MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - A 21-year-old National Guardsman from Malden is recovering after an accident left his arm damaged so badly, it required amputation.
Reda Said told 7NEWS from his hospital bed it all happened during an exercise at the Framingham Armory over the weekend.
“It was just an accident that happened with the trailers, where I got pinned in between, and then it caused me to lose my arm,” Said explained from a hospital in Worcester.
Said, who joined the National Guard at 17 years old, said his arm was caught between two trailers while at the National Guard facility on Saturday. The moment it happened, everyone in his unit jumped in to make sure the tragic accident would be one he would survive.
“Everybody in my unit is taking good care of me right now,” he added.
In a statement from the National Guard on Saturday’s accident, Major General Gary Keefe said “Our moto, ‘Always Ready- Always There,’ isn’t just for the community – it also means for each other.”
His parents told 7NEWS they are heartbroken to see their hero of a son in pain.
“I’m so sorry for him, he has trauma,” his mother told the station.
“He’s too young!” his father said.
The guardsman’s best friend, Soufyane Missbah, said he rushed to the hospital to be by his side, and told 7NEWS the first thing Said asked was “how am I going to help everyone else now?”
“That just goes to show how much of selfless person, he is,” Missbah added. “He is such a strong person, it’s insane.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by Said’s girlfriend that has already raised over $30,000 for the Guardsman.
“His spirit’s good right now, he just has to focus on getting better,” Sofia Bendok told 7NEWS.
“I’m just happy that I have these types of people in my life,” Said exclaimed. “I just want everyone to have a positive mindset that, I’ll be OK and then, I’m really proud, I’m really happy that everyone, they all show their support and everything.”
Said is also a rising senior at Framingham State University, majoring in criminology, part of a life-long dream to become a police officer.
As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, almost 600 donations have been made to help him and his family.
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