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Life After War: A Survivor's Story

Aired June 12, 2003 - 15:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he considers himself fortunate to have survived. John Fernandez came home from the war in Iraq down, but not out. His platoon lost three men when they were attacked in Najaf. Fernandez lost part of his limbs but has not lost his smile. Maria Hinojosa has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Fernandez was a national lacrosse star, a West Point graduate. Focused, fast, ambitious. And then at 24, he went off to war.

JOHN FERNANDEZ, U.S. ARMY: We had received an incoming fire, and I was just lying there, and my legs were numb. And I said, oh, god. I just remember sitting there for a second, just not knowing what happened. And I felt for my legs and realized that they were there.

I pulled my sleeping bag off and looked at my feet. I just, you know, screamed. I realized that my life had changed forever.

HINOJOSA: John was Christi's strong man. Happy and optimistic the day he went off to war, he came back determined not to cry for his wounds. Three men had died right next to him.

FERNANDEZ: I couldn't tell that I was bleeding anymore, you know? I wasn't -- I knew that I wasn't going to die. And I just tried keeping everyone else up at that point.

CHRISTI FERNANDEZ, WIFE: I haven't felt sorry for myself at all. I know that there's three wives that would love to trade places with me. My husband is home. And, you know, I didn't care what brought him home as long as he's here.

HINOJOSA: Married just before the war in a rushed ceremony, they're managing some simple things together for the first time. And some much more complicated ones as well.

C. FERNANDEZ: Why don't you try the stepping up and stepping down?

J. FERNANDEZ: The mind works in mysterious ways, because my mind, it doesn't know that my foot's not there. So it still sends signals down to my foot. And it comes back as pain.

C. FERNANDEZ: No pressure here at all. So that's really good.

J. FERNANDEZ: I'm barely putting any weight on it now.

HINOJOSA: He's had prosthetics just a week, but already he's making plans.

(on camera): You're going to be the first double amputee lacrosse player?

J. FERNANDEZ: I don't know, probably. I'm not sure if there has been, but I'll definitely be playing again. Hopefully this year.

I don't know. We'll see. We'll see.

C. FERNANDEZ: And there's not a doubt in my head that, you know, he's going to do it.

J. FERNANDEZ: I'm still pushing.

HINOJOSA (voice-over): And trying to walk through the pain.

C. FERNANDEZ: He made it so much easier because, like, you know, his friends or family would go in there, you know, and want to be upset, but he wouldn't let them because he'd be joking around.

J. FERNANDEZ: I don't feel like anything's pushing down here. It's easy for you to accept something internally and independently. But from someone else saying, oh man, that must suck. He's got no feet, you know. It's got to be so hard. But you end up not thinking about it like that.

HINOJOSA: He thinks, instead, like the young man who graduated from West Point just two years ago, a star in a runner's game who now struggles just to stand at the latest graduation. Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired June 12, 2003 - 15:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he considers himself fortunate to have survived. John Fernandez came home from the war in Iraq down, but not out. His platoon lost three men when they were attacked in Najaf. Fernandez lost part of his limbs but has not lost his smile. Maria Hinojosa has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Fernandez was a national lacrosse star, a West Point graduate. Focused, fast, ambitious. And then at 24, he went off to war.

JOHN FERNANDEZ, U.S. ARMY: We had received an incoming fire, and I was just lying there, and my legs were numb. And I said, oh, god. I just remember sitting there for a second, just not knowing what happened. And I felt for my legs and realized that they were there.

I pulled my sleeping bag off and looked at my feet. I just, you know, screamed. I realized that my life had changed forever.

HINOJOSA: John was Christi's strong man. Happy and optimistic the day he went off to war, he came back determined not to cry for his wounds. Three men had died right next to him.

FERNANDEZ: I couldn't tell that I was bleeding anymore, you know? I wasn't -- I knew that I wasn't going to die. And I just tried keeping everyone else up at that point.

CHRISTI FERNANDEZ, WIFE: I haven't felt sorry for myself at all. I know that there's three wives that would love to trade places with me. My husband is home. And, you know, I didn't care what brought him home as long as he's here.

HINOJOSA: Married just before the war in a rushed ceremony, they're managing some simple things together for the first time. And some much more complicated ones as well.

C. FERNANDEZ: Why don't you try the stepping up and stepping down?

J. FERNANDEZ: The mind works in mysterious ways, because my mind, it doesn't know that my foot's not there. So it still sends signals down to my foot. And it comes back as pain.

C. FERNANDEZ: No pressure here at all. So that's really good.

J. FERNANDEZ: I'm barely putting any weight on it now.

HINOJOSA: He's had prosthetics just a week, but already he's making plans.

(on camera): You're going to be the first double amputee lacrosse player?

J. FERNANDEZ: I don't know, probably. I'm not sure if there has been, but I'll definitely be playing again. Hopefully this year.

I don't know. We'll see. We'll see.

C. FERNANDEZ: And there's not a doubt in my head that, you know, he's going to do it.

J. FERNANDEZ: I'm still pushing.

HINOJOSA (voice-over): And trying to walk through the pain.

C. FERNANDEZ: He made it so much easier because, like, you know, his friends or family would go in there, you know, and want to be upset, but he wouldn't let them because he'd be joking around.

J. FERNANDEZ: I don't feel like anything's pushing down here. It's easy for you to accept something internally and independently. But from someone else saying, oh man, that must suck. He's got no feet, you know. It's got to be so hard. But you end up not thinking about it like that.

HINOJOSA: He thinks, instead, like the young man who graduated from West Point just two years ago, a star in a runner's game who now struggles just to stand at the latest graduation. Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com