Update On My Brother Jake

So I know I haven't been good about keeping up with what's going on with my brother, but in my defense I was away for two weeks and was unable to get updates about him unless my parents called. So here's what's going on with him and how he's doing.

Jake was only in Afghanistan for a short period after the bombing. They flew him to Germany, and again-was only there for a short time. He was flown stateside about 1 1/2 weeks ago to the Walter Reed Memorial Hospital in Washington DC. Since the bombing he has had 5 surgeries and needs at least one more.

He has a small-ish cut on his hairline on the right side of his forhead that is all stitched up, and he also has a large stretched out V-shaped cut on the right side of his forhead that has at least 20 stitches.

He also has some bruising here and there, but the major injuries were that both of his legs were broken below the knees.

His right leg was a compound fracture. He remembers looking at it right after the accident and his description of it isn't pretty. Thanks to the compound fracture, he had a wound on his leg that they had two drainage tubes coming out of so the wound would heal from the inside out. The drainage tubes have recently been removed. He had a rod put into his leg to hold everything in place, but it has since been removed and been replaced with a metal plate and screws to hold everything together so that it will heal right. While doing the surgery to put the plate in, they discovered that his ACL and another major ligament are torn, so he'll have to have surgery again on his right leg to repair those torn ligaments.

There are two bones in your lower legs. In Jake's left leg, one of these bones had a large & long break, while the other bone was broken into 8 or 9 pieces. As my dad put it, it was like this bone just shattered. He had the rod in this leg removed as well and had plates and screws put in but one of the bones shifted after the surgery so they had to go back in again and fix that.

I've seen pictures of his injuries and it brings me to tears to see how bad his legs are and the huge scars he's going to have. Not to mention that every time he goes through a metal detector the plates in his legs are going to cause a reaction, because they will be in his legs for the rest of his life.

He is very very lucky though. He's been struggling with why he's been so lucky and buddies of his who are older and married and have kids are struggling with much worse injuries or have died. He has received blessings from family friends who were stationed over in Germany, and from my dad while he was down in Washington for the last 2 weeks (and where my mom will be until Jake can come home). He's had bad flashbacks, and even some hallucinations from his painkillers. He's on a lot of painkillers and other medicines that make him sleepy but I am just so glad that he's still here. For those who live here in Vermont, by now you would have seen the newspapers and tv news reports about the bombing that happened to my brother. 5 men, including my brother, were in that vehicle. One was killed, the others all injured. It's hard to listen to what the other injuries were, or hear about the other injured soldiers at the hospital and what they are going through.

Jake is already doing physical therapy for his legs, and is doing better than expected. He has a wheel chair now, and will probably be in one for at least 3 more months. He recieved a visit from the VT state house congrassman and several others and recieved the purple heart medal. I am so proud of him.

I continue to pray for him and for the other soldiers and their families who are injured, still fighting, or mourning a death. These brave men and women and their love for this country and the people who live here continue to amaze me and I will forever be grateful to them. I will continue to post updates about my brother as I receive them. Thank you all for the kind thoughts and prayers for my brother and our family. This has been hard, but feeling the love of so many has really helped make this easier to bear.

The War Hits Home

So back in March I wrote a post about my younger brother getting deployed to Afghanistan. He's been there for a while now, going on missions and even defending his base from a attack in the middle of the night. We've been praying for his safety and hoping each day that it'll be another day closer to coming home-without any incidents.

Well...this morning started out awful (with Grace taking off her diaper and peeing on the floor) but I did not expect it to get any worse. And then-my mom tells me she got a phone call at 12:30 am (9 am in Afghanistan) from my very drugged up brother Jake. He and his unit had been out on patrol last night, driving an older army truck. They hit an IED bomb (a bomb that was burried in the road by the Taliban) and my brother was hurt. He is the gunner in the truck, and because of that it may have saved him from more serious injuries. The worst of the injuries he sustained-both of his legs are broken. He had to have rods put into his legs to help them heal right. We don't have much more information about him...just that he is in the ICU now and they are keeping an eye on his condition.

I broke down when I heard this. I have been crying on and off all day, thinking of the pain he had to go through and wishing I could take it away from him. Oh how I wish I could take it all the pain and awfulness of war away from him, or at least be there to help him through his recovery. At the same time though, I am so thankful that the Lord was watching over him and kept him from any further harm. I am so grateful that he did not receive more serious injuries. I know that the Lord loves him and has watched out for him so many times, and I am so grateful to know that my brother is still under the Lord's watchful and caring eyes. On the plus side (if you can get any pluses out of this) is that while he may be in hospitals for a while, and it'll take a long time for him to recover, he will be out of the war and hopefully not have to go back.

So thank you Jake, for the service you have given to our country. Thank you to the men who were with you, and the men who served with you at your base and the men who are still fighting this battle. Thank you to the families who are loving and supporting their men and women here at home while they are off risking their lives, fighting for something so important. Most importantly, I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for watching over my brother and bringing him back home. My prayers continue to go to the men and women and families who are still involved in the conflict over there and the job of those over here who are supporting their loved ones over there, and to those who are suffering losses and injuries from the many other attacks that are continuing to happen.

I sure love you Shake, and I am so proud of you and what you believe in and what you are fighting for. Fight hard to heal fast, so that you can come home and finish your recovery with us. Love you so much buddy!!