Veteran Gravely Injured In Syria To Take On Water Skiing In FL

WINTER HAVEN, FL — Seven years after an ISIS suicide bombing left him blind and gravely injured, retired U.S. Army Maj. Jonathan Turnbull is still finding new ways to challenge himself, while showing others what's possible for themselves.

On Saturday, Turnbull, while visiting Florida, will return to something he hasn't done since before his injury: water skiing.

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Members of the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team will help him take to Lake Silver at 8:30 a.m. for an adaptive water-skiing experience.

"We'll spend the day at the beach water skiing and fighting alligators," he told Patch.

Saturday's water-skiing event also serves as a preview of the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team's upcoming adaptive clinic.

The team will host a free adaptive water-skiing event Sept. 26 at Lake Silver for children and adults with disabilities age 6 and older.

For Turnbull, who grew up water skiing, it will be his first time back on skis since becoming visually impaired.

"I really like the idea of doing something that makes people go, 'How do you do that?'" he said. "It motivates me, but it really highlights that resiliency piece."

Turnbull was serving in Syria on Jan. 16, 2019, when an ISIS fighter infiltrated his team's security and detonated a suicide vest. The attack killed three American service members and an interpreter and left Turnbull with devastating injuries.

His right eye was destroyed and his left eye was severely damaged, leaving him blind. Part of his left thigh muscle was used to reconstruct his right orbital socket.

He ultimately underwent 24 surgeries and spent two years in the hospital, dying three times during his treatment, he said.

Doctors initially told Turnbull he would likely spend five years in the hospital.

Instead, he was released after seven months and ran the Army Ten-Miler race. He remained on active duty until 2021 and has since continued to test the limits of what he can do.

Over the past year, he has gone downhill skiing in Montana, and kayaked Class III and IV rapids on the Yellowstone River with fellow visually impaired veterans and adaptive guides.

In June, Turnbull also represented U.S. Special Operations Command, based in Tampa, at the Warrior Games in San Antonio, competing in 16 events ranging from archery and marksmanship to running, swimming and cycling.

He was the first blind athlete to serve as an "ultimate champion" at the games and won 14 gold medals, one silver and one bronze, he said.

The activities aren't simply athletic challenges for Turnbull. He sees them as opportunities to demonstrate that a disability doesn't have to bring a person's life to a halt.

"You can allow your disabilities to define you, or you can allow them to motivate you," he said.

That's also why he agreed to try adaptive water skiing.

"I just want it to be something that people, other blind people, can look at and be like, 'Huh, I can do that,'" Turnbull said. "Not just blind people, but any people with any disability."

Adaptive organizations and guides have helped him discover ways to return to activities he once enjoyed and also try things he might never have attempted before.

"If you want to go downhill skiing or whitewater kayaking, there's people that'll help you," he said. "There's great organizations out there that are willing to lift you up."

His Winter Haven visit will also include a speaking engagement Sunday at Winter Haven Nazarene Church, where he is scheduled to speak at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.

Turnbull was invited by the church's pastor, Jason Crum, who previously served as his pastor in Michigan.

He'll speak about his military service, his recovery and his faith, which has been central to his survival and recovery.

"I mean, there's no way I can be alive today if it weren't for God," he said.

His military experience also shaped the way he views service. While in Syria, Turnbull said his team's work included helping restore electricity, rebuild medical infrastructure and reopen schools to girls who had been prohibited from attending under ISIS.

He describes that work as a different kind of military mission, one focused on giving people the tools to stand on their own.

"Our greatest weapon system is hope," Turnbull said.

That idea has continued to guide him since the bombing.

Turnbull said the support he received from doctors, nurses, fellow service members, nonprofits and others during his recovery reinforced a lesson he now tries to pass along: People don't have to face their obstacles alone.

"You can stand up and you can make the world better," he said. "And if you feel like you can't do it alone, you probably can't. But that's a good thing, because you're never alone."