Pasco-Hernando State College Volume XIII, Issue II Fall 2019 | Page 17

Medical Center, Reed underwent multiple surgeries and painful If you see Marine Cpl. Tim Read at the Porter Campus, he hopes
rehabilitation. He transferred to Balboa Navy Medical Hospital in you stop by and say hello. Meeting fellow students and community
San Diego and then to the James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital in members is important to him and he does not shy away from
Tampa. “Recovery from such a traumatic event takes a lot of work sharing his story. In many ways, he believes his life truly began
to get your mind right, to get your body right.” It was during his after it almost ended. “Look at the positive. Change always comes.
recovery in Tampa, he met the love of his life. His wife Anh Lan Du Sometimes it rips your leg off. But change is where you grow.”
works in the hospital prosthetics department. Read says it was
fate that brought them together and Anh helped to restore his
hope and inspired him to refocus on his future after treatment. “I
met my wife after being blown up. I wouldn’t trade her or what we
share for anything,” he says with a slight smile spreading across
his face. “She helps me out every day and encourages me to
be strong.”
Now he attends classes at PHSC, where he is working on his
Associate in Science degree and eventually plans to pursue a
mechanical engineering degree. His passion is working on cars.
Read says he loves being back in the classroom. It’s helping his
mind and body heal. “It’s great to be in class and have that time to
be learning about what you’re focused on and just use your mind
and that time to relax. I am very lucky to still have my mind and
my thinking ability after surviving something that should have left
me brain dead.” Read says the support he has received at PHSC
amazes him every day. “Pasco-Hernando State has always helped
me with veterans’ programs. I’ve met a lot of veterans here. The
teachers are so nice, and they want you to succeed,” said Read.
“With PHSC, I feel like each person is seen as an individual and
given the tools they need to go further in their life with what they
want to accomplish.”
If you see Cpl. Read on campus, you will also see Shadow.
Shadow is Marine Cpl. Tim Read’s therapy dog. Even she has a
backstory. Shadow had already served in Afghanistan where she
worked as a bomb dog. She was there for 18 months and then
sadly her handler died. It was almost fate, Read says, that he
learned about Shadow being available for adoption when working
with a Boy Scout troop in California. Now Shadow remains by
his side, helping to guide him and recognizing when he needs
to sit down or is losing his stability. She helps with his balance
emotionally, too, as the memories of the explosion never leave
Cpl. Read. When those moments arrive, Shadow is quick to notice
and offer a paw of understanding. A sense of understanding, Read
says perhaps other humans cannot often provide. Shadow has
been to war. She understands in the most personal way.
When the organization Homes For Our Troops, learned of Marine
Cpl. Tim Read’s story, they stepped in to help. In his current home,
he faces challenges when he is in his wheelchair to reach the
Tim Read honored at the Homes For Our Troops celebration.
counter, cabinets, and he does not have an accessible shower.
Read’s home is currently being built and he, his wife, and Shadow
will be able to live there mortgage free once it is completed in
November 2019. Anh and Tim eventually want to start a family and
build a non-profit to help other wounded veterans.
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