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Disabled Marine Finds A Home

Tribune photo by YVETTE C. HAMMETT

Army Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Avent, with the East Bay High Junior ROTC program, assists Marine Lance Cpl. John T. Doody, 25, out of his new van with help from Bruce Bayes of Custom Mobility.

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

yhammett@tampatrib.com

Published: December 24, 2008

RIVERVIEW - Marine Lance Cpl. John T. Doody was recovering nicely from injuries sustained when a sniper attacked him in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2007.

Then another enemy struck. A staph infection broke off and headed to his brain, cutting off oxygen and leaving him comatose for four months. Doctors said the 25-year-old would likely never again have high-brain function.

Physicians at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego recommended Doody transfer to the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa. That was in February. Since then, Doody's mother, Chris Ott, has seen considerable progress.

Although confined to a wheelchair and blind, the young retired Marine can talk and understand. But he needs lots of help.

The Tampa Bay community has opened up to Doody in many ways. Local businesses, nonprofit groups and individuals have all played vital roles in helping Doody, Ott and Ott's husband, Bryan, transition to their new home in Riverview.

On Dec. 15, Doody received a fully outfitted van to help transport him. Run-Away, a specialty company in Tampa, equipped the $62,000 van with everything the family will need, courtesy of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the nonprofit Wheels for Warriors.

"We've been loaning J.T.'s mother vehicles since April," said Jennifer Tracey, a mobility consultant for Run-Away. "We're one of the only companies in the country that does this. We get referrals from groups like Disabled American Veterans. I'm visiting 21 veterans almost every day, who were wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"It really boosts a guy's spirits when they can get out and eat or just go to the mall," Tracey said.

Specialists from Custom Mobility in Largo fitted Doody's wheelchair last week with a special stereo system that allows him to hook up his iPod and listen to his favorite tunes.

Gary Kluckhuhn and Bruce Bayes of Custom Mobility were among the entourage to welcome Doody and the Otts to their new home Dec. 15.

Members of the East Bay High School Army Junior ROTC - Cadet Pvt. Garrett Bloomfield, Cadet Private Nathan Thomas, Cadet 1st Lt. Jamie Brown and their leader, Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Avent - welcomed him with a salute.

Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce Director Kitty Cunningham rallied the community to make sure Doody got a warm welcome in his new suburban home.

Several other chamber members and community activists greeted him as he rolled down the ramp of his new van.

And Karen Lewandowski, who has used a service dog for years to help her balance, offered to help train a dog for Doody that can stand by his side, pick things up for him and help him in other ways. Hillsborough County Animal Services will donate the dog.

"I'm tremendously glad to have all these people here," Doody said, between trading friendly barbs with Avent.

"Semper Fi, Do or Die," he told Avent in a near whisper.

"That's OK," Avent replied. "We're all brothers in arms."

Doody's attitude remains positive, his mother said.

"He says even if he would have known this would happen, he would have served anyway."

Ott and her husband moved from their home in Utah to be with her son.

Despite their lack of family here, they won't be alone.

Members of the chamber have already stepped up to help the family relocate. Avent's unit has offered to help finish unpacking boxes.

Mike and Susan Sutko of Day Star Ministries, a small Gibsonton homeless mission that serves more than 60 veterans, brought fruit last week and promised to bring by a fellow Marine or two for a visit.

"It's just wonderful how the Tampa community has just been awesome to us," Chris Ott said. "We have no family here, and we worried about that," she said, noting that their home in Idaho is still up for sale.

"We moved here to help J.T. get better. We feel like we'll definitely get some help."

And they will, Cunningham said.

She received a call from a woman in San Diego saying the family needed help unloading their belongings. Within hours, she had a gaggle of volunteers.

"I just said, 'Let's see what we can do.' And we did it. That's what makes this chamber special.

"We hope it will be ongoing," Cunningham said. "That young man's life will never be the same. I know he's not the only one, but he was put in our lap. "I told his mother, whether you like that or not, you've been adopted."

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566.

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