Local hero proves that attitude is everything

RONAN — The explosion didn’t take his mind, it only made it stronger and more focused. It left his voice in tact, and now it’s getting louder.

The Ronan Marine who lost both legs and four fingers to an IED explosion in Afghanistan last December has had a tumultuous 21st year of life, but he’s come out on top. Those who know and love Thomas Parker will tell you first, he’s the same Tomy. What they have trouble with, however, is predicting what he’ll do next. Where will the next challenge come from and how will he overcome it?

They’ve already seen him walk, swim, surf, cycle and drive a car. Even those who don’t know Tomy can attest to his skills behind the wheel because thanks to the social-media-crazed world we live in — it’s all there on Facebook. More than 2,000 people follow his every step through daily updates from his mother, Lisa Jennison-Corbett, or others who support him.

This summer, Parker was a guest of honor at a major Wounded Warrior fundraiser called Battle at the Capitol, a week-long football invitational and golf tournament in Northern California. On Sept. 10, he spoke to thousands of Griz fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, and last weekend, he flipped the coin during the Ronan Chiefs’ homecoming game. He’s been on the radio, he’s been on TV.

He’s given perspective to a conflict that for so long seemed so far away, and those experiences have given Parker some perspective too.

“To be a part of such a monumental fundraiser like Battle at the Capital, to have the Griz invite me to the game... these are things I never imagined I would do,” Parker said.

Throughout the building of Parker’s new “Man Cave,” the wheelchair accessible addition to the Jennison-Corbett estate in Ronan, good-hearted people from across the state, who have followed Parker’s story online, came out of the woodwork, well, to do some woodwork, among other things.

“We started talking about building it in February when the fundraiser went so well,” Parker said. “So many people — a lot more people than we expected — came out to help. That, again, goes to show you the kindness of people, I would say in a small town, but really, in the state of Montana.”

The Millers, from Butte, are just one example of that extreme generosity. Two weeks ago, Parker and Jennison shared a day in Butte with the Millers, who had traveled all the way to Ronan on several occasions to help ensure the Man Cave’s completion in time for Tomy’s latest trip home. Highlighting the trip was a visit to the Berkely Pit, the city’s famous open-pit copper mine.

A day later, Tomy sat at a table in his family’s bowling alley, Lucky Strike Lanes, and rattled off details of the mine’s inter-workings, filling in stats where needed, like he’d worked there his whole life. You can tell, not much sneaks by this guy anymore.

“I’ve noticed through my rehab and giving speeches, when I talk, people listen,” Parker said. “Since Sept. 11, 2001, there have been 44 Montanans killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not a lot of people talk about that, and I think they should. Somebody in my family put it great — they never really noticed or paid attention to it until I got hurt and it brought the war closer to home.”

To spread that message further, Parker has registered for the Marine Corps Marathon this month in Northern Virginia and the nation’s capitol. The fifth-largest U.S. marathon and ninth in the world, the event sold out in 28 hours and four minutes, the race’s website says.

“It’s something I wanted to do, I got the option to ride a hand bike, and I jumped at it,” Parker said.

The bike he’s been using to train is a loaner, but Parker’s new wheels should have been delivered to his home in San Diego while he was on leave. He returned to “The Golden State” this week and will ramp up the workouts in anticipation of the big event.

“[When I get back to California] I will continue with the training, and swimming — I’m slowly trying to battle the “Battle of the Bulge,” he joked.

Between 15-20 other Wounded Warriors from the base in California will compete in the marathon as well, and of course, his supportive family and maybe a few friends will make the trip to Washington D.C. to cheer him on.

After the marathon, Parker will have to re-focus for his ongoing task of learning to walk with some of the most advanced prosthetics available anywhere in the world.

“Where we’re at, it’s really cool because we are having the opportunity to try some really high-end prosthetics,” he said. “It’s been a long process to get the bugs worked out.”

“Long process” is putting it lightly. The computerized legs seem to have a mind of their own, but Tomy has not let the hiccups deter his motivation to overcome them.

“Hopefully, by the time I am proficient, the guys behind me won’t have to spend as much time learning,” he said. “If I can make the process easier for them, then it’s worth it.”

And that, folks, is what it means to be a hero.

“It hasn’t really changed my attitude,” Parker said. “It’s life, you know. I don’t take some things I used to for granted. It’s like that Tim McGraw song, “Live Like You Were Dying.” Everybody has down times, down days, but it’s a matter of getting back out there.”