The podcast started with a story of a little boy coming to the home of Leah Cuffe and Team Canada competitor Mike Trauner on their first Halloween after returning home. The boy was riveted by Mike’s prosthetic limbs and kept telling his Mom that Mike was a real-life Transformer and wouldn’t be dissuaded. Leah told the little guy that if he was a very good boy, he could come back another time to see Mike ‘Megatron’ transform into a car and they both smiled at the memory.
How do families cope with an injured soldier? In Mike’s case, his injuries were catastrophic from am IED blast in December 2008. He shares in the podcast that he was conscious after the explosion and overheard that there were two casualties: a person with shrapnel and another with double amputations. Mike had no idea they were talking about him. He goes on to share the realities of his life now. Leah also talks about how her life changed in December 2008 and why she has taken a leave of absence from her job in order to help Mike.
This riveting podcast lays bare the power of the human spirit, and connection in the relationship between these two. They met on her birthday in 2002 and 15 years later, they are still going strong despite having spent 11 of those years in recovery and rehabilitation mode.
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