((PKG)) FROM PTSD TO COMEDY
((Banner: Path to Recovery))
((VOA Russian))
((Reporter: Anush Avetisyan))
((Camera: Anatolie Casenco))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Monrovia, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Pop-Up Banner: US Army Veteran Michael Carrasquillo served in Iraq and was wounded in Afghanistan in 2005. He was 21 years old))
((Michael Carrasquillo, Veteran))
We were doing missions the same way we always do. We do patrols and my team got ambushed, and so, one of my guys got shot first. He was shot twice through the leg, couldn't move, and so, we had to just kind of drag him out of the danger zone under fire, and in the process of doing that, I was shot five times.
((NATS))
Say, Hi.
((Michael Carrasquillo, Veteran))
I had multiple fractures, multiple damaged organs. There I also sustained massive amounts of nerve damage. So, I've lost function in certain parts of my body, sensation, feeling. So, it's been something that I've had to learn to live with, you know, throughout these years. But really, I also left, emotionally I left myself there. I never left. You know, I'm a young man. I'm 21 and now I can't use the bathroom without help.
((NATS))
((Michael Carrasquillo, Veteran))
I was starting to spiral and there would be weeks that I didn't step outside my house. And, you know, up at 3:00 a.m. patrolling the perimeter of my house, expecting to be attacked. When we went to the matching process, they bring out a couple of different dogs to work with and to experience. Ojai walked up to me, he sniffed me, and then just laid down at my feet, and I was like, oh man, this is my dog, and then it really was. I mean, we've been together ever since that day, and you know, he just, he's happy to just be with me and lay with me. He's not trained to help me fight PTSD, but the ability to, you know, just be there, and be a calming, relaxing spirit. And you know, we go out, I get a little, I get, like, anxiety, just this crowd anxiety, and I know if I can, kind of, back up, he can lay in front of me and just provides that a little bit of support, that barrier that says, like, ‘You're fine, nobody’s, you know, nobody’s got you.’ He knows over 40 commands, so, you know, simple things, to pick up and put things and move things, push things open.
((NATS))
((Michael Carrasquillo, Veteran))
Ojai, get. He's very careful with it, like he knows not to break something, and he'll hold it until I get it. And even when I put my hand out, he shouldn’t just let it go. I should say, ‘Give, give.’ And he just gives it to me.
((NATS))
((Jenny Carrasquillo, Wife))
He stays with me like another member of the family. It’s not like, oh, people say, ‘Oh, it’s a dog. Oh, a service dog.’ It’s just, I see like, another kid. You know what I mean, like, he’s just….. I think the main thing that I appreciate about having him is, you know, the support that he provides Mike, and also physically and emotionally, because he’s just always there for him.
((Michael Carrasquillo, Veteran))
I got to a point in my recovery that I felt good physically. I felt good emotionally, knowing I have his support that I can go out into public. And I learned about there was a program for veterans that taught them how to do standup comedy. And I've always been a fan of comedy. I've always been a fan of, you know, watching standup specials and watching comedy movies. Never thought that that would be something I could do or perform, especially after being injured. And so, just having him, we'd been together almost two years at that point and it just gives me this sense of, like, I can do it, I can take on that challenge.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Armed Services Arts Partnership))
((Announcer, Improv Club))
He served in the US Army for six years, deployed once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. And a few fun facts for you. He was shot five times, died twice. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your last comic for the evening, Michael Carrasquillo!
((Michael Carrasquillo, Veteran))
So, you know what’s great about being a disabled vet? Nothing! What is wrong with you? Why would you even think something like that? That’s just mean! Thank you, guys!
((NATS))
