[FLAGSTAFF,
AZ,(12/23/06), KVOA
Tuscon (info
from Mike Dougall/KVNA-AM)] A
Navajo Army reservist
seriously wounded
in Iraq got to spend
Christmas at home.
Twenty-seven-year-old
Army Specialist Alry
Billiman of Buell Park
was initially told
by his doctor in San
Diego that he wouldn't
be able to make the
trip because he was
recovering from his
eighth surgery on his
amputated right arm.
But
Billiman says the doctor
reconsidered ten minutes
later and decided the
best place for recovery
was the Navajo Nation
among family and friends.... (more..)
December
23, 2006
Home
for the holiday (a "grave
but fortunate wound"?)
[The
Gulfport Sun Herald,
12/22/06, by Joshua
Norman]
"One Gulfport-based
Seabee's fortune changed
in a flash about three
weeks ago. One minute,
Chief William Bell,
34, was working with
a crew on some wiring
for a Marine outpost
in Anbar province,
Iraq. The next minute
the Seabee from Naval
Mobile Construction
Battalion 74 and three
others were thrown
against a building
after a mortar landed
just a few feet away.
Despite the pain, fear
and sadness - two corpsmen
died from the blast
and Bell was lucky
to be saved - a bit
of positive energy
came from that explosion.
Bell arrives in Gulfport
today to spend Christmas
in his home with his
wife, Tamara, and 9-year-old
daughter, Brooke...." (more..)
December
21, 2006
Reconstructing
lives after traumatic
brain injury (TBI)
[The
New England Journal
of Medicine, Vol.
355:2609-2615 12/21/06
# 25, by Susan
Okie, M.D.]
"Jason
Pepper can't see the
deer and wild turkeys
that feed in the pasture
in front of his new
home, an hour's drive
from Nashville. But
when he sits and smokes
on his front porch,
he likes knowing they're
out there — and
even more, he savors
the silence. Pepper,
who was blinded by
a bomb in Iraq in 2004,
completed a rehabilitation
program for blind veterans
last year at the Edward
Hines, Jr., Veterans
Affairs Hospital in
Illinois, learning
to find his way using
a cane and a personal
global positioning
system (GPS) device. (more..)
"Pepper
and another soldier,
David Emme, were profiled
in the Journal last
year while they were
undergoing treatment
and rehabilitation
at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center in Washington,
D.C. As sergeants in
the U.S. Army serving
in Iraq, both had been
wounded by improvised
explosive devices and
had traumatic brain
injury (TBI), which
has been called the
signature wound of
this war. Both also
had symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).
Among more than 22,600
U.S. soldiers wounded
in the conflicts in
Iraq, Afghanistan,
and other locations
as of November 4, 2006,
blasts have been by
far the most common
cause of injury, and
59% of blast-exposed
patients at Walter
Reed have been found
to have a TBI. As thousands
of brain-injured veterans
come home to recover
and rebuild their lives,
medical experts have
expressed concern about
the challenges of providing
them with continuing
medical care and vocational
and emotional support,
especially because
cognitive and psychological
aftereffects of TBI
can predispose them
to falling through
the cracks of the health
care system. Officials
in the Departments
of Defense and Veterans
Affairs (VA) have planned
for what they term
a "seamless transition" from
military medicine to
the VA or civilian
health care. To see
how two transitions
are going, I recently
revisited Sergeants
Pepper and Emme...." (more..)
December
19, 2006
Bryan
Anderson, who lost
both legs and one
arm, on the cover
of Esquire magazine...
[CHICAGO,
IL (12/19/06) AP, belleviewnewsdemocrat.com.
Ref: Esquire]
..."Bryan
Anderson, who lost
both legs and one arm
in a roadside explosion
in Iraq, has made the
cover of Esquire magazine.
In the magazine's January
issue, Anderson talks
about his life in a
feature titled "What
I've Learned." ..."You
have two options once
this happens: Roll
over and die or move
on," he tells
Esquire readers. "I'm
still me. I'm just
75 percent off." (more..)
December
18, 2006
Stories
from the Minnesota
Army National Guard.. "so
incredibly gut-wrenching
every day if you
are a parent or if
you have a loved
one there"...
[LITCHFIELD,
MN (12/3/06) by MARK
ZDECHLIK, Minnesota
Public Radio,
published in TwinCities.com/PioneerPress]
..."My
team leader, Sgt. Puckett,
saw the IED on the
side of the road," recalls
Greg Brown. "They've
hit our convoys before.
This is the first time
they actually hit one
of our trucks directly.
I kept driving because
that's what you're
supposed to do, to
get out of the kill
zone. And I told Puckett
I was OK, he's like,
'Yeah, I'm good, too.'
And Koch never responded." ..Brown
is recovering at home
and working at the
Litchfield armory. "My
arm got split open
and they got a skin
graft over that. And
I got flash burns on
my right hand, and
I got a piece of shrapnel
in my eye which is
scarred over now, and
they're looking at
a cornea transplant," Brown
said. (more..)
December
17, 2006
Chris
Charette describes
his ordeal in Iraq...
[LEESBURG,
VA (12/12/06) by
Anne Keisman, Loudoun
Times-Mirror]
...On Oct. 26,
..Chris Charette, 21,
was shot twice - once
in the neck and once
in the left hand, which
caused him to lose
his thumb. His unit...is
charged with protecting
the waterways and dams
near the city of Haditha
in the Euphrates River
Valley. "When I got
hit in the neck, it
threw me. It hit me
hard and threw me onto
my back and it paralyzed
my left arm. And when
I tried to get back
up I couldn't do it
because I couldn't
move my arm. "[The
bullet] went through
my neck at an angle
so that it hit my collar
bone, my clavicle,
my scapula and went
out through my shoulder.
It didn't hit anything
important, luckily." (more..)
December
15, 2006
Wounded
but safe...
[PINE
GLEN,PA (12/14/06)
by Chris Rosenblum, Centre
Daily Times]
...Adam Poppenhouse
from Ohio took most
of the blast. He lost
his right leg at the
knee, but surgeons
saved his left leg.
Six operations later,
pins and screws in
his shattered arm,
he wound up at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center
in Washington. (more..)
December
14, 2006
Terrence “Shane” Burke
thanks the firefighter
who saved his life...
[BOSTON,
MA (12/14/06) by
Michele McPhee, BostonHerald.com]
Boston police
Officer Terrence “Shane” Burke
does not remember much
about Sept. 4 - the
day in Iraq that a
bomb exploded his Humvee,
severing his left leg
and the leg of another
Marine - but he could
never forget the Boston
firefighter who saved
his life. O’Brien
was with a medical
unit attached to Burke’s
Marine platoon, which
contained three BPD
cops and and a city
EMT. When O’Brien
arrived at the burning
Humvee, it was under
enemy fire. (more..)
December 12, 2006
Dentist
volunteers to help Frank
Sandoval get his smile back...
[SAN
DIEGO, CA (12/12/06) NBCSandiego]
It's hard to
believe Frank Sandoval
has anything to smile
about. His convoy was
attacked in Iraq on
Nov. 28, 2005. When
an IED exploded near
his Humvee, Sandoval,
a gunner, was critically
injured. Shrapnel was
embedded in Sandoval's
brain and surgeons
removed a third of
his brain and half
of his skull to save
his life. Now, Sandoval,
26, is able to stand,
even walk with help.
Speech is still difficult
but he has regained
many of his cerebral
functions with the
exception of short-term
memory. (more..)
December
11, 2006
Six
days short of finishing
his tour...
[PADUCAH,
KY (Dec, 11) Lexington
Herald Leaderr, AP]
Brad Alexander,
33, was six days short
of finishing his second
yearlong tour in Iraq
and was looking forward
to his next assignment.
His unit was engaging
villagers about 30
miles north of Baghdad
when a suicide bomber
detonated herself less
than five feet from
him. [he lost his left
leg] ...After intense
physical therapy, Alexander
can again go deer and
duck hunting with friends,
and scoot along the
floor with his 3-year-old
son as they play with
Matchbox cars. He receives
constant reminders
of love and support
from family and friends.
...For about two weeks
after being severely
wounded Aug. 16, Alexander
also dealt with mental
wounds, and feared
that life would be
incomplete as an amputee. (more..)
December
10, 2006
Country
Star Aaron Tippin
Sings At Benefit
for Brad Alexander...
[EL
DORADO HILLS, CA
(Dec, 9) KCRA
3, AP]
Jeff Landay
was badly injured in
Iraq... even falling
into a coma during
his recovery. In May,
his humvee struck a
roadside bomb in Fallujah,
Iraq. He suffered injuries
so serious doctors
had to re-construct
the left side of his
skull. Landay is learning
to talk again. (more..)
December
9, 2006
Living
with burns is exhausting
[MCALLEN,
TX (Dec, 06) The
Monitor, Sarah
Perkins]
Since ..Daniel
Patrick Moran, 25,
was wounded in an explosion
in Iraq in October,
his life has changed....A
month into his second
tour, an explosive
device in Ramadi killed
three of the four other
men in his vehicle;
the fourth is in the
hospital with him with
slightly less severe
burns. Daniel still
doesn’t know
about his men’s
deaths. He’ll
be told later, as his
body heals. He has
already undergone three
skin-graft surgeries
to take skin from his
healthy left side to
cover the third-degree
burns on his right....Daniel’s
resting heart rate
is double what it was
before the accident,
Victor said, and his
body is burning calories
at the same rate as
an 8-year-old’s.
Without so much of
his skin, everything
is more difficult and
requires more energy. (more..)
December
8, 2006
Tree
to be lit in honor
of Edward W. Shaffer
[Chambersburg,
PA (Dec, 06) Public
Opinion, Linwood
Outlaw III]
..Edward W.
Shaffer, 24...was injured
Nov. 13 when a roadside
bomb exploded near
his Bradley tank during
operations in Ramadi,
the capital of Anbar,
about 70 miles west
of Baghdad. Shaffer
suffered burns over
80 percent of his body
as a result of the
explosion. Edward C.
Shaffer said their
son underwent his fourth
surgery on Monday for
skin grafting. He is
scheduled to undergo
more surgery on Thursday
to replace skin cells....
Edward C. Shaffer said
his son remains in
critical condition
in the intensive care
unit at the medical
center. He said doctors
indicated the soldier
could remain in ICU
for at least the next
three months. Sgt.
Shaffer recently has
become more verbally
responsive to doctors
and nurses, though
he remains heavily
sedated. He lost both
hands and a foot during
surgery thus far. (more..) Note
- for news of Shaffer's
death on December 27th
- see
January 9 article and
our December
archive of Coalition
deaths in Iraq.
December
7, 2006
Soldier
from West Milton
wounded in grenade
blast that killed
friend
[WEST
MILTON, OH (Dec 5,
06) Dayton
Daily News, Margo
Rutledge Kissell]
A local soldier
was wounded in Iraq
by a grenade blast
that killed his best
friend. Ian Newland,
26, an Army sergeant
on his second tour
in Iraq, was wounded
Monday by a grenade
thrown into his Humvee
in Baghdad. His father,
Rick Newland of West
Milton, said the Humvee's
driver was killed and
two other soldiers
injured. Sgt. Newland,
serving with the 126th
Infantry out of Germany,
suffered injuries to
both legs, his face
and left arm, shoulder
and hand. (more..)
December
6, 2006
Scott
Stephenson suffers "laundry
list of critical
injuries"
[ATCHISON,
KS (Dec 5, 06) KQTV2]
..Scott Stephenson
of Atchison, Kansas
remains in critical,
yet stable conditon,
after an Improvised
Explosive Device (IED)
hit his humvee late
last month. [His] family
is living their worst
nightmare. While on
patrol in Baghdad,
soldier Stephenson`s
humvee was hit by an
IED. Scott`s family
says he took the brunt
of the blow and suffered
bad burns. "Not
only did we learn that
he suffered second
and third degree burns
on 70 percent of his
body, but then we learned
that he had shattered
his arm and had shrapnel
in his stomach," Melissa
Stephenson, Scott`s
aunt, says. Despite
a laundry list of critical
injuries, Scott`s family
says he`s improving
immensely at an army
burn hospital in Texas.
They credit his onery
streak for pulling
him through. (more..)
December
5, 2006
Selah
salutes injured soldier
and family with fundraiser
[SELAH,
WA (Nov 20, 06) Yakima
Herald Republic,
Rod Antone ]
Army
Spc. Evan Mettie ..who
was injured by a suicide
car bomber in Bayji,
Iraq, on New Year's
Eve 2005, remains at
the Veterans Affairs
Medical Center in Seattle
recovering from massive
injuries to the left
side of his body. His
mother, Denise Mettie,
describes her war-wounded
son as mostly healed
physically, but mentally
in a "minimally
conscious state." ...Since
the car blast, Evan
Mettie has undergone
several surgeries,
the most recent a skull
replacement or cranioplasty
last month. He is scheduled
to be transferred to
Palo Alto, Calif.,
to a veterans hospital
that specializes in
brain trauma injuries. (more..)
December
4, 2006
Long
recovery ahead
[PANAMA
CITY, FL (Nov 29) News
Herald, Ryan
Burr]
Sgt.
Joshua Cope, a local
Army soldier who was
badly wounded in Iraq,
has undergone an additional
leg amputation in the
last week and developed
a blood infection.
...Joshua, who served
in the Germany-based
2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry
Division, lost both
of his legs and his
right arm was injured
on Nov. 13 when his
Humvee was hit by an
improvised explosive
device, or IED. Linda
said her son’s
legs were amputated
on the field. His left
arm sustained seconddegree
burns. The right leg
was cut off at the
knee, while the left
leg was cut above the
knee. Linda said Joshua’s
right leg lost 3 to
4 inches in the most
recent amputation.
The family also learned
that Joshua’s
right hand will need
multiple surgeries
to regain normal functionality.
One of his finger joints
has been crushed and
it will need a device
which prevents it from
moving, Linda said. (more..)
December
3, 2006
Fighting
in Iraq left hero
with invisible scars -
Ky. soldier treated
for post traumatic
stress disorder
[LOUISVILLE,
KY (Dec 3) Courier-Journal,
Sharon Cohen, AP]
Spc. Ashley
Pullen wasn't thinking
about the dozens of
Iraqi insurgents who
had just ambushed the
convoy, or their piles
of guns and grenades
or the bullets ripping
through the air around
her.
Her
bloody comrade lay
on the road south of
Baghdad, and she had
to help the gravely
wounded soldier --
fast.
So
she hustled as quickly
as her short legs would
carry her, ignoring
the heat, the ferocious
battle and her heavy
gear.
It
was March 20, 2005,
the day Pullen, a member
of the Kentucky National
Guard's 617th Military
Police Company, became
a hero. It was the
day that would earn
her a Bronze Star for
valor.
Now,
21 months later, Pullen
is a casualty of war,
struggling with invisible
battle scars.
Pullen
is being treated for
post-traumatic stress
disorder, the result
of a year in Iraq marked
by harrowing brushes
with danger and death
-- tempered with daily
prayers for survival. (more..)
December
2, 2006
Wounded
soldier finally crosses
Waldo-Hancock Bridge
[PENOBSCOT,
ME (Nov 29), Village
Soup, by Andy Kekacs]
Seriously injured
almost two years ago
by a roadside bomb
in Iraq, Staff Sgt.
Harold Gray visited
home on Thanksgiving
Day, according to his
father. He sustained
severe head injuries
Dec. 26, 2004, in Mosul,
Iraq, when an improvised
explosive device detonated
next to the Humvee
he was driving in a
convoy. In February
2005, Harold developed
an infection in the
lining of his brain
and spinal cord. Doctors
eventually operated
and found a cotton
ball that had been
left behind after emergency
surgery in Iraq. The
soldier’s father
said Harold is improving.
He can move his arms
and legs on his own,
and blinks once for
yes and twice for no.
He can give a “thumbs-up” sign,
said George. The family
has a sober assessment
of Harold’s prospects
for recovery. His father
acknowledged that he
really doesn’t
know how far the soldier
can progress. (more) ...and
here is a February
11, 2007 update, "Soldier
goes home to heal" by
Mechele Cooper, Kennebec
Journal.
December
1, 2006
Tazewell
soldier loses legs
in explosion
[WBIR Knoxville,
TN] Private
First Class Sue Downes,
from Tazewell [Virginia],
is a member of the
544th, 10th Mountain
Rangers... Sue was
on a surveillance
mission in Afghanistan.
She and two others
were in an Humvee.
Their vehicle struck
an I.E.D. "She
usually is the driver.
But, she had to take
over for somebody
that had to go on
leave, so she ended
up being the gunner.
That is probably
why she is alive
today," says
Gabe. She lost both
of her legs and a
kidney in the explosion.
The two other soldiers
died. (more)
November
30, 2006
Injured
soldier: VA won't
provide psychological
treatment
[WIStv Columbia,
SC] Sergeant
Dean Locke has already
hurt one of his children,
and he's scared to
death of doing something
worse. "I could
kill my entire family
here in this house
one day and there
would be no remorse
felt and I don't
want that. (more)
Return to this month's Stories of the Wounded
(and the archive of previous months)
