The wife of a stricken Canadian soldier has seen his theoretical risk of being harmed turn horribly real.

"This is what my husband does, and it's something he loves to do and he's really good at it and it was an accepted risk," Audra Franklin said Sunday about her husband, Master Cpl. Paul Franklin.

About 6 a.m., she learned he was one of four Canadian casualties when a suicide bomber attacked a Canadian convoy.

One man, 59-year-old Glyn Berry, died. He was a Canadian diplomat.

Paul Franklin, who was the driver, lost part of his left leg and suffered a break to his right in the blast, which left a huge crater in the road.

A medic, Paul tied his own tourniquet before moving to help Cpl. Jeff Bailey of the 1 Combat Engineer Regiment and Pte. William Edward Salikin of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Light Infantry.

"That's Paul. That's what he does," Audra said.

Both Bailey and Salikin are in critical condition.

All three soldiers are from Edmonton.

"I was able to talk to Paul, and he sounds pretty good under the circumstance. He's in a lot of pain," Audra Franklin said, adding she was "shocked" he was still alive.

The rest of the military feels his pain too, said a senior general.

"The military is a very close community. We know each other, we live together, we understand all the risks we take. When one is injured, we are all injured," said Brig. Gen. Tim Grant, commander of land forces in the Western Area.

"They're all committed to bringing stability to that area because they realize it's the best way Canada can help get a country on its feet," said Defence Minister Bill Graham.

Audra Franklin appreciated the kind words, but said: "I'm not going to feel any better until I can see him and actually touch him."

Paul Franklin and the other wounded soldiers will be flown to a military hospital in Germany as soon as possible.

With a report from CTV's Sarah Galashan