9 month update

9 months…wow. For some reason that sounds like a lot more than 8 even though it’s only a few weeks more. This past month has been a bit of a roller coaster. We had some really big highs which made the disappointments seem lower. This month started out with us just getting back from a much needed convalescent leave in Florida and Georgia. Justin got his stitches out and his left leg was looking great. He got casted and was walking on two legs pretty much as soon as he put the left leg on for the first time. It was amazing to watch! He got to start back in the archery program and was able to shoot his bow standing for the first time since before his deployment. He signed up to train and try out for a few Warrior Game events. He was walking everywhere as he felt up to it just because he could. On my birthday, Corey and I joined him for physical therapy and we all walked together around the track. Then came last week…Justin went to wound care since there was still a tiny spot at the end of his left leg that hadn’t healed up. They determined that the bone was too close to the surface and consulted with orthopedics and the plastic surgery team. I’m thankful that the wound care team is on top of things and keep a close eye to make sure things are how they should be and if they’re not, make sure Justin is taken care of, but that was not the news I wanted to hear. It was decided that Justin would need the skin flap after all. The doctors tried three times to make it work with less invasive procedures, but long term, none of them worked. Justin was readmitted the next day. They reopened the leg to clean things up, then vascular checked out the blood flow in what will be the donor site. They did cultures to check for infection and the results came back that he’s infection free! The last couple times they opened up his legs, they found staph infections in the bones and he was on twice daily IV antibiotics for months. So glad that he won’t have to deal with that this time around. Everything is looking good for him to have his surgery on Tuesday followed by a stay in ICU so they can closely monitor things. Please pray that the surgery will be a success and that the flap will do its intended job so that more surgery will not be necessary after this round of inpatient.

On the non-medical side of things, we got to do some really fun things as a family. Being Floridians, we’re not big on the whole winter season, but we’ve tried to make the best of it and have some fun in the snow. The last time Corey saw snow was when he was just a year old, so he’s really enjoyed playing in it now that he’s a little older. We’ve had some snowball fights, made a somewhat wimpy snowman, and even went skiing. I was amazed at how well Justin did with the seated skiing and how well Corey did for his first time on skis…I’m pretty sure they’re both better at it than I am! After months of saying we wanted to go, we finally took Corey to Medieval Times. We had a great time and enjoyed the show and the food…though Corey wasn’t so sure about the whole eating without utensils thing. Justin made the front page of our hometown newspaper. A few months back, a reporter from the Florida Today newspaper and a cameraman came up to Maryland to see what a day in the life of Justin at Walter Reed was like. We had talked to the reporter several times before on the phone, but this was the first time talking to him in person. He thought it would be good for people back home to see how things are up here and how much progress Justin has made. They happened to be here right after Justin got his first leg so they got to be here for some of his first post-injury steps. Justin and I were invited to attend a Trout Unlimited event. I ended up staying home with Corey, but Justin was able to go. He got all dressed up…first time I’ve ever seen him in a non-military suit. He got to meet some really cool people while he was there. A couple were even from our hometown/county, so he had fun talking to them about favorite fishing spots and such. One of them ended up winning a raffle and gave it to Justin. When he got home, he was like a kid at Christmas showing me everything! This was no fruit basket the guy won (though we still would have been appreciative if it was)…it was a full setup with a fly rod, reel, fly line, fishing shirts, and a bunch more. He can’t wait until he’s able to go out and use it.

We also got some news that if it works out, it will be a HUGE blessing for our family. I haven’t said anything about it to too many people because it almost seems too good to be true and I don’t want to jinx it, but it really looks like it might happen and I’m hoping and praying that it does. A couple weeks ago, Justin’s aunt called and said that a man who works with our local congressman wanted to talk to us and asked if she could give him our contact information. We agreed and he called later that afternoon. He was at a city council meeting for our hometown (a few days after the newspaper article) and the city acquired a few foreclosures and they decided that they wanted to give one to us. He asked if he could pass our contact information to the city representative so that we could talk directly with them if we were interested. The city guy called a couple days later with more information. We are unsure right now how long we’ll be in Maryland or what will happen next regarding Justin’s career in the Army, but our long-term plan is definitely to move back to our hometown and Justin even has a couple job opportunities already. The city guy, Bob, gave me a list of addresses for houses to choose from and asked if we had anyone in the area who could be our “eyes” and work directly with him in this whole process. My dad agreed and was excited to help us with this and he met up with Bob the next day to walk through the houses and give us his assessment as to which he thought would best meet our needs. Dad and Bob will be meeting on Monday with an architect to see how to renovate the interior of the house to make it wheelchair accessible. I’ve been working on our end to get all the necessarily paperwork and documentation together. Justin and I have been discussing paint colors and what things in a house will make his life easier rather than just making do. I’m afraid to get too excited about it for fear that it will fall through, but I just can’t help being excited about the possibility of having a place of our own…something I didn’t think we’d be even discussing this decade. Justin could finally get his man cave to hang his hunting trophies and have his Bass Pro camouflage recliner! We're hoping and praying that everything works out with this.

It hasn’t been an easy 9 months. In fact, some parts have been extremely difficult, but in spite of the difficulties, we have been blessed. Not just with the stuff people have given too us (though that has been a huge blessing), but in so many other ways. We’re blessed that Justin is alive and has such a determined spirit. Never once has he given up or said he can’t do something. Sure, he’s got physical limitations, but just because he can’t do something how he used to doesn’t mean he can’t do it at all. He can’t traipse through the woods and climb a tree to get away from a mean hog, but he’s got his track chair and that can get him just about anywhere he needs to go. We’re blessed with such good medical care here at Walter Reed. We don’t particularly like living up here in such a big city, but there’s probably nowhere else in the world where he could find the level of experience for his type of injuries as you’ll find here. From the time he arrived, he’s received exceptional care. We’re blessed with family who is willing and able to help out when we’ve needed it the most. We’re blessed with friends and neighbors who have helped take care of our house while we’re away and have brought us meals when we’re in town. We’re blessed to have friends and family who have prayed for us, encouraged us all along the way, sent us such kind messages through the mail and on facebook, and have shown us so much kindness in so many ways. We’re blessed at how well Corey has adapted to Justin’s injuries. He has a hard time knowing how to properly express himself when he’s upset about Justin being in the hospital, but he’s never once acted scared to be around Justin. He loves his daddy and in his own way has accepted Justin’s injuries and with his little sense of humor can even joke about it (his sense of humor is much like Justin’s…slightly warped lol). It’s not always easy to count your blessings when the difficult times get overwhelming. I had a few times like that in the past week where the frustration of it all just built up and I just wanted to scream and cry and throw things. Life in general can be hard even if you’re not having to deal with situations like ours, but life is never hopeless. Psalm 30:5b says “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” I’ve cried many tears over the past 9 months, but some of those tears have been tears of joy. Sometimes it feels like this “night” will never end, but one day we’ll look back and it will be a distant memory. We just have to keep holding on and waiting for the “morning” to come.

first time on 2 legs!

A Special Thank You to People Who Make a Difference

The past 8 months have been quite a journey. It’s had its ups and downs alone the way. Thankfully we haven’t been alone down this road. We’ve had God with us even before Justin was injured and He hasn’t left our sides. We’ve had friends and family praying for us, encouraging us, and caring for us. We’ve also been helped by quite a few non-profit groups…most of which we had never heard of until coming to Walter Reed. I’d like to tell you about some of them. There are so many more that I can’t possibly mention or remember them all, so I’m just going to mention the ones that have personally helped us. Quite a few groups regularly make rounds bringing goodies to our building and/or meals to the wounded warrior floor in the hospital. I’ve appreciated them all even if I don’t remember their names. The ones I’m about to tell you about are in no specific order, and if you would like more information about any of them, feel free to ask me or “like” their facebook pages. They are all wonderful organizations with a heart for healing our nation’s wounded service members.

The first group of people is the wonderful people who make the Quilts of Valor. Justin received two of these quilts when he was in Afghanistan and has received a third one since arriving here. These quilts have brought us much warmth and comfort during this time. They are beautiful and I know there was a lot of love for our service members that went into them. If you are a quilter and would like to know more about how to get involved, I can give you some more information about how to help our wounded men and women.

The group that came to see Justin while he was in Germany was the Wounded Warrior Project. This group is probably the most well-known due to their commercials and t-shirts. I personally think they could do a lot more good if they functioned on less overhead costs, but they do a good work in helping the wounded and bringing attention to them so that they aren’t forgotten. They have given us bags, clothes (including socks which gave us a laugh), and hygiene items. They visited Justin regularly when he was inpatient and brought milkshakes. One of the regulars at Walter Reed is also a wounded warrior missing both of his legs…though you wouldn’t know it unless he’s wearing shorts. He’s walking, living proof that there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.

The group that we’ve probably had the most interaction with is Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. I can’t say enough good about this group. One of Justin’s favorite hobbies has always been fishing. When he was injured, he thought he’d have to wait a long time to get back into fishing. Then he heard about Project Healing Waters. He was fishing in a tournament a little over two months post-injury. They come weekly to Walter Reed to teach the wounded warriors more about fly fishing, practice casting, making fishing flies, and overall being such an encouragement. Some of the trips, Justin’s gone on by himself and some have been with our whole family. Corey has come to love fly fishing from the trips he’s been on. They also played a part in the hunting trip Justin and I went on in Texas. Everyone we have met through this program has been so nice to us and we are thankful for them and the work they do.

I mentioned America’s Fund/Semper Fi Fund recently in one of my statues. They do so much to help not just the wounded warriors, but also their families. Some of their people go room-to-room to visit the wounded while they’re inpatient. They help out families financially so that visit a loved one when they’re in the hospital isn’t a hardship. They give out jackets and blankets to the adults and teddy bears to the kids. They help out with child care costs, pet costs, help alongside the VA to assist wounded warriors in purchasing new vehicles, help give back the gift of mobility by giving track chairs (the special chairs with the tank treads), and so much more. They also do so much for the caregivers to help keep our morale up.

Operation Ward 57 is named after the original wounded warrior ward in the old Walter Reed that was located in D.C. Now the wounded warriors are on the 4th floor, but I personally think Ward 57 sounds a lot cooler than Operation 4th Floor of building 10. Most of our interaction with them was on the inpatient side. When Justin got to Walter Reed, he was in no condition to be up and about, much less to deal with things like going to the barber shop. Operation Ward 57 brought the barber shop to him. They regularly bring in people to cut hair on the wounded warrior floor. For guys like Justin who have sported military regulation haircuts for so long, they feel not quite themselves when their hair gets too long, and the awesome people from Ward 57 made Justin feel more like himself. They also come around and have special events in the hospital like ice cream sundaes which may seem like a simple thing, but it really means a lot to the families on the 4th floor.

Heroes Haven is a small non-profit out of Sharptown, MD. Most of the people who run it are either in the American Legion or Sons of the American Legion. They’re the ones who helped Justin go on his first hunting trip post-injury. They welcomed our family and the other two participants into town with a police and motorcycle escort through a couple small towns where people lined the streets waving and holding flags and signs. They welcomed us into their town and into their homes and treated us like family.

Our family did not stay in the Fisher House, but we were helped by one of their programs - Hero Miles. The Fisher houses help families have a place to stay free of cost while their loved one is undergoing care at a military facility. For a smaller family like ours, the Navy Lodge and now building 62 are sufficient, but for larger families or cases where extended family stays for longer periods of time, the Fisher Houses provide a place for them to feel at home. The Fisher House Foundation also stepped up during the government shutdown to help families of soldiers killed in action with their expenses. When Justin was injured, the Army travel people booked me a flight to Walter Reed. I didn’t have either of our vehicles up here which at first wasn’t as big of a deal, but once Justin was discharged, we wanted to venture off the hospital complex more. To get our vehicle, we needed to fly back to Georgia to get it. This is where Hero Miles helped out. People donate their unused frequent flyer miles and Hero Miles uses them to pay for flights for the wounded warriors and family/friends. For us, it was to fly back home briefly. For others, it’s the only way family can afford to come visit.

The Yellow Ribbon Fund does so much to help wounded warriors and their families. One way that they helped us was with their taxi voucher program. Before we had our vehicle up here, there were times where we wanted to get out or needed a ride to the airport. The Yellow Ribbon Fund provides taxi vouchers so that we’re able to get around for free. They also provide special outings and services for caregivers. On holidays, they bring gifts for the wounded and their caregivers.

Active Heroes isn’t a group that makes rounds at Walter Reed, but they definitely deserve mention. They organized a golf benefit for us last month and have another schedule for later this year. The proceeds all go into a fund that is setup for long term assistance or for help with immediate specific expenses. This is just one of the programs they have going. Another that is in the works is a retreat for wounded warriors and their families. They have purchased the land and are working on building it. I’ve enjoyed seeing the pictures they’ve posted on their facebook page. It looks like such a peaceful place that will be enjoyed by so many.

Operation Homefront is an organization that I’m not as familiar with, but I still appreciate them and what they do. On Valentine’s Day, I heard a knock at our door. When I got to the door, nobody was there, but at my feet was a nice bag filled with gifts for me. There was a bag at every door on our hall. Out of curiosity, I looked up the bag since it was a name brand, and I’d estimate they spent over $100 on each room. The majority of the caregivers around here are women – wives, mothers, sisters, other female family members, or friends. Most are probably like us where it’s rare for the wounded warrior to go anywhere without the caregiver, so it’s hard to buy surprise gifts. It was really nice of Operation Homefront to surprise the caregivers (and I know that Yellow Ribbon Fund has done similar on the inpatient side of the hospital) on Valentine’s Day.

Justin and I are used to being the ones that people call when they need help. We’re not used to being the ones that need help, but right now we find ourselves being the recipient of the help of these wonderful, generous groups/people. I don’t know how to thank them enough for what they’ve done and are still doing for our family. The best way I can think of right now to show my appreciation is by recognizing them and getting their names out there. If you’re reading this and you’re a part of one of these or any other organization that helps our veterans – both the wounded and the ones who were more fortunate – I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do! You truly are making a difference in lives.

8 month update - healing and making sense of things

Tomorrow it will be 8 months since Justin was injured – 2/3 of a year. A few days ago, Justin had his stitches removed and his left leg is looking great! Another week and a half until he sees his orthopedic surgeon to find out if he’s cleared to get his left prosthetic. Once he gets that, the hardcore rehab will start. I can’t wait to see him walking around the track with two legs…though he’s doing really well with one leg. He did 6 laps around the track with one leg and crutches yesterday. (Different crutches that are more stable than the ones he wiped out with in the Chick-fil-a parking lot a few weeks ago.) When Justin got his stitches out, it got me think as to when the last time was that he didn’t have stitches/lines/tubes/IVs/other assorted medical stuff attached to him. He got the PICC line in September, so it was before that, and he had stitches when he got out of the hospital at the end of July, so maybe for a brief time in August – if at all post injury. Pretty crazy. So glad he’s free of all that finally! Pain management is going great. The majority of his daily pills are vitamins. He’d like to be off of all the non-vitamins, but that’s something he’s going to have to work with his doctor on since some have some nasty reactions when you quit taking them. The H.O. bone growth hasn’t been bothering him too bad lately. The main thing that’s been hurting is the nerve pain mostly when he is laying down at night. We might have to juggle when he takes his nerve pain med if it continues. Overall, things are going really well for Justin’s recovery. Some R&R over Christmas and the recent convalescent leave did the trick…and got us into a warmer climate which is an added bonus!

Non-medically, how are things going? We’ve got Corey back with us in Maryland, so he’s having to adjust to being back up here. I’m also having to adjust to having a little alarm clock that likes to jump on me again. lol Justin is getting assigned to the unit up here, so we’re still trying to figure out exactly what that will mean for us. So many questions that we’re unable to find answers for at the moment – and some may eventually have answers we don’t particularly like. Right now we’re just having to wait and see…which drives me nuts since I like to plan and know what’s going to happen.

I also came to a realization last week about myself. Since Justin’s been more independent in recent months, he’s been able to go and do stuff without me. This is great because I don’t typically want to wake up early to do…well, pretty much anything. lol Early morning hunting is not my thing at all. Anyway, I realized last weekend that when he’s away from me doing stuff – especially if it involves a long drive – I get anxious and worried that something bad will happen to him. This isn’t because I feel he’s incapable of taking care of himself without me there, because he’s perfectly capable, and it’s not because I think he’s unable to drive by himself (though I did ask him to take a buddy in case he was too worn out after hunting to drive the 2 hours back to our house…which he didn’t mind because he got to hang out with a friend he hadn’t seen since he was injured). I guess it’s just that so many things have happened to members of my family in the past couple years, my anxiety is just me wondering what’s next and fearing it. While it’s probably a fairly natural response, it’s not healthy to live in fear. Now that I realized my problem, I can work on trusting God more. It’s so easy to trust Him when things are going well, when things are calm. It takes a lot more effort to trust when things don’t make sense and you’re hurting. For me, it’s never been an issue of knowing if God CAN do something, but if He WILL. I know that God can work miracles of healing and protection. I know that He always answers prayers, but sometimes He choose to answer those prayers with a “no”. God chose to answer the many prayers for Justin’s protection with a “yes” for his first two deployments. With the firefights he was in and the IEDs planted in his areas of operation, that’s nothing short of a miracle, and I’m thankful for it. This deployment, God chose to bring Justin home alive. Not in one piece like I would have preferred, like I prayed for, but he’s alive. I may never understand why God allowed Justin to lose his legs. Right now it just doesn’t make sense.

I once heard life here on earth compared to needlework like cross stitch. In this life, all we see is the underside of it. We see the colors and a vague pattern, but it’s not always very pretty. There are knots and tangles. It just doesn’t make sense. Once we get to heaven, we’ll see things from God’s perspective and we will see the picture clearly. It will be beautiful. For now, I’ll have to just trust that God’s plan – His pattern – will someday make sense because right now, there are so many things that don’t make sense to me. I just have to keep reminding myself that even though things are out of my control, they aren’t out of God’s. He knows my future and how everything will work together even though I don’t have a clue.

Medics, doctors, nurses, and others in the medical field

Tonight Corey and I were able to go to Awana at our church in GA. Afterwards I was on my way to pick Corey up when one of the ladies said that the dad of a couple of the kids was a medic and was wondering where/when Justin was injured. I talked to him for a little bit and it turns out that he was in the field hospital where the helicopter took Justin after his guys got him off the mountain. I showed him a picture of Justin and he recognized him. He seemed a little shaken up. He told me that with as many guys go through the field hospital, he copes by trying not to look at their faces. I was glad to be able to tell him how well Justin is doing. He sees soldiers when they’re in very rough shape, but it’s probably very rare to find out how they’re doing 6 months down the road except in the cases where the soldier doesn’t make it. That got me thinking about a few things regarding combat medics.

One type of combat medic is the one who is attached to a platoon. These soldiers train with the platoon before a deployment. They build trust and often friendships. The guy that he’s stitching up after getting shot or applying a tourniquet to after being in an explosion was the guy he sat next to and laughed with at a backyard BBQ a few months earlier. He does everything in his power to make sure his buddies survive and likely wonders if it was enough. He is most likely the first medical attention his platoon receives and his job is to get them stable and ready to transport to the field hospital. After that, they can only hope and pray that they’ll see their friends again. Obviously some wounds aren’t as critical as others, but others may haunt them.

Another type is like the man I met tonight. Soldiers come though the field hospital in pretty rough shape. Justin probably doesn’t remember much, if any, of his time at the field hospital. He was on some pretty strong pain killers. And as bad of a condition as Justin was in at the field hospital, I’m sure they saw much worse. Having to see so many soldiers severely wounded and others that are barely alive has got to be tough. It’s hard for me sometimes at Walter Reed to look around and see so many broken bodies, but at least I get to see the positives – the unbroken spirits, the families together living life as strange as the Walter Reed life may be, and these brave men and women pushing themselves toward recovery. The medics at the field hospital just see the bad stuff and very rarely have an image of those soldiers down the road of recovery to replace the one they have of them at their worst.

As with all of our military service men and women, medics need your prayers. Prayers for safety when deployed and prayers for the peace that only God can give to help them after the deployments. They’ve seen so much while helping so many. It’s because of men and women who choose to be combat medics that my husband is still alive. I’m so thankful for the man I met tonight, the medic attached to Justin’s platoon, and others like them.

I’m also thankful for the non-combat military medical personnel (and civilian doctors and nurses too). Since June, I feel like I’ve received a crash course in nursing except without all the training…and only have one patient that I’m responsible for. I know more about orthopedics, wound care, medications, and other random bits of medical knowledge than I ever thought I would. I can look at Justin’s blood pressure and tell you if it’s high, low, or normal and if it’s high, because I know him, I can usually tell you why. I can rattle off a list of medications and tell you when he takes them, what they’re for, and what will happen if he stops taking certain ones of them. I’ve learned that you can tell what stage in the healing process a wound is in based on the color. I know the difference between a flap procedure and a skin graft. For every bit of knowledge I’ve learned, there’s been a doctor and/or nurse who has explained it to me. They not only took care of Justin, but they also patiently answered the multitude of questions that I have had over the past nearly 8 months. They handled the unpleasant tasks without complaint. They joked around with us and helped lighten the mood on days when there really wasn’t much to smile about. Hospitals tend to be depressing places, but the right type of nurses/techs/medical staff can make the time there a lot more pleasant…though Justin and I would prefer to see them when stopping by the floor to say hi rather than being on the inpatient side again. The more time I spent with the really good staff members on the ward where Justin was inpatient, the more respect I have for people in the medical profession. It’s not a career field I would choose for myself, but I sure appreciate those who have chosen it. To the techs who check vitals and empty bedside commodes, the surgeons who perform life-saving surgeries, the pharmacists who make sure the patients drugs don’t cause bad reactions, and the nurses who do more than they ever receive credit for doing, and everyone else who is in the medical field thank you from the bottom of my heart.

7 month update

Two days ago marked 7 months since Justin was injured. Yesterday marked 5 years since Justin and I got married. Even though injuries are nothing to celebrate, we can celebrate the fact he is alive and that we were able to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary…though I was disappointed that the Cheesecake Factory up the road had closed so we weren’t able to go there for our anniversary dinner. lol I guess we’ll just have to have a post-anniversary dinner and go to the one that’s a little further away and hopefully still open. Though our second choice in dinner locations sure beat hospital room service!

Where are we now? Before we went on Christmas leave, Justin’s wound care team looked at his left leg and were concerned that the bone/tendon might be working its way too close to the surface again (same issue that sent him to  inpatient in October/November). He met with his orthopedic surgeon who agreed and sent him to the plastic surgeon to see what could be done to give the leg some extra padding. The ortho and plastics doctors agreed that since they had tried twice to make do with what was there and it hadn’t worked, they needed to go for the more complex procedure that would require a longer hospital stay. They scheduled it for right after we were to get back after Christmas. I posted about it on my facebook and asked people to pray. We went down to Florida and had a great time. We were able to relax, spend time with family, see some friends, ate very well, bought a new truck, and enjoyed some fresh air and Florida sunshine. Christmas leave went by way too fast and neither of us wanted to go back to Maryland. Corey didn’t want to go back either, but fortunately for him, he didn’t have to. With Justin’s upcoming surgery, we decided to leave him in Florida a little longer since seeing Justin in the hospital upsets him. A family member would bring him back to us after Justin was released. We got back to Maryland on a Friday. Thought we would have Saturday to relax and take care of things, but instead ended up taking Justin to the ER due to the stomach crud and a bad migraine. On Sunday, he was readmitted into inpatient pending his surgery on Monday to open the leg back up and prepare it for the big procedure. Monday morning came and he was taken to the OR. He got out of surgery and ended up with a bad migraine. They gave him some medicine to help and he rested most of the day while we waited to talk to the surgeon about what they had done to his leg. I was cooking dinner when he finally came, but he told Justin that if he’d seen Justin’s leg before taking him to the OR, he wouldn’t have even admitted him into the hospital. It healed so much over Christmas that he, the wound care team, and the plastic surgeon agreed that it didn’t need the big procedure! The combination of different eating habits (Christmas ham multiple times), better rest, more relaxation, and most importantly – people praying – made his leg heal at a faster rate than it had been. Since it healed that well in two weeks away from Walter Reed, his ortho doctor recommended 3 weeks of convalescent leave to be spent away from here. Right now we’re waiting on approval from the Army side of things…always the holdup around here. The medical side wants him out of here for a bit with the hope that when he comes back his leg will be completely healed, and after seeing it yesterday in wound care, I think it’s definitely a possibility. After it’s healed, ortho has to clear him and then he can get casted and get his second leg and then things will really get moving in PT. During his brief time in the hospital, they took out the PICC line since he’s done with his IV antibiotics (it had been in for 99 days). Now that it’s out, he can do more with crutches and can resume his archery.

2013 was a rough year, but if the rest of 2014 is like the first 11 days, then I’m optimistic that it’s going to get better from here. Prayers have been answered above and beyond what I anticipated. I figured the big procedure would do what it was supposed to and that it would be what Justin’s leg needed to heal and then it would get better. God answered everyone’s prayers by healing Justin’s leg without the ordeal of more surgery. The weird bone growth that I’ve previously mentioned (H.O.) hasn’t been bothering him as much, so I’m hopeful that it won’t require surgery. It’s looking hopeful that Justin will finally get his convalescent leave. The colonel that made things difficult for the recreational therapy department has been given a new assignment and will be leaving Walter Reed very soon. Things are definitely looking up. Please pray that the Army side will approve Justin leave and that they’ll approve it for Justin to leave the area. Please also pray that Justin’s leg will finish healing so that he can get his new left leg. Hopefully by this time next month, I will have more good news to share regarding Justin’s progress. God is good. Thank you for your continued prayers. They really do make a difference.

Justin's new ride

Reflections on 2013

The end of the year is often a time to reflect on the year that is coming to a close and think ahead to the new one. 2013 was a year I’d rather not repeat. It wasn’t all bad, and there were some pretty awesome times, but there were a lot of times when I’d ask myself “what’s next?”…and not because I thought it would be something pleasant. January was pretty ordinary. February was pretty good until the end when Justin deployed a couple days before my birthday. Corey and I got back into our routine while Justin was having a deployment that was definitely not boring (though I would have been okay with boring). March and April went by pretty fast, as did most of May. Toward the end of May, the Burdette side of the family welcomed a new member when Cole married Nikki. Then came June. It’s been a rollercoaster since then. But for each difficulty, there has been something to be thankful for. Justin got his legs blown off, but he’s still alive. His injuries could have been a lot worse, but they weren’t. My dad’s place of employment decided to downsize and my dad was laid off after working there 30+ years. Because of his age and years of service, he qualified for early retirement status…something that couldn’t have happened if he had been laid off a year ago. My sister’s husband got in a car accident (other driver was at fault), but he wasn’t injured. The driver that hit him didn’t have a valid driver’s license, but amazingly he had insurance. Two things to be thankful for. Justin’s brother was riding his motorcycle and was hit by a car. He sustained minor injuries, but he was wearing his helmet (actually Justin’s helmet which we were glad that he had and was wearing), so he was a lot better off than he would have been without it. My grandmother had a mini-stroke not too long before Thanksgiving. We’re thankful it wasn’t worse than it was, but we still aren’t sure what effects from it are only temporary and which are permanent. The doctors are still working with her to find out what medications will help her situation. One medication did not react well with her, and we had to call for an ambulance on Christmas day. She is now out of the hospital and she and Poppa will be staying with my parents for a bit while she’s recovering. Please pray that she will make a full recovery from the stroke and that the doctors will have wisdom in treating her. Please also pray for her as she’s having difficulty understanding and remembering what’s going on and is worried and anxious about a lot of things.

There were a lot of things that made 2013 a rough year, but there are also a lot of things that happened that gave us a lot of good memories to treasure. Corey finished his first year in the Awana program as a Puggle. He also got to play in his first team sport…even though his season was cut short due to Justin getting injured. He got to play in practices and in one game. As I already mentioned, I gained a new sister-in-law, and Corey and I were able to be at their wedding. My sister, Krista, and I took a road trip together down to Florida for the wedding/mom and Wendy’s birthdays and had a lot of fun. (“Look, there’s a Chick-fil-a!” lol) Justin found out that even though he was injured, he’d still be able to hunt and fish and wouldn’t have to wait on getting prosthetics to do so…huge morale boost for him. Justin was able to participate in a fly fishing tournament the weekend before his birthday…just 2 ½ months post injury. He had a great time and caught a lot of fish. I can’t say enough about how great Project Healing Waters has been for Justin. Between the weekly fly tying and the fishing trips here and there, they’ve helped him get back into one of the hobbies that he loves. And the people who make it happen are some of the nicest people you could meet. We got to go as a family to Sharptown, MD and enjoy some time away from Walter Reed, met some amazing people who treated us like family and welcomed us with open arms into their community…oh, and Justin shot some does and we got to stock our freezer with venison. Minor details. Lol And going there wasn’t just a one-time thing and they forgot about us – it was a “give us a call and come back anytime” thing. We went back about a month after the Heroes Haven event and had a wonderful time then too. They even threw Corey a little birthday party complete with a camouflage cake. We were able to drive down to Georgia to attend the homecoming ceremony for Justin’s guys. I was probably more emotional for that homecoming than the ones where I was welcoming Justin home. Lol It was so good to finally be able to meet the men who were up there with Justin and made sure he didn’t bleed out after he was hit. I also got to meet some of the wives – many of whom I had spoken to on the phone but had never met in person. Even though Justin had been back in the States for months, this was his first time back in our house and back on Ft. Stewart. He only beat his guys back by a few days. It was so great to see him in uniform on the field with his guys and the rest that came home that day. We were able to drive down to Florida to be with our families for Thanksgiving. This was the first time Justin had been in Florida since January and the first time since May for me. It was so good to be with family even though the trip went by way too fast. Justin and I were able to go to Texas for a hunting trip at the San Rafael Ranch. We both had a great time, made some new friends that hopefully we’ll see again down the road, made some great memories (and got some fun pictures), and I even shot a hog…something most people never thought I’d do. Shoot, I never thought I’d do it either. Lol I was content shooting paper targets at the range. Shortly after our Texas trip, we drove back down to Florida to be with our families for Christmas. Our Christmas wasn’t at all what we expected, but we got to be together for it. Both of my sisters and their families were here. All of Justin’s siblings are here. I got to see one set of grandparents a couple days before Christmas, and the other set on Christmas day. I’m also glad that I’m here and able to help out with Grandma even though I’d rather be spending time with her under better circumstances. I feel so helpless when stuff happens and I’m out of state (and formerly out of the country). Grandma was upset and said that she feels she’s ruining things for me and for my mom and feels like a burden, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. I’m thankful that she’s still alive and that I’m blessed with the opportunity to spend time with her still.

2013 has been a year of highs and lows. We’ve gotten to meet some amazing people (and even a few famous ones), do some really fun things, reconnect with old friends, feel the love and support from our families, friends, churches and communities. Looking back at the pictures from this year brings many laughs and smiles, and some tears here and there. Here’s to 2014 having less stress, fewer difficulties, more adventure, more healing, fewer surgeries for Justin, and hopefully seeing the end of our time at Walter Reed (though I know it won’t be any time soon). A belated Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all of my friends! Thank you for being there for us and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers this year! We are truly blessed.

Our trip to Texas

Justin and I just got back from a hunting trip on a ranch in Texas. We had an amazing time there. The ranch is owned by a couple that are huge supporters of Project Healing Waters – the organization that Justin does the fly fishing with. All of the guests who were there with us were either on staff with PHW or were participants/spouses of participants – the majority being wounded warriors. Some had visible wounds, others not as much, but all have made sacrifices for our country. Many people would look at them with pity, others with curiosity, and some even with disgust. Some might call them handicapped. I look at them and see people who have overcome so much to get where they are today – and have many more obstacles still to overcome. Three of the men were amputees, though two were a lot further along in the healing process and if they were wearing long pants, you might not even know they had fake legs. Another of the men is paralyzed from the chest down. The rest had other wounds that you might not even notice, but all of them had a story and were united through their service, sacrifices and a wonderful organization that helped the ranch owners organize the trip.

After the smoothest experience with airline travel that we’ve ever had, we arrived in southern Texas and were driven to the San Rafael Ranch. We met the ranch owner, Loralee West, Loralee’s friend, Kathy, the ranch staff, and the other guests who had already arrived. We were shown to our guest house so that we could relax a bit before dinner. Every evening, we had appetizers which could have been a meal by themselves. Then came dinner of the five star quality variety. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten such a variety of amazing food in such a short period of time. I even tried elk for the first time and the second time and the third time and it was never prepared the same way twice. After dinner, they had us draw names to see which of the staff would take the hunters out for the early morning hunt. As I’m not a morning person, I slept in while Justin hunted. When the hunters got back in, we had breakfast. After breakfast, there was shooting sessions on three of the days and a horseback ride on the fourth. I skipped the shotgun session, but enjoyed the rifle and pistol sessions. The rifle session was both to have fun and to sight in the rifles we would be using to hunt to the trip. I shoot left handed and was able to use a left handed rifle for the first time. It made things so much easier. I had only shot a pistol once before, so it was nice to get some instruction. We had a little competition and Justin and I did pretty decent. Lunch was buffet style and let me tell you, they put out an awesome spread every day. Before lunch was over, we’d draw names for the afternoon/evening hunt. After lunch we had a couple hours to rest and relax before the hunting resumed. Then after hunting, we’d all meet up at the cleaning station to see what everyone shot. Then back to the main part of the ranch to get ready for dinner.

The first evening of hunting, Justin and I were together in a raised blind with one of the staff. We saw a lot of the exotic/non-native animals. It was so cool to watch them. Once again, I was thankful that I splurged a few years ago a bought myself a camera with a 26x zoom. Toward the end of the evening, a herd of wild hogs came into range, and Justin managed to shoot one (58 lbs). I had them in the sights of my rifle but wasn’t confident enough to take a shot. The next evening, Justin wanted to be in one of the ground blinds, so I went with one of the staff, Eddie, to the other raised blind hoping to get some more pictures of the exotics. I didn’t see as many that evening unfortunately. I saw a couple white tail bucks. One was too young to shoot but the other was a good aged 9 point that Eddie said I could shoot if I wanted. I had him in my sights and he was well within range, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. He was just too pretty…though I would have had no problem with someone else shooting him. I was afraid I would just injure him and he’d run off. He eventually walked out of range. Then a herd of hogs showed up. They came into range and all stopped. Then they’d walk a little bit and stop. (According to Justin, it’s rare for hogs to stand still, but these piggies seemed to be posing for me.) After a few minutes of tracking them with my gun without pulling the trigger, I know Eddie must have thought they’d just walk away like the buck. I think I surprised both him and myself when I actually did shoot. I looked and saw that I had dropped the pig (43 lbs) and was in too much shock to get off a second shot at one of the others. lol Will I become an avid hunter now? Doubtful. I could take it or leave it honestly, but the look on Justin’s face when I told him made it totally worth it. The next morning, Justin finally got his buck. He’d been trying for years to shoot something with antlers to join his gator on the wall, and he finally got it. He got a nice sized 8 point. That evening, I got him to go back to the raised blind with me in hopes that the herd of pigs would come back. We waited and waited and finally three large hogs appeared about 200 yards away.  I’ve only ever shot at 100 yards, so I wasn’t confident that I could make the shot. Justin was a different story. He shot at the largest one – a boar. He hit it, but it ran away and we weren’t able to find it. Unlike me, he wasn’t too shocked to get off the next shot. This time he shot twice at a sow. She also ran off, but Eddie was able to find her (140 lbs). All in all, between the two of us, we had a successful hunting trip. The ranch owner paid for each person to have something mounted. Mine was too small (though not too small to eat and ended up on the lunch buffet on the last day), but Justin is getting his buck mounted.

By the end of the week, we made a bunch of new friends that I hope we will see again somewhere down the road. It was hard saying goodbye on Sunday. Some we bid farewell to at the ranch. Justin and I were on the same flight as 6 other people from the ranch, so we had a little longer to hang out with them in the airport and one was even across the aisle from us on the plane. After we got off the plane, we were met by the TSA agent who helped escort us to our next gate. We started off as a group heading in the same direction and at each place where one or two people broke off to go to their own gates, we took a few minutes to say goodbye. The TSA guy was pretty understanding at our delays. It was just that good of a time that we weren’t ready for it to end (and the weather in TX was so much nicer than what we were all heading to).

We’ve been blessed with so many opportunities that have helped Justin get back into his hobbies, get us away from the hospital, and just to have fun. Each one has been so different, but after each one, we’ve come away having made new friends, wonderful memories, and enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. I’m so thankful for the people who have given so much to help the wounded warriors and their families. It’s so good to see Justin back outdoors doing things he loves. He may have lost his lower legs, but he didn’t lose his spirit. He hasn’t let being in a wheelchair keep him from doing the things he loves, and I will forever appreciate the people who have helped make that happen.

Six months

Six months ago, it was a Sunday morning. My alarm went off telling me it was time to get up and get ready for church. I got up, fixed Corey’s breakfast and was starting to fix my own when my cell phone rang. It wasn’t unusual for Justin to call around that time because of the time difference between Afghanistan and Georgia, and it wasn’t unusual for him to call from a random international number that I didn’t recognize. I answered the phone, and sure enough, it was Justin. He told me he has some bad news for me. For him, bad news could mean anything from the commemorative rifle order not going through to getting orders that we would have to move somewhere that I didn’t want to live. Then he told me that he’s been in an explosion and had lost both legs above the ankle. My first response was “are you serious?” You see, Justin has a weird sense of humor sometimes and has joked for years about getting springy legs like the guy in the Olympics, so I thought he was joking with me. Then he said “yes, I’m serious” and I could hear the pain in his voice and realized it wasn’t a joke. It took me a minute, but I pulled myself together and reminded myself that at least he was alive and it could have been a lot worse. He told me he wanted Pastor Lou’s number (the pastor of the church we grew up in and still consider home) and we talked for a few minutes before he said he needed to call his parents and handed me off to the nurse to answer any questions I had. I was so thankful he had been coherent enough to call me himself so I could hear his voice and know he was alive. I was also thankful that he called his parents. That was one phone call that I didn’t want to make, and I know they would rather hear it from him so that they could hear his voice too. The nurse explained to me a little more of what had happened and medically what would be happening next. At this point I had a million things running through my head. My world got turned upside down, and I was struggling to figure out which way was up.

My first call was to talk to my parents. Given the time of day on a Sunday, I knew they were in choir at church. I tried my mom’s cell phone first – no answer. It was in her purse in the pew and she was in the choir loft. I tried several other numbers with no answer. Finally I tried my dad’s cell phone. A lot of times he leaves it at home on Sundays, so I knew it would be hit or miss as to whether he’d answer it either. Thankfully he had it on him and was able to pass it off to mom and they both slipped out of the choir loft. I told them what had happened, and even though they had just gotten back the day before from another trip, they said they’d be on their way as soon as they got home and threw their clothes back in the suitcases. They let a few people at Faith know what happened so they could be praying. One of them has a daughter who goes to our church in Georgia, so she passed it on and then our church in Georgia was praying too.

My next call was to my friend, Katie. She and her husband were two of the first people I met in Georgia after Justin and I got married. Neil and Justin deployed together for their first deployment and have been close friends since then. Katie and I became great friends from the first time we met practically and the four of us have kept in touch and finally we back together in the same duty station after we returned from Germany.  I told her what happened and she said they’d be over right away. I started to tell her that if I didn’t answer the door right away, to let themselves in, but then realized she’d already hung up the phone. They made it to my house in record time and stayed until right before my parents arrived. We laughed together, and we cried together. Katie helped me clean up the house while I was answering calls, emails, and Facebook messages. Neil was on the rear detachment, so he was making calls trying to find out more information for me.

After I got off the phone with Katie and called Justin’s parents, I went back out to Corey. He’s usually very sensitive to my emotions and saw that I’d been crying. He asked what made me cry. I told him that his daddy got hurt and that the bad guys had taken his legs. He handled it better than I did and gave me a big hug. He was excited that Mimi and Papa were coming to see us later that day and that Neil and Katie were on the way over.

Throughout the rest of the day, it was a blur of phone calls and sitting around waiting for more information. Justin was able to call again later in the day and they must have upped the dosage of pain meds because his pain was more under control and he was joking around. He asked to talk to Neil and joked with him about beating him in a PT test once he gets his springy legs. I felt a lot better after that call because he sounded so much better. One of the other phone calls was from one of the ladies whose husband was also deployed and saw Justin after he was injured. He told his wife that Justin was an inspiration. When she told me this, I nearly started laughing. Before he got hurt, nobody had ever used the word “inspiration” to describe him. He laughed when I told him…though I had to tell him a couple times before he was coherent enough to remember it. There’s a lot that he doesn’t remember from those first few weeks. Not long before my parents arrived, Pastor Steve from our church in GA came over to the house to talk to me and pray with me. While he was there, my parents arrived and were slightly confused when they saw two nearly identical trucks in the driveway.

The majority of that week was spent waiting for information. The Army information line was great at keeping us informed. While Justin was still in Afghanistan, he received his Purple Heart. I was emailed pictures from when he received it and that was the first I had seen of him since he was hurt. I had heard his voice, but what a relief to see him alive! When Justin was transferred to Germany, his platoon sergeant from when we were stationed in Vilseck was at the hospital waiting for him when his plane landed. Usually I hate that I have friends spread out so far because I can’t see them very often/ever, but on that day, I was thankful that we still have friends in Germany who could be with Justin even though I couldn’t. The next day, another friend (who had deployed with Justin in his first deployment, was a groomsman in our wedding, and later was stationed in Vilseck) visited Justin. I’m so thankful that these two drove about three hours each way to spend some time with him. I felt better that he wasn’t alone over there. I was also able to call Justin while he was in Germany. I could call the Army information line 24 hours a day and they could patch me through to the hospital in Germany. I woke Justin up nearly every time (though in my defense, he did sleep a lot due to meds…I was careful to take into account the time difference before calling) and he joked that I was getting him back for all the times he woke me up during his deployments.

While we were waiting to hear that Justin would be transported back to the States, I was overwhelmed at the outpouring of love from family, friends, our churches in Florida and Georgia, and our neighbors. I know I missed responding to many of the messages people sent me, but I read them all and appreciated them all. We are truly blessed by so many people who care about us and have been encouraging us and praying for us these past six months.

Less than a week after he was injured, they were transferring him to Walter Reed. Usually things don’t move that fast from what I was told, but he was strong and stable enough for transport. On June 14th, they loaded him on a plane and booked my flight. We landed in the D.C. area around the same time and that’s where we’ve been for the majority of the past six months.

Right now we’re still waiting for Justin’s left leg to finish healing. Sometimes it gets discouraging seeing so little progress with it. Please pray that it will heal up and Justin can get things got with a prosthetic after Christmas. The right leg is doing great! He’s working closely with his physical therapist and the prosthetics people to get it to fit comfortably. He’s been able to wear it out and about and is getting used to having it. In PT, he’s been walking on it and doing exercises with it. It’s been awesome to see the progress he’s making with just one leg. So far, they’ve been able to mold the leg socket in such a way that it doesn’t aggravate the weird bone growth (H.O. – I mentioned it previously). We’ hoping and praying that it will continue to work out so that he doesn’t need additional surgery to remove it. He’s tired of surgeries and being in the hospital and who could blame him.

Thank you all for all your love and support these past six months! It means the world to me. Different ones have called, let me vent, helped out with Corey, sent cards and notes on Facebook, brought meals when we’re in town, and prayed continuously for us. We are blessed.

Homecoming

This past weekend was an amazing weekend. We had a long drive to get to Georgia and a long drive back, but it was worth it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Justin may have arrived in the States months ago, but he only arrived in Ft. Stewart a couple days ahead of his guys. It was a true homecoming all around.

We left Thursday morning after Justin saw the wound care people. We got about an hour down the road when Justin received a call saying he needed to go back to Walter Reed to see the pharmacist to “reconcile his medications”. This didn’t really make much sense since Justin had just talked to her the day before after his primary care appointment. We decided to get off the interstate and stop for an early lunch while Justin called the clinic and waited for them to call back. Thankfully he was able to take care of that over the phone and we were able to get back on the road. After a lot of hours in the car, we made it to our house. There was a welcome home sign on a tree in our yard from our neighbor and newly built ramp over the steps to get into the house (thank you, Pastor Steve and Ricky! – our music pastor and a fellow saxophone player in the orchestra at First Baptist of Hinesville went out to the house and build the ramp the day before we arrived so that Justin would have an easier time getting into the house). This was Justin’s first time in our house since the morning of the day he deployed back in February and it was so good for all of us to be home together again.

On Friday, the first thing Justin wanted to do was to go down to the 3-15 building on Ft. Stewart and see the guys who were already back/didn’t deploy. (You probably thought I was going to say go to Bass Pro in the Savannah Mall, didn’t you? lol) He got to see quite a few people and about gave a few of us a heart attack…until we realized he was okay and then laughed at him. Corey was acting up, so Justin was trying to scare him while popping a wheelie. Had Justin had his wheelie bars on the back of his chair, it would have been fine. Unfortunately, said wheelie bars were sitting in our closet in Maryland.  He misjudged how far back he’d gone, wasn’t able to recover, and flipped the chair over backward. It was quite an awkward landing, but nothing except his pride was hurt. I don’t think he’ll live it down any time soon given who was there to witness it. lol We hung around and visited with people until it was getting close to lunch time. Then we went to our friends’ house to hang out before going with them out to lunch. After lunch we ran errands and headed home. A couple of our neighbors brought over supper for us and we relaxed at home the rest of the evening. (Have I mentioned how much I love where we live in Georgia??? We have some of the nicest neighbors!)

Saturday was the big day. On Friday when we were down at the 3-15 building, they kind of strongly encouraged Justin to be in uniform, so he made sure he had all the patches he needed and he got dressed in his multicam uniform (only worn for deployments). We got there early to make sure we got a parking spot and headed over to the field for Justin to get instructions. While we were waiting, I got to meet some of the wives and put faces with the names and voices I’d only heard over the phone. Justin got a lot of hugs from people he didn’t know, many were the mothers of guys from his unit that had heard about him from their sons. Then the busses drove past the field and parked behind the trees. The families waited in the bleachers and in front of them to catch the first glimpse of their loved ones. The wounded soldiers (Justin being the only one in uniform) waited near the podium while their fellow soldiers marched out from behind the tree line. When they stopped marching and stood in formation, the wounded walked/wheeled out onto the field to join them. Justin’s platoon sergeant walked out, gave Justin a hug, and then helped wheel him to his place in the formation. There was a little talking (though I doubt anyone could tell you what was said lol), the National Anthem was played, the unit song and Army song were sung, then they released everyone to meet up with their soldiers. Most of Justin’s guys found him and it was so awesome to see them reunited. I’m not gonna lie, I think I was more emotional at this homecoming than at the two where Justin was one of the soldiers returning. Seeing him rejoin his platoon out on the field was a moment I won’t forget. After grabbing some lunch, we headed back home where we all crashed. For supper (and by supper, I mean over 3 hours long lol), we went out to eat with some of Justin’s guys and their families. By the time we got home, both boys went straight to bed pretty much. It was a great day!

On Sunday morning, Justin wasn’t feeling the greatest (I think he overdid on Saturday), but we all still made it to church. I got to play in the orchestra and Corey got to hang out with his buddies in his class. It was great to be back even just for one weekend. After a little bit of relaxing, a couple of the single guys from Justin’s platoon, and our friends, Neil (deployed with Justin for his first deployment to Iraq) and Katie, came over for supper. While they were there, the guy delivered Justin’s track chair – given to him by a non-profit organization (I can’t remember the name at the moment). Let me tell ya, that thing is pretty awesome…except the horn which is kind of wimpy sounding. lol Justin can’t wait to take it hunting. It was a nice evening full of laughs…mostly at Justin’s expense, but he deserved it.

This morning, we were definitely not ready to leave. Aside from wanting to stay in Georgia longer, Justin woke up not feeling well again. Corey and I got up, ate breakfast, and I got things packed and ready to load in the Jeep while Justin got a little more rest. We finally hit the road, had a fairly uneventful drive with no wrecks or traffic jams, and made it back to Walter Reed around 8:30 this evening. Unpacking the suitcases can wait until tomorrow. I’m beat. Back to the normal routine tomorrow. Hopefully Justin will get casted this week and start bearing weight on his right leg. I never thought I’d be so happy to anticipate him hobbling around on crutches.

The wounded soldiers

Veterans' Day

Tomorrow marks 5 months since Justin was injured. Two days from now we will be celebrating Veterans’ Day. Memorial Day is to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Veterans’ Day is to honor all who have served in our military – most did not give their lives for our country, but they all made sacrifices of one kind or another. To all my friends who have served, THANK YOU!

Being here at Walter Reed, it’s very visible the extent of the sacrifices many have made. One group of people I want to thank specifically are the men and women who chose to be combat medics and the ones who assisted them so that the wounded warriors made it this far alive. If it wasn’t for the men in Justin’s platoon who didn’t even wait for the dust to settle before getting to him and stopping the bleeding, it’s doubtful that he even would have made it down from that mountain. They will forever have my gratitude and hopefully soon I will get to meet them and thank them in person. I am also thankful for the servicemen and women (and civilians, but it’s Veterans’ Day, so the main focus is on those who have served) who serve in the medical field in non-combat roles. The majority of Justin’s doctors, nurses, techs, and various other staff who have helped him are either current or former military including his orthopedic surgeon who splits his time between Walter Reed and various places overseas. Justin has received excellent care here. On the medical side, I have never once had to go above someone’s head to complain about the level of his care from the Army or Navy personnel. Many of them could probably make more money on the civilian side, but they have chosen to be in the military or work at Walter Reed after their time in the service helping other men and women in uniform. (And during the recent furloughs and government shutdown, that’s no easy choice for many who had to wait weeks to get paid and/or were forced to go home with no pay while the active duty members had to work more hours and shifts to make up for it.) THANK YOU!

On a personal note, where are we now?

Justin got released on Monday from another round of inpatient time to take care of the left leg which wasn’t closing. Same type thing that happened with the right leg in September. Hopefully this surgery took care of things and the leg will finally heal all the way. The right leg is looking pretty good. He had a minor setback while in the hospital. He was changing his dressings on the right leg and noticed an area that looked like it had opened back up. Wound care looked at it and determined that a stitch from his September surgery hadn’t been removed and caused the issue. They removed the stitch and now he has to wait for that little spot to heal before they can begin the casting process…hopefully this will take place in the next couple weeks. Another issue that’s still lingering is the staph infection (MRSA). When we was inpatient in September, they took cultures of the bone and tissue for testing and found that he had MRSA in his bones. They gave him a PICC line (basically, an IV that can stay in for a long period of time if needed and they can use it to draw blood – helpful especially for someone like Justin who isn’t an easy stick for IVs and blood draws) and showed him how to administer IV antibiotics himself to be taken twice a day for 8 weeks. He was almost to the end of that course of treatment when he had to be readmitted. When they opened up the left leg, they took cultures which came back positive for MRSA. Apparently, infection can hide in a “pocket” that antibiotics can’t reach. When they opened the left leg back up, the found one of these pockets and now the clock is reset and he’s got 8 more weeks of antibiotics. He was very unhappy about this as he’s tired of having to schedule his days around IVs and his weeks around the nurse coming to draw blood and waiting for his weeks’ worth of IV balls to be delivered. It’s a hassle and he’s tired of it, but what can you do other than deal with it. Hopefully after this round, he’ll be cleared and can move past this with no further need for the PICC line (though it did come in handy during his recent stay in the hospital so that his arms didn’t look like pincushions). Once the right leg heals, even if the left is still open, the can start the prosthetics process just with the one leg. The first step is to make a cast of it so that they can make sure the socket will fit him somewhat comfortably. They will likely have to make plenty of adjustments, but it’s a starting place. Then they’ll start working with him walking on one leg and crutches. What likely will happen before the walking is a thing they call a “tilt table” that they’ll put him on to gradually get his leg used to hold his weight without overdoing it. We’re hoping to start this in the coming weeks while he’s waiting for the left leg to close up all the way.

What’s in the future medically? Hopefully no more MRSA and no more surgeries due to his leg(s) not closing! The one thing that we’re concerned about for potential future surgeries is something called Heterotopic Ossification (or HO). In non-medical terms, when the body suffers sever limb trauma, often bone starts growing in places it shouldn’t. It’s very common here at Walter Reed and almost every amputee has it to some degree. Justin is not exempt. They typically let it grow for about 6 months until it stabilizes, and then evaluate to see if it hinders the patient from walking or causes a great degree of pain for them. If needed, they perform a surgery to remove it. Justin has HO growing in both residual limbs and since he doesn’t have a lot of extra padding, it’s pretty close to the surface and hurts at times. We’ll know more, most likely in January as to whether or not it will require additional surgery.

On the non-medical side of things, we’ve had some ups and downs. We’ve gotten to do some really fun things and have met some amazing people and even a few famous ones (though the ones I’ll remember the most fondly are the ordinary, everyday people who have opened their hearts and gone out of their way to express their appreciation for Justin and men and women like him). Justin has gotten to get back into his pre-injury hobbies which have boosted his morale and helped him to relax. On the flip side, we’ve had some frustrating things to deal with. It isn’t the Army as a whole, but the warrior transition brigade (WTB) here is one big, messy ball of red tape…to put it nicely. I could say a lot more, but I’ll refrain for the time being. Cutting through said red tape isn’t always easy, has caused many headaches, but if it’s something important to Justin and his medical side clears him, we don’t take “no” for an answer. I was recently told that I had people fooled that I was a quiet, mild Army wife but after a recent incident, he saw the claws and teeth come out. lol Mess with me if you must, but you better not mess with people I love. Certain people here will learn what it means to end up on my “no fudge ever list” if they keep throwing red tape at Justin (and if you’ve tried my fudge, you know that that isn’t a list you want to be on lol). We’ve got our good days and our bad days both physically (for Justin), mentally and emotionally. Corey is growing like crazy and he has most of the women around here wrapped around his little fingers. He even won first prize in the kids category in the Halloween costume contest for his Duck Dynasty costume. Being up here is an adjustment for him and that can make for some unpleasant moments and days, but we’re glad he’s able to be here with us. Everything is an adventure with him whether it’s going fishing (and out-fishing most of the adults who were with us) or simply seeing a car that looks like Bumblebee from the Transformers movies in the parking garage and guessing which of the other cars are Decepticons, life is never dull with Corey around. When he’ll sit still, he’s put Justin to sleep multiple times while they’re cuddling (and sometimes Corey will doze off too). He is a joy to have around…even when he’s driving me nuts. All in all, we’re doing pretty good. The end of this journey isn’t in sight yet, but we have 5 months (and hopefully the worst) behind us. We have many things to look forward to in the coming weeks and months – hopefully Justin will start the process toward walking, a few trips, and Corey’s birthday to name a few.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate each and every one. I don’t know why God put us in this situation, but it could have been (and could currently be) so much worse. God has answered many prayers on our behalf so far and I know He will continue to answer them. Specifics that need prayer are for Justin’s left leg to heal completely and for the small spot on the right leg. For the MRSA to go away completely and never come back. For safety in our upcoming travels, and for strength for us on a daily basis – physically, mentally and emotionally. Thank you so much!

Corey with two of the Washington Redskins cheerleaders

Got to meet Gary Sinise aka Lt. Dan

Halloween costume contest