Army Sergeant Justin Bond, California

When Sgt. Bond found out that he would be the first recipient of Easy Rest’s Bed For Our Troops Program he was excited and hopeful that he might find some comfort and a little bit more sleep. What he got was beyond his wildest dreams.

March 28, 2012 – Baltimore, MD — Army Sergeant Justin Bond of Hanford, California hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since he was severely injured in an intense gun battle in Fallujah, Iraq almost eight years ago. But all that has changed thanks to the donation of a new adjustable bed from Easy Rest Adjustable Sleep Systems. Now he reports that he’s had to dust off the alarm clock he hasn’t used in years to help him get up each morning.

“My old bed was horribly uncomfortable,” recalled Sgt. Bond. “I could never get comfortable in it and we couldn’t afford to buy a good mattress set so I started sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. Only problem was the mattress leaked and we’d have to fill it back up two or three times a night. It was also hard for me to get up and down off of the floor,” he added.

See also: Staff Sergeant Ernest Gonzalez, Texas

In 2004 Sgt. Bond was a gunner on a truck supporting the battle of Fallujah. During the firefight he sustained multiple injuries to his lower torso and was hit with an AK-47 round directly through the center of both knees. His injuries were so severe doctors were forced to amputate his left leg above the knee. Since that time he has endured countless operations and he now has a metal pelvis, hip and tail bone.

Upon returning home from the hospital the injuries to his back, hip and legs constantly left him in pain and made it difficult for him to get comfortable in bed. He often retreated to his recliner just to try to find a comfortable position and a few hours of sleep. Severe posttraumatic stress left him with regular nightmares that further affected the duration and quality of his sleep.

When Sgt. Bond found out that he would be the first recipient of Easy Rest’s Bed For Our Troops Program, he was excited and hopeful that he might find some comfort and a little bit more sleep. What he got was beyond his wildest dreams.

“Since receiving the bed a month ago I sleep through the night regularly,” said Bond. “I fall asleep so easily now and I wake up refreshed. Before it was so hard for me to get up and my body didn’t move because I was so stiff. Now I’m not nearly as stiff and I feel so much better. I sleep nine hours a night now and I can’t remember when I’ve slept that long. I’ve had to start using an alarm clock again to get up in the morning,” he added with a chuckle.

See also: Staff Sergeant Travis Strong, Colorado

Sgt. Bond’s wife, Laurel, reports that “he rarely complains about his back pains anymore and he’s feeling a whole lot better. And, I’m sleeping better, too, without all of his tossing and turning keeping me awake at night.”

“We are thrilled to be able to provide Sgt. Bond with an Easy Rest Adjustable Bed,” said Mo Maghari, National Sales Director for the Company. “We feel strongly that we have a responsibility to give back to the community and we can give no greater gift than the gift of sleep and rest,” he added.

Sgt. Bond is using his new Easy Rest Adjustable Bed to rest up for a 60-day cross-country Segway ride to raise money for Our Heroes Dreams, a non-profit organization that he founded. The charity assists veterans with counseling and financial aid, and grants wishes to injured veterans to help them find meaning and purpose in their lives despite their injuries.

Sgt. Bond lives with his wife and three young children.