‘Scars of Honor’: Central Oregon Soldier Recovering

He’s only 24 years old, but Ryan Craig has endured enough pain for a lifetime. Back in November, the Army sergeant took a bullet to the head when he put himself in harm’ way to protect two injured comrades.

A sniper’s bullet busted through his helmet, changing his life forever. Craig said the scenario could have played out on any given day in war torn Afghanistan.

“People tried to kill us on a daily basis,” Craig said Friday.

They almost succeeded. For 10 weeks after the attack, Craig was in a coma, plagued by four stokes and a heart attack.

Doctors had to replace part of his skull with a titanium plate. He’s had six brain surgeries, and even though his scars draw stares, he doesn’t mind.

“We talked about viewing them as scars of honor instead of scars of shame, or embarrassment,” said Jennifer Miller, Craig’s mother.

She said she told her son, “When people stare at you, you can know they’re scars of honor, and not be ashamed.”

Another badge of honor Craig wears proudly is the purple heart, awarded to him in January. Even more amazing, his mother said, is his heart on the inside.

She said he’s never angry, bitter or cross about what happened to him.

Proving her point, Craig told NewsChannel 21: “What I’m going through, I don’t even wish this on the guy who shot me — granted, he’s probably six feet under the ground right now.”

On Tuesday afternoon, a hero’s welcome awaited Craig at the Redmond Airport. Doctors said he’d never walk again, but on his own two feet, boots on the ground, he once again proved them wrong, something he said is no big deal.

“I think I’ve defied a lot of medical odds, but as for what I think I can do, and what doctors do, I think those two things are totally different,” said Craig.

Miller knows her son is right.

“Anything the doctors have given him — outcomes, everything — he’s defied all of them,” said Miller. “He’s walking and talking and he can do math better than me, in his own head,” she joked.

Craig, who is from Madras, is only in Central Oregon to stay with his mom in Prineville for a few days. Then, he and his mother will head off to a Florida hospital to work on more rehabilitation.

Craig said one goal he still wants to accomplish is to drive again.