Sunday, October 11, 2009

A Visit to Bethesda Naval Medical Center

As some of you saw on Facebook, the NFO’s cousin was shot in the face in Afghanistan and has been at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center for a few weeks.

I went to visit him and he was doing remarkably well. He’s still a bit swollen, has a tube for feeding and breathing and has a LONG road ahead of him for his recovery. (Aharon ben Sara for those who wish to say a blessing).

Still, he’s in good spirits and you can tell he’s a fighter (he is in Marine Corps Special Forces.)

When we arrived, the nurses were prepping him, so we were in a waiting room and I had a chance to meet with another soldier, Garth, whose femur was take a look!-0066shattered in a firefight in Afghanistan.

Talk about attitude and energy, this guy had it in spades and was willing to be interviewed for the blog. Sorry about the ambient background noise, but you should be able to hear him in spite of it.

The most amazing thing? He says he wants to go back!

And yes, those are pins in his leg.

I asked him about the experience of being shot…what was it like?

He said it wasn’t even the pain so much as the shock and disorientation that he remembered.

Anyway, I’ll tell you one thing…the place is humbling. You really appreciate the sacrifice these soldiers have made (whether you agree with the war or not).

And I’ll tell you another thing…all those cards that kids make that say “we support our troops!”…they go a long way to making the atmosphere loving and caring and light, so encourage your kids to keep doing it.

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