Rosedale golf tournament helps buy homes for severely injured veterans

Christopher Blauvelt, who will be the reluctant recipient of an adaptive, mortgage-free home from Homes for Our Troops, knows he will benefit mightily from that kindness.

However, his appreciation comes more from what the home will mean to his family.

Wesley Chapel's Blauvelt was the featured recipient at this year's Rosedale Golf Classic in East County that was held April 5 at Rosedale Golf and Country Club. The Rosedale community bands together each year to host the fundraiser for Homes for Our Troops.

On April 4, 2010, Army Sgt. Blauvelt was on patrol in Laghman Province in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated under his vehicle.

The blast left him with spinal fractures, a fractured pelvis, a traumatic brain injury and many more injuries. His right leg had to be amputated.

"Everything was shattered up to my T-10 (10th thoracic vertebra)," he said, pointing at his chest. "It mushed everything, broke everything all the way down."

A career soldier who served in both the Coast Guard and the Marines before signing with the Connecticut Army National Guard after the 9/11 attacks, Blauvelt actually considered staying in the service after his injuries, but was told he would be never allowed to run again, which would make him non-deployable."

So in 2012, he retired from military service as a master sergeant.

The years that have followed have not been easy.

Without his military peers around him, he confined himself to his home, with his wife, Bernadette, and five kids, being his entire social group.

Since his home had not been adapted for someone with his physical challenges, he would become angry when he couldn't do what most would consider simple tasks. His chronic pain complicated matters.

"My family was exposed to me being in pain all day," he said. "It weighs down everyone in the family. They would deny it, but you can see it on their faces."

Even so, the years passed and Blauvelt came to grips with the fact that he would just have to deal with the pain and aggravation.

"I could survive in a dirt field," he said.

Then a couple of years ago, some friends suggested to Blauvelt that he apply for the Homes for Our Troops program. He said no.

"I felt awkward," he said. "I will be 57 in May. I have a wife and five kids, and a grandkid."

He wanted to see younger solders get the benefit.

But his wife applied anyway.

Before the Rosedale Golf Classic teed off, Blauvelt stood in front of Rosedale Golf and Country Club and addressed the 140 golfers (a sell-out), volunteers and those who came to support the effort.

He noted that his wife was responsible for the new home.

"You could say she has given me everything I have in my life," he said.

"This is going to help us tremendously," Bernadette Blauvelt said. "We have been working our butts off forever."

Married for 25 years, she said he became a different person after being injured in Afghanistan. He began to show more anger and frustration about little things, such as people shutting the door on them after they entered a grocery store.

Socially, he would shut down, unlike when he was around his military family. She noticed how much more comfortable he was at Rosedale with several other veterans who had been severely injured in attendance.

"He was comfortable in his element," she said. "That's not always the case."

Blauvelt said the Rosedale Golf Classic volunteers, led by founders Kathi Skelton and Deb Kehoe, and Homes for Our Troops have motivated him to attempt a little more interaction with the world.

He said he would like to pursue a degree in clinical social work.

If Blauvelt wonders what difference a new, mortgage-free home could make in his life, he could talk to Bobby Withers, a former recipient who attended the Rosedale Golf Classic. The Army National Guard captain received a home in 2015 and at the time he couldn't get out of his wheelchair from the injuries he suffered in Afghanistan in 2010 from stepping on a mine, severing the bottom of his right leg and most of the back of his left leg.

A week before the Rosedale event, he completed an Ironman half marathon in Oceanside, California. It was the fourth time he has completed a triathlon.

"Having that home means I have a safety net," he said. "I can do anything I want to do. It has set my life trajectory."

Giving him a boost toward a better life was watching Skelton and Kehoe put together the Rosedale event to help him.

"The military talks about putting values into action," Withers said. "They highlight what that means."

Skelton and Kehoe love seeing the difference a home makes in the veterans' lives. They hope this year's event propels Blauvelt forward.

"Everything went great," said Skelton, noting that the event raised $178,700, just short of last year's record of $181,000. 

"We have raised awareness," said Kehoe, who noted that this year marks their 10th anniversary of the fundraising effort, which now totals $1,094,000 for Homes for Our Troops. "The bulk of fundraising is about word of mouth.

"That represents a lot of word of mouth."