By Marcia Love
Private Dallas White is back on Canadian soil. He arrived in Edmonton on May 23 and is being cared for in a hospital there. White was injured in a bomb blast during a night foot patrol about 15 km southwest of Kandahar City on May 13.
While Dallas was being treated at a military hospital in Germany, he called his parents, Cammie and Grant, several times a week, which built up the family’s spirits.
“He’s doing better and really improving,” said Cammie on Friday.
The 21-year-old will require a series of surgeries on his left leg, as it sustained multiple fractures from the improvised explosive device (IED).
His eyesight, which was damaged by the flash of the IED, is slowly returning. The damage was done to the iris and not the pupil and should heal without impairing his vision.
The Canadian Armed Forces sent Lieutenant Conor Malloy to act as an assisting officer for the White family. While awaiting Dallas’ arrival in Edmonton, he continued to provide updates to the family on behalf of the army.
Cammie is thankful for the assistance.
“(The military) have been amazingly good to us,” she said. “They keep us updated. It’s great that they have one guy specifically assigned to inform us.”
The family wasn’t expecting Dallas to arrive in Edmonton until today, and Cammie said he was fortunate to be at the military hospital in Germany.
“(The army tells) us Germany is the highest-ranked military hospital in the world,” Cammie explained. “So if he stays there and has some of these procedures with his leg done, we have to be thankful. As much as we’d like to see him... if he’s getting the best care there, then we’ll just sit tight until he comes home.”
For residents who want to sent their get well wishes to Dallas, a box is set up at the Bargain Shop for people to drop off cards.