Combat Medic-Afghanistan Veteran Gets Care from Home Depot Volunteers

Watch: Hundreds of volunteers renovate wounded veteran's damaged home
NJ.Com
By Justin Zaremba
September 12, 2014

HAMBURG — For George Alakpa, Sept. 11s have served as bookends to a harsh chapter in his life.

It was the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 that inspired him, a Nigerian immigrant, to join the U.S. Army. It was while serving as a medic in Afghanistan that he was severely injured and suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury when a roadside bomb exploded.

After returning from Afghanistan nearly two years ago, Alakpa, who also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, hit a new low when he nearly lost his home in Hamburg. The sum of these events — including his isolation at the time — caused him to contemplate suicide, he said.
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