Operation Homefront VIllages Welcomes the Titovets Family
Army Spec. Igor Titovets was on patrol in the mountains of Afghanistan, navigating rough terrain with a full pack on his back. He lost his footing and fell 40 feet, down a sheer drop. At the bottom, he rolled and bounced another 60 feet over the rocky, rough landscape.
The fall broke his spine and completely shattered two of his vertebrae. He also suffered nerve damage in his spine, PTSD and TBI.
When he returned to the U.S., he remained an inpatient for eight months as he endured numerous surgeries and rehabilitation. His family lived three hours away. There, they children were able to maintain a consistent school schedule, but the family began to feel the strain of the three-hour long, one-way drive to visit their father as they tried to visit at least three times a week.
A month after doctor’s operated, Igor was sent to a spinal cord facility in Florida for rehabilitation. There, he would receive some of the best care available for his injury. But there, he also would be even further from his family.
Igor’s wife, Volha, flew to Florida every two weeks to be with him and spent five to seven days there at a time. The family endured the long-distance schedule for five grueling months.
Soon, the strain of the separation began to take its toll. As the months dragged on, the family began to sink in debt to pay for the repeated trips south.
Operation Homefront has given the family a place to live together where they can begin to rebuild their lives.
Now, Igor is an outpatient again at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center where doctors estimate he will need at least two more years of recovery time. Igor currently uses a wheelchair and can only walk short distances with the help of a brace that helps him maneuver his right leg.
His children are transferring to schools near the Operation Homefront Village in Bethesda. This is the first time the family will live under the same roof in two years.
As they prepare for his medical retirement, the family can now save money, rather than spend it, as he recovers.