From near death to inspirational speaker, soldier's recovery from axe attack continues to impress

While a sudden attack 14 years agoin Afghanistan took away former Canadian soldierCapt. Trevor Greene's ability to walk and talk in an instant, his journey back has been marked by slow, continuedchange.

In 2006, while meeting with elders in an Afghan village on a peacekeeping mission, an axe-wielding teenager split Greene'sskull open and left the six-foot-four soldier, husbandand father in a wheelchair back in Canada.

Now an inspirational TED talk speaker, he recentlydemonstrated his daily routine to keep retraining his brain duringa video call from his home in Nanaimo, B.C., on Vancouver Island.

"Rolling over and just dying has never occurred to me. I want to be walking again and maybe surfing, and skydiving again," Greene said.

Greene's progress is not only being observed byfellow veterans and thescientific community, but he's also being credited as the inspiration behindLegion Veterans Village being built in Surrey, afirst-of-its-kind in Canada.

Two big changes inspired by one man

NeuroscientistRyan D'Arcy,from the Centre for Neurology Studies at HealthTech Connexin Surrey, said the centre's Project Iron Soldierfocused on remapping Greene's brain wants to supportGreene's goal of one day walking.

"What Trevor has been able to do is push the limits of rewiring to regain abilities that he'd lost when he was attacked ... just like an elite athlete trains, he trains his brain daily very hard," D'Arcy said.

He said Greene standing unassistedand bench-pressing are just two examples of hisbrain being rewired.

He'sbeen working with Greene for more than ten years and now uses a small tool, called PoNS (portable neuromodulationstimulator) that connects withnerves in Greene'stongue whichin turnstimulate his brain.

"There arenerves to your tongue that are like a backdoor to your brain. So while we were doing training, we could stimulate his brain and push into new realms of physical, cognitive and PTSD improvements," D'Arcy said.

Regardinghis PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder Greenesaid he was "constantly on edge and it was exhausting. Before I got the PoNS I couldn't have my back to a door for an instant ... now I'm not freaked out."

D'Arcy says the work he's done with Greene has given hope to countless other veterans.

Rowena Rizzotti, project lead of the Legion Veterans Village, says Greene inspired the $312-million complex because he needed so many different services for help, backers decidedit was time to put all of them in one spot.

"We want this centre to continue to inspire in his name and countless veterans who continue to suffer greatly from their PTSD and mental health. They've given so much of themselves to protect us," Rizzotti said.

Rizzotti says the new legion and attachedtower areset for completion in 2022,replacing the old legionin Whalley. It will alsocreateaCentre of Excellencefor PTSD,a mental health rehabilitation facility andhave condo towers available for both veterans and first responders.

Now, while Greene continues his rehabwith his family by his side, his next goal is to get to thebase campof Mount Everest.

"The base camp trek will be my walking debut on the international stage.There's always a way, I always say to my kids, there's always a way."

ForD'Arcy, watching Greene's returnfrom near death in Afghanistan is a strong motivating force.

"There is no end to this story. We're going to keep pushing recovery ...to inspiring countless others now," D'Arcy said.