HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -
Many people will count their blessings on Thanksgiving this year, including Lance Corporal Kendall Bane.
Bane was injured while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan.
Now back home in the valley, the 19-year-old will spend Thanksgiving with his family. Only a few months ago, that might not have been possible.
"What I went through teaches you about how much your life hangs in a balance," Bane said.
Bane remembers the time he was shot in the abdomen and legs during combat in Helmand Province in September.
"Here I was, only 19 years old in the sand in Afghanistan, bleeding out quick. And I'm sitting here thinking about all these things that I haven't gotten to do yet," Bane said.
But he survived, thanks to his fellow troops who saved his life.
"They're the reason why I'm here. It was because of the treatment I got on-site and they were able to get me in a helicopter," Bane said.
The Purple Heart recipient came home to a cheering crowd at Huntsville International Airport for his homecoming in early November. Strangers who never met Bane before proudly shook his hand.
"With an arrival like that, you feel like you won the Superbowl," Bane said.
He said he's thankful for his family and the unbreakable bond that he has with the men and women who fought beside him.
"At the beginning, they told my guys in Afghanistan I had about a 50-50 chance on whether or not I was going to live. So yeah, I've got a lot to be thankful for," Bane said.
Bane is undergoing physical therapy at Huntsville Hospital. He said he's planning on returning to active duty once he makes a full recovery.
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Many people will count their blessings on Thanksgiving this year, including Lance Corporal Kendall Bane.
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