Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Well here I am getting back into blogging 2 weeks till our one year anniversary. As most of you may know, David, my husband stepped on a land mine May 11, 2009 while in Afghanistan. It has been a crazy 2 weeks (I will get into that later). Right now we are living at Walter Reed in D.C.

I figure blogging will keep everyone updated and be therapy for me.....

I guess I should start off by explaining what happened. David and his team were checking out an abandoned building with a large courtyard in the middle. The Afghan National Police had asked for their help. David had just found a large weapons cache and was approaching it when he stepped on a landmine. He stepped on it with his right leg and immediately lost that leg from the knee down, the blast also shattered his left leg completely. He stayed conscious the entire time and actually had the presence of mind to control fall back into the hole that he made from his blast. He broke his wrist during the fall.

Another EOD guy ran in and saved his life along with an Army medic. David is only alive right now because of these two men and their quick and correct response.

Back in the states it was 5:26 am on Monday May 11th and I awoke to "the knock". This is what every single military wife lives in fear of. I never thought I would get the knock.

Thursday May 14th I left Shreveport with my escort Brian (fellow EOD guy who literally had just come back from Afghanistan 3 days earlier) We had to go to DC to get an emergency passport for me to get to Germany. Then Friday night we left DC and arrived in Landstuhl, Germany Saturday morning. I got to the hospital just as David was coming out of surgery.

We left Landstuhl Sunday afternoon on a C17 military aircraft and arrived back in DC Sunday night. We were taken by ambulance to Walter Reed and have been here for the past week and a half.

Right now David is in his 5th surgery since we arrived. This one will take 9 hours, they are removing muscle from his back so they can create a flap to cover the bones in his lower left leg. This will also end up looking kind of like his calf. He will also have bone shards removed and dead bone cut out.

Right now we are being told recovery time for the left leg will be 9-12 months. The doctors also gave him the option of removing it now to avoid the long painful surgeries he will have to endure to lengthen the remaining bone and the recovery process.

David has a great attitude and realistic outlook. I am so proud of him, he has made it clear he wants to stay in the Air Force and EOD.


I am going to try to update regularly with stories and pictures.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a friend of your Aunt Donna. I am also a retired Navy Chief. I spent 20 years as a linguist and worked in Special Forces for my last 10. First of all, I want you to know how proud of you I am. Very few people are called to serve our country. You have sacrificed more than most. Never forget where we go one we go all. If I can do anything for you just ask. Liz, you are an amazing woman, no one will ever fully understand your commitment and sacrifice to our country. Thank you both. My wife Lynn and I pray for you every day. I know God is close and I hope you feel His presence daily. Your Brother, Tim White

Danielle Atkinson said...

Liz, I'm so glad you're blogging so we can keep up with you guys. Please give my baby cousin a big hug from me!

Love, Danielle

The Shields Family.... said...

Hi Liz!

I went to high school with your husband! To be honest we didnt even hang out, but I heard about David thought everyone we graduated with! My husband is also in the AF and is deployed right now, so your story hit very close to home. I am so glad that David seems to be doing so good! Pls let him know that we are all praying for your family!

Tracy

Karie said...

Yea... the story sounds just like ours. Very similar anyway. We should talk sometime.

Wife of a Wounded Soldier said...

Karie turned me on to your blog. I blog on CinChouse.com so you can follow me there. I am so very sorry for what you are going through. I have been in your shoes and still am. I would love to help or answer any questions that I can.