In 2006, Master Corporal Trent Vail was training with U.S. soldiers in a Black Hawk helicopter when a nearly 90-foot drop changed the course of his life.
He and other Canadian soldiers were training in Fort Pickett, Va., where they were rappelling from helicopters 30 feet off the ground. The U.S. military beside them was doing higher drops.
“They were doing 90-foot rappels,” Vail said.
When the opportunity was presented to train with the Americans, Vail jumped at the chance.
He went up into the air with the U.S. soldiers in their helicopter. Rappels are supposed to happen slowly, you can stop and stall yourself.
“I lost control of the rope,” Vail said.
Being part of the military was all he ever wanted since he was five years old. He remembers listening to war stories from relatives.
“My dad, grandfather, great uncles and great-grandfather were all part of the Prince Edward Island Regiment,” Vail said.
Five generations of family served the Canadian military. After high school it wasn’t hard for him to decide what to do.
At age 17, Vail joined the military on Oct. 30, 1995.
He had a plan for himself, the future, his 19-year-old daughter. It all changed when he took that leap in 2006.
Vail was in shock when he landed. He tried to walk it off.
“I thought maybe my feet or ankles were sprained.”
It wasn’t long before the pain kicked in and Vail knew he was injured. He told doctors, but they saw nothing in X-rays.
“I was told I was a liar,” Vail said.
He went eight years misdiagnosed, trying to function while in intense pain.
“It wasn’t until I saw a different doctor in 2014 who sent me to a specialist. He looked at my chart and he noticed I never had a standing X-ray,” Vail said.
When the results came up on screen, Vail couldn’t believe the image was his foot. He had suffered a Lisfranc fracture in both feet. A Lisfranc fracture occurs when a foot is broken in the area where bones of the toes connect to bones of the foot, heel and ankle.
“My left foot was completely broken. It never healed. They have done four surgeries, two on my left foot,” Vail said.
He also has two herniated and degenerative discs in his back.
“The surgeon said he couldn’t do much, but I’m looking for a second opinion,” he said.
While receiving surgery over the last four years, he was ineligible for active duty. The medical leave kept adding up, but the army and Vail both hoped he would be able to return.
“Subconsciously I was reminding myself I was unfit. You see other members packing up to do training in Gagetown and I couldn’t go with them,” he said.
Then he got a letter that was hard to read.
“The letter said I cannot meet the universality of service.”
It meant he couldn’t do everything the job entailed. It meant the end of his military career.
“I always said they were going to have to kick me out,” he said.
On June 7, more than 22 years after he joined, Vail retired from the Canadian military.
“I’m at 100 per cent loss on what to do next,” Vail said. “The military was always part of my plan.”
Service suspended
Number of medical releases compared with total overall releases from the Canadian military over the last three years.
- 2017 - Medical releases: 2,221 (10,091 total)
- 2016 - Medical releases: 2,385 (10,081 total)
- 2015 - Medical releases: 1,947 (10,127 total)
Source: Department of National Defence
He didn’t plan on having to be medicated his entire life. He didn’t plan on ending his military career at age 41.
Luckily, insurance has picked up his case for the next two years, and Veteran Affairs Canada is helping.
“The support that is available both from Veterans Affairs Canada, as well as the veteran community here on P.E.I., helps with the transition from the military,” he said. “Having friends that can help you fill out paperwork and explain the process and what to expect helps make things easier.”
Bob Vail was at his younger brother’s retirement ceremony, along with other family members.
“The whole family is very proud of Trent’s service,” Bob said. “It is bittersweet, we know that he didn’t want to have to retire early, but his health won’t allow him to continue.”
Bob said he has seen opinions shared on Facebook suggesting some veterans aren’t being taken care of as well as they could be. Bob says that won’t happen to his little brother.
“We are always going to stand by him. He has a lot of good support within the family.”
Besides family, Vail does what he can to keep his mind off pain, like riding his motorcycle.
“It hurts, but I’ll ride as long as I can before I have to stop,” he said.
He has two pit bulls that have motivated him over the last couple of years.
“There are times where I would never leave the house if they didn’t need to be walked.”
His dogs, Gimley and Tig, wrestle in the backyard, growling playfully and tackling one another. Vail smiles from a lawn chair, watching them.
Even though he has moments of peace, the constant pain is overwhelming.
“I can only sit for a certain amount of time. I can only stand for a certain amount of time. So, I don’t know if I’ll be able to work or go to school.”
It’s not just physical pain he deals with.
Vail also has PTSD and depression.
There are moments he can’t ignore. Sometimes he catches his reflection in the mirror and thinks, “This is not who I am. I am not this broken person.”
