New chapter begins for young amputee

June 10 is a date that Justin Carey will never forget. On that date, two years ago, he laid bloodied and broken, hidden by brush alongside a road, fighting for his life.

But this year, he’s assigning the date a newer and happier memory: The day he graduates from high school.

“It basically closes a whole chapter while opening a whole new one,” he said. “On the same day that I graduate high school, I have overcome the second year of battling this battle — the amputation and the pain and the trial.”

As Carey prepared to walk across the stage in his cap and gown tonight, he reflected on four years at Battle Ground High School split in two: before and after the crash.

On the morning of June 10, 2013, the then-16-year-old Carey was waiting for the bus to school at the corner of Northeast 82nd Avenue and 289th Street when a Nissan Altima veered off the road and struck him.

The impact threw him 150 feet, and he landed in thick brush. He remained there, hidden from medics and sheriff’s deputies when they arrived. It wasn’t until an hour and a half later, when a tow truck operator came to collect the Altima, that Carey was discovered and rushed to the hospital.

The crash broke both of Carey’s femurs and severed both of his femoral arteries. He underwent several surgeries but eventually lost his lower right leg.

After a jury trial earlier this spring, the driver of the Altima, Shaun Johnson of Amboy, was convicted of vehicular assault, methamphetamine possession and bail jumping and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

The whole experience, Carey said, made his high school career much different than most.

“I had to grow up a lot faster than everybody else,” said Carey, now 18.

In the months and years that followed the crash, Carey relearned to walk on a prosthetic. He suffered from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the midst of Carey’s pain, others stepped up. His friends joked around with him about his leg, making him feel less different. Shannon Walker, who owns Northwest Battle Buddies, gave Carey the gift of Shiva, a 1-year-old German shepherd trained as a service dog. Shiva helps him sleep and senses when he’s feeling anxious, Carey said.

And though he’s gotten over a lot, obstacles remain. A few months ago, he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, which affects his memory and concentration.

“I’ll learn something in class one week, and I’ll have a slow weekend, sleep a lot, and I’ll go back to school and have to relearn the whole thing again,” he said.

Doctors’ appointments, fittings for his prosthetic and the trial against Shawn Johnson meant that Carey missed a good amount of school. But he stayed after school for weeks putting in extra work and was able to catch up enough to earn his diploma.

The hardest part about graduating, Carey said, will be doing so alongside his fellow classmates in his Reserve Officers’ Training Corps unit.

“They’re going to be going into the military, and I’m going to be stuck here,” Carey said.

The junior ROTC program was the highlight of Carey’s high school years. He enjoyed wearing the uniform and shooting practice. His ultimate goal was to join the U.S. Air Force, but with the amputation, Carey’s had to let go of that dream.

“I call him Superman,” said Col. Brian Brown, senior instructor for Battle Ground High School’s junior ROTC program. “I’ve never seen anybody fight for his life like that. … I haven’t seen trauma like that except on the battlefield.”

Brown said that he marvels at the grace that Carey has shown in moving on and re-inventing himself.

“It’s a horrible tragedy that’s happened to him and he’s turned it around and made it a positive catalyst,” Brown said. “He never gave up, and he’ll never give up in everything he does … there’s no telling what he can do.”

With the military out of the picture, Carey said he’s looking at other options. He said he hasn’t applied to colleges because he wants to be sure of what he wants to study first. He likes producing electronic dance music, but isn’t sure if he can make a career out of it.

“I want to do something else, I just don’t know what it is yet,” he said.

Taking the uneasy step into adulthood, Carey is being sure to keep the positive attitude he’s learned over the past two years.

“You’ve just got to move forward,” he said.