a recent suicide attempt, was told this week that he now qualifies to remain in the military as part of a prolonged release process for injured soldiers.

The change of Wolowidnyk's classification means that upon his eventual release, he will have reached the 10-year service mark and will qualify for a fully indexed military pension.

For Wolowidnyk and his wife, Michele, the news eliminated a major source of stress. But more than that, they say it validated his psychological injuries.

"They've recognized his injury, I think is a lot of it," Michele Wolowidnyk said in an interview Thursday.

"Not just that his release is not pending anymore, but that they've recognized this is a very serious injury for him and now he's going to get the proper treatment going forward."

Until Wednesday morning, it appeared Wolowidnyk — father to a two-year-old child — would be discharged, even though he was desperate to stay in the Forces and re-qualify for another military trade.

He tried to kill himself on Nov. 21 — two days after being told he was being discharged.
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