An Army veteran told Fox News Digital his unwavering faith in God is why he’s here today. JP Lane, a Purple Heart veteran, singer, author, and speaker based in San Antonio, Texas, endured the worst after he faced severe injuries while deployed in Afghanistan in 2010. He shared in an interview that he was blown up three times while covering ground clearance, which involves searching for explosives.
However, on July 2, 2011, Lane’s third and final encounter with an explosive changed his life forever. He said, “Ultimately, it was the first truck of mine to be penetrated by an IED. And when it went through my vehicle, it actually amputated both of my legs, snapped my left femur in half, my pelvis snapped in half, dislocated my spine and my pelvis, and my right arm snapped in half 90 degrees.”
He continued, “My right middle finger was amputated immediately. But that’s okay. Nobody needs that finger anyway,” he said jokingly. “And everything inside my torso was destroyed except for my heart and my left lung.” Lane was immediately airlifted to the hospital, where he was “having a hard time staying alive.” Eventually, he was transferred back to the U.S. to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. A month and a half later, he woke up from a coma.
When he woke up and realized both legs were gone, Lane questioned what his life had in store for him. He said, “I didn’t know what was next. It was very difficult to wake up and to see that I no longer would be able to enjoy the things that I used to be able to do, like play drums, run, wakeboard or snowboard, you name it.” He added, “Everything that I used to enjoy with my legs was now an impossible feat.”
This realization took a toll on Lane’s mental health as he faced his new diagnosis of PTSD, he said. These negative thoughts were so constant that the veteran said he attempted to take his own life 12 times. He said, “Most of those attempts were in the Fisher House when I was by myself going through therapy and seeing everybody else with their family members and trying to get through it.” After his 12th suicide attempt, Lane realized that he could not fight the battle alone.
He said, “That’s when I started to rely on my faith to get me through it all. Because as strong as I thought I was, mentally and physically, I realized that I wasn’t strong enough to do this on my own. I had to reach out and rely on something stronger than myself, which is why I went back to my faith in God, which gave me the strength to get through it all, allowing me to have real joy in the darkest moments of my life.”
Lane said he’s “very grateful” for his ability to rely on his faith to achieve physical and mental recovery, which became apparent to other soldiers. He said the best remedy for other soldiers, and even civilians, who are struggling with mental health is to connect with others. He said, “I didn’t do this by myself.” For Lane, that outreach included getting involved with the nonprofit organization Semper Fi & America’s Fund, which graciously provided the soldier with what he needed.
Lane suggests one way to remedy these jarring suicide rates is to trust in a higher good. He said, “I turned to God, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m done with this. It’s your turn to handle it.’ And He literally took my whole entire life and flipped it and changed for the better, and I am so grateful that I didn’t rely on my own strength because I was not able to handle this.”