From the edge of death to rehab, a soldier fights back

From the edge of death to rehab: A soldier fights back
Iowa soldier works to regain movement, brain function after devastating blast
Written by
TONY LEYS

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Adam Eilers’ Iowa National Guard buddies face a startling demand when they visit him at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital here. The admission price to his room, he tells them, is $5.

They balk, noting that they already sacrificed their time and paid for hundreds of miles’ worth of gas to come see their severely wounded friend. Some of his visitors are the very men who pulled his lifeless carcass from a blown-up Army truck in Afghanistan last February. After they saved him, they had to dodge Taliban bullets. Now he’s demanding cash?

Yup. Five bucks, the corporal tells them, or you get no visit. “They’re like, ‘What the hell?’ ” he reports, cackling.

His friends grudgingly fork over the money, wondering what he’s up to.

Eilers, 24, is ready to reveal his plot. The $200 he’s extorted from visitors will go toward kegs of beer for a bonfire party next spring near his northeast Iowa hometown of Garber. He intends to burn the special helmets that doctors used to protect his caved-in skull, plus the walker, cane, casts and other leftovers from his frustrating journey back from the edge of death.
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