www.thesuburban.com<\/a><\/p>\nAfter a close brush with death in Afghanistan, former Laval resident Cpl. Franck Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 has chosen to channel his life into a career as a motivational speaker. His experience as a soldier in Afghanistan has led him to speak to high school students, veterans and sports teams about his drive to accept what life has dealt him and grow from it. <\/p>\n
Today Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 divides his time between public speaking engagements and his volunteer work for the Army\u2019s Helping Peers program under the G1 personnel in 34 Brigade. <\/p>\n
\u201cI give courses in resilience, training people to help their peers who may be in crisis,\u201d Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 explained, \u201cthe training program gives the unit resource people for anyone who may be in need. The program is a Montreal initiative and only available in Montreal at this point, but I expect it to grow.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cpl. Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 joined the Canadian Forces when he was 16 years old. He signed up with Laval\u2019s 4th Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment. After completing his basic training course he qualified to operate machine guns and communication devices. With a tour in ex-Yugoslavia in 2001 under his belt, he accepted a mission to Afghanistan in 2008. <\/p>\n
In 2011, he experienced the nightmare that civilians can only imagine. A suicide bomber strapped with over 150 pounds of explosives detonated the device within a few metres of Cpl. Dup\u00e9r\u00e9. <\/p>\n
Thrown like a puppet by the blast, he was certain he was doomed when he looked down and saw the slice in his throat. Fortunately for him, he was right next to an experienced medic who took control of the situation and performed a tracheotomy right there on the front lines\u2014with no anesthetic. The emergency intervention saved Cpl. Dup\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s life. <\/p>\n
Days later, Cpl. Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 woke up in a trauma treatment hospital in Germany. The doctor there explained his injuries to him and what had happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had lost several days of my life\u2014from the battlefield to the hospital in Germany,\u201d he explained to The Suburban<\/i> in an interview, \u201cI thought to myself, I have lost the sight in one eye, I can still see. I have lost the dexterity in my left hand, not in my dominant hand. I speak weirdly, but can still I speak. I can sit here and cry\u2014or be thankful that I am not dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
After more than 18 surgeries with another few still to go, Cpl. Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 has courageously accepted the path that life has given him. He now shares his inspirational attitude and generous spirit find by giving motivational speeches to anyone who needs him. <\/p>\n
\u201cMany times, veterans will call me instead of a social worker because they know that I won\u2019t judge them,\u201d he explained. \u201cSometimes these guys come back without a scratch on them but are hitting rock bottom.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI did not hit rock bottom mentally but, physically, I know what it\u2019s like to have to relearn how to walk and how to talk. I live with scars. I can help people who are in despair.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past year I have spoken at schools and hospitals, my goal is to work full-time as a motivational speaker once my three remaining surgeries are completed.\u201d <\/p>\n
You can follow Cpl. Franck Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 on Facebook or contact him via his website at www.franckdupere.com<\/a>.
\n (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
\n (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
\n m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
\n })(window,document,’script’,’\/\/www.google-analytics.com\/analytics.js’,’ga’);<\/p>\n ga(‘create’, ‘UA-45892555-1’, ‘auto’);
\n ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Afghan experience pushes solider to be there for others By Rhonda Massadwww.thesuburban.com After a close brush with death in Afghanistan, former Laval resident Cpl. Franck Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 has chosen to channel his life into a career as a motivational speaker. His experience as a soldier in Afghanistan has led him to speak to high school students,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
Laval native pays it forward - Newscoverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Laval native pays it forward - Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Afghan experience pushes solider to be there for others By Rhonda Massadwww.thesuburban.com After a close brush with death in Afghanistan, former Laval resident Cpl. Franck Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 has chosen to channel his life into a career as a motivational speaker. His experience as a soldier in Afghanistan has led him to speak to high school students,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-24T12:51:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-01T19:40:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"headline\":\"Laval native pays it forward\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-24T12:51:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-01T19:40:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/\",\"name\":\"Laval native pays it forward - Newscoverage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-24T12:51:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-01T19:40:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/24\\\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Laval native pays it forward\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newscoverage\",\"description\":\"newscoverage.org\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\",\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"editor robert\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/robert.frank.90834\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/editor-robert\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Laval native pays it forward - Newscoverage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Laval native pays it forward - Newscoverage","og_description":"Afghan experience pushes solider to be there for others By Rhonda Massadwww.thesuburban.com After a close brush with death in Afghanistan, former Laval resident Cpl. Franck Dup\u00e9r\u00e9 has chosen to channel his life into a career as a motivational speaker. His experience as a soldier in Afghanistan has led him to speak to high school students,","og_url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/","og_site_name":"Newscoverage","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834","article_published_time":"2014-12-24T12:51:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-01T19:40:41+00:00","author":"editor robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"editor robert","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/"},"author":{"name":"editor robert","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"headline":"Laval native pays it forward","datePublished":"2014-12-24T12:51:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-01T19:40:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/"},"wordCount":642,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/","name":"Laval native pays it forward - Newscoverage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-12-24T12:51:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-01T19:40:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/24\/laval-native-pays-it-forward\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Laval native pays it forward"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/","name":"Newscoverage","description":"newscoverage.org","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3","name":"editor robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"editor robert"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834"],"url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/author\/editor-robert\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2967,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions\/2967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}