Community Corner
A Twin Cities Wounded Warrior Reclaims a Life of Joy and Service
Iraq veteran Marc Kuboy works to help others wounded by the country's current wars. Sponsored by Grape-Nuts.
About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains. As 35-year-old Twin City resident Marc Kuboy smiles and continues to enjoy an incredibly active life, there's a tendency to forget he's a wounded warrior and a soldier who has overcome numerous challenges. Using the compassion he gained from recovering from severe injuries sustained in the Iraq war, Kuboy reaches out regularly to help other Twin Cities area veterans and victims of brain injury reclaim their own lives. In 2005 then 27-year-old Marc Kuboy decided to quit his job in retail management and join the Minnesota Army National Guard as a medic. “After I finished with my initial training, I was immediately attached to a mobilized infantry unit," Marc said. "As a medic, I was responsible for assuring the highest levels of physical, mental, and emotional health for the infantry platoon that I was assigned to. My duties included: going on combat patrols, storing and organizing medical supplies, creating and teaching monthly medical classes in order to teach the entire company basic life saving skills." While on a combat patrol while in Iraq in 2007, Marc was injured in a roadside bomb attack. "I sustained severe injuries that include having both of my feet broken, both of my lower legs broken with extensive tissue damage, breaking a vertebrae in my lower back, breaking my left forearm, breaking my jaw in multiple places, fracturing many teeth and acquiring a traumatic brain injury," Marc recalled. Recovery meant pent four months inpatient and six months outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and six more months in inpatient care at the Minneapolis VA. "After I recovered as much as possible, I went to college and received a degree in social work,” he said. Patch: What is the biggest challenge you've taken on? Marc: Learning to walk again and adjusting to a different speed of life. It didn’t really feel like a challenge though, it always felt like it was simply the next thing to do. I would set a goal that I could foresee accomplishing in the near future and strive toward it. One day; one week; one month; one year at a time; I accomplished all things I set my mind to. Today I’m working at the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance as a Resource Facilitator assisting persons affected by brain injury to accomplish their goals and to live as happily and independently as possible. This fall I will start on a Master’s Degree in social work with a focus on mental health. My end goal is to work at a VA or another organization that specifically focuses on helping veterans. P: What inspired you to take on this challenge? M: Suicide rates among the veteran population approximately double the amount of suicides in the civilian population. Having had a fellow veteran from the company that I deployed with take his own life and understanding some of the barriers that many veterans face, I feel that some of my personal experiences place me in a unique position to help some of the veterans out there that may be suffering in a way that another person would not. P: What will you do when you succeed? M: The completion of a Master's Degree in social work and getting employed in a position that focuses on helping veterans does not alone signify success, but the achievement of success at a different level. I've already succeeded in my goal of living happily and helping people where ever I can, especially other veterans.
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