'Life over limb'

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran finally returned to American soil after almost five months spent in hospitals overseas. Michael Montoya served in the Marine Corps from 2001 until 2010. When he got out, he spent time doing government contracting and other work relating to the defense industry, specifically to the field of explosive ordinance and their disposal. He served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and southeast Asia doing contract work. And, in January, he left for a volunteer humanitarian demining mission in Ukraine. The mission was part of Ukraine's rehabilitation after the Russian army invaded in February of 2022. Since then, Russia's advance has been pushed back and the United States has provided more than $44 billion in military assistance, according to the Department of State. "The people that needed the help the most were the people in the pre-occupied territory Russia had taken but Ukraine took back," Montoya said. "It was just scattered with these explosive hazards and they weren't getting the help they needed." Going to Ukraine was something he and his friend had talked about doing. From jumping out of a car if someone is on the side of the road, or returning a lost pet to their owner, he said "you just have to do the right thing." Montoya said he and his friend made a big impact in a short period of time. But, things took a turn when he stepped on an anti-personnel mine on June 7. "I never lost consciousness through the entire event," Montoya said. "It was a misstep in the minefield." Montoya said he caught the very edge of a landmine and immediately experienced tone deafness. He said he saw a blue sky and thought he was falling. He just tucked his chin and was on the ground. "Dirt was falling around me, sound was slowly coming back," he said. "These things happen in a nanosecond." Montoya said as he reached for his tourniquet, he noticed his foot hung backwards and his toes facing in the opposite direction. He said he's been in the industry long enough to know what injuries look like, and he "just made peace with it." It was a friend that helped him apply the tourniquet. He said he remained calm through the whole thing. He said he remembered thinking, "I'm an amputee; that's it." The tourniquet separated Montoya from life or death. He said one was all it took and he called his wife Laura from the ambulance. His priority was getting back to her. "Being across the world when someone you love gets hurt is one of the most horrible things you could probably experience," Laura said. "It was just surreal." She said the hardest thing was not being able to get to him. It would've taken planes, trains and cars to get to where Montoya was. After the injury, Montoya spent time traveling through Ukraine, from Makariv to Kyiv. He met Laura almost two weeks after the accident in Poland, where she stayed about five weeks with him. Montoya spent five months in hospitals between Ukraine, Poland and Germany. He said they were able to save his heel. "It's still scarring, but we'll be working on getting a prosthetic next and getting right back into it." He returned home to Ohio just before Halloween, nine days shy of the fifth-month mark. Laura, their 3-year-old son Michael, 14-year-old daughter Kelly and 21-year-old daughter Emily all went to pick him up from the airport on Oct. 26. The Montoyas will look into rehabilitation once the wound is healed. He said a group of Ukrainians formed an organization called the Protez Foundation that helps those injured in war efforts get prosthetics. Despite not being in Ukraine, Montoya is still looking to help out the doctors and people who helped him, and is hoping to go back to Ukraine next year. Laura continues to update social media with Montoya's steps to recovery. She also set up a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses accrued, which can be seen at gofundme.com/michael-montoya-fund.