A documentary on quadruple amputee veteran Travis Mills is now available through a popular movie distribution service.
“Travis: A Soldier’s Story,” released in 2013, became available on Netflix Monday.
The approximately hour-long documentary tells the story of Mills’ recovery from a catastrophic injury in Afghanistan in 2012 that cost him both his arms and legs.
“Travis: A Soldier’s Story” includes interviews with Mills, his family, and fellow soldiers, family photographs and video, and reenactments of key moments, including the explosion that injured the Manchester resident.
Mills was wounded during his third tour of duty when he dropped his pack on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan on April 10, 2012, four days before his 25th birthday. He’s one of five quadruple amputees from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Mills, in the documentary, describes a medic rushing to him after the explosion, putting tourniquets on all his limbs, while his thoughts turned to his family including his daughter Chloe.
“The last thing I thought, my baby girl, am I ever going to see her again?” Mills says of the moments following the blast, in the documentary.
Mills has since founded the nonprofit Travis Mills Foundation, which is turning the former Elizabeth Arden Estate in Rome and Mount Vernon into the Maine Chance Lodge Veterans Retreat, a retreat for injured veterans and their families.
The film was created by Fotolanthropy, a nonprofit organization which documents inspiring true stories of people who have overcome adversity, after producer Katie Norris saw Mills’ picture on Facebook.
“Creating this film that documents Travis’ inspiring true story of resiliency, courage and perseverance has been a life-changing experience for our whole team,” Norris states in a filmmaker’s statement about the film. “Travis, (Mills’ wife) Kelsey and the soldiers have given us a gift by bravely sharing their experiences of Travis’ darkest hour and the struggles along the road to recovery. Travis’ ‘never give up’ attitude has challenged me personally to live each day intentionally and with gratitude.”
The documentary has been shown in more than 30 cities around the country.
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