By Marcia Love
The excitement of Maple Creek residents was visible as they welcomed Dallas White home last week.
The 21-year-old private in the Canadian Armed Forces made the trip home on Aug. 6 from the Edmonton military base hospital where he has been recuperating from injuries sustained in a bomb blast  while on foot patrol near Kandahar, Afghanistan in May.
He returned to the base today to continue physiotherapy treatments to his wounded leg.
White was happy to be home for the first time in 10 months to see family and friends. He noted the support he has received from the community is overwhelming.
“It’s good to see everyone,” he said. “I’ll be walking down the street and people will come up to me and say hi and ask how I am.”
Cammie and Grant White were just as excited to have their son return home.
“He’s doing really well,” said Cammie. “He’s had an amazing recovery... and he’s coping well with the magnitude of what’s happened. He’s very optimistic.”
Dallas will continue to receive treatments at Edmonton for at least six months. His eyesight has returned to normal, but he sustained some hearing loss.
“His hearing loss was so minimal he wasn’t even aware of it,” Cammie explained.
Despite his leg injury, Dallas is walking without crutches most of the time as doctors felt it would assist in his recovery. Doctors told the White family Dallas had one of the most remarkable healing processes they had ever seen.
Although his leg is scarred, Dallas said he is not bothered by the wound as the injury could have been a great deal worse.
“He’s driving now,” said Cammie. “We would never have thought he could already be driving, but he is.”
She said many people have asked Dallas if he plans to leave the Canadian Armed Forces.
“He never talks about that,” Cammie explained. “He could be at it for life. He talks about going into the officer-in-training program.”
When he completed his military training and began his service in Afghanistan in October, Dallas had dreams of one day becoming a helicopter pilot.
“When he wasn’t sure if he was going to see again, he said he was thinking there goes the helicopter dream,” Cammie said. “But now because (his sight) has come back so well he’s hoping to go back to that plan.”
After serving with the military, Dallas considered joining the RCMP. However, he is uncertain if that is possible with his leg injury.
“Even though his leg is healing remarkably well, probably that leg will never be strong enough to do regular police force work like he had thought he might do,” Cammie said.
Throughout his recuperation, Dallas will continue to make occasional visits home as his physiotherapy allows.
“He can’t stay (in Maple Creek) for a whole week because he has to be at the base for his physio, but he’ll be home once in a while,” Cammie said.