Stryker Brigade News

Friday, July 9th - 11 :00 a.m.

Walter Reed - Part 1 of 3

First, after a late start and I mean a late start.... (Sharla is late to bed and early to rise - I am semi late to bed and semi late to rise)....

We had to finish going through the boxes - all 50 plus of them and make separate piles for each of our dedicated soldiers..(Aponte, Pannell, Wicken, and Berman)... Then we had Kevin (my son) load the car - which I might add the entire back of the Explorer was full and the center seat also...

After stopping and having breakfast we stopped at my office (10 minutes from Walter Reed)... YIPPEEEEE Scott was online so we chatted and then left... and teased him about Sharla eating all of "his" favorite meals....

When we arrived at Walter Reed, we immediately went to the Patient Information desk and found that both Pannell and Wicken were still "in patients", Aponte was at the Malogne House (out patient facility) and Berman was now at Madigan in Ft. Lewis (we will mail his stuff there)...

Now onto the good stuff - we went to the 5th floor and began our journey... the staff was remarkable and immediately showed us to Pannell's room... just walking down the hall was the most humbling, overwhelming, emotional experience... since we were on the orthopedic floor... many of the wounded troops were missing either hands, arms, legs or both or all... BUT as difficult as this sounds.. Sharla and I were the ONLY ones emotionally overcome... they were ALL smiling, laughing, engaging and openly and genuinely proud!!!!! ... When we entered Pannell's room... I was a little confused since both men - who had visitors - were both amputees - I did not know who to approach.. Sharla immediately knew (do not know how)...but did... we introduced ourselves and both men and their visitors became engaged with us... Sharla was the spokesperson for 4thetroops and I was "just a Mom" (There is a point to this story)... Pannell devoted his total attention to us, laughed with us, and SHARED his remarkable story... his sharing also showed his pride..I, of course, asked tons and tons of questions, he shared that he remembered everything down his breakfast that morning. He was on a mission (walking) in Baghdad on June 13th when a grenade was rolled out and exploded at his feet. He knew immediately what had happened... told us he was the 1st in the war to lose his legs from a grenade and live!!!! He was extremely proud of his recovery since upon his admission to Walter Reed, he was not expected to live and his family was brought in for the final good byes... Now.... looking at this young man.. with both legs amputated - less than a month ago... and seeing him jovial, thankful, and ready to begin his journey with the rest of his life... and not just ready, EXCITED... one would hardly know what traumatic injury he had just sustained...

In the meantime, Sharla was hearing his roommates story (who was injured 3 weeks before and was Pannell's friend and from the same unit) and sharing tee shirts, hats, and cards.... Sharla made a new friend of his roommate... and he kept thanking her for coming and caring... can you imagine him thanking her??? Sharla assured him that the thanks were from her to him... Another soldier that many should be honored to meet and be a part of his life!!!!! He also shared with Sharla that it was nice to know that people recognize and appreciate the service and sacrifice that he and his buddies
make.

Pannell was joking with me ... and quite inquisitive about Scott and his unit...after hearing that Scott was active duty and a Stryker...he reminded me that he was "only National Guard" and when I repeated what he said to emphasize that he was a hero nonetheless... I was reminded that 'yeah.. like you are only a Mom"... He was absolutely unbelievable in his sense of humor and his morale... I told him that I got up in worse moods in the morning and I certainly had not been through what he has... He then read through the letters and put on a new "California" tee shirt, a Miller brewery hat and headed out for a baseball game, which most on the ward were attending.

After they left, Sharla and I stood there with our mouths open, and in "shock and awe" of this young man that was in better spirits than we could have imagined... I have let you know that for me to hold back the tears when speaking with him was extremely hard (my eyes kept watering up) BUT I absolutely could NOT cry hearing what he had been through.... my pain was nothing...

Walter Reed - Part 2 of 3

.. after leaving the room, we went to the nurse’s station and were now shown to Wicken's room - unfortunately for us... but fortunately for him, he was not there - he had gone to the game... we left a huge bag on his bed with the gifts. I might add that special items were sent to this soldier from a member from Montana (Janice Parsley) and asked us if could deliver them along with all of the other wonderful contributions she made for the other unnamed soldiers...and of course we would do that... we are just sorry we did not have the honor to meet him and thank him also... we also knew that after meeting Pannell - we would probably have been a basket case if he was the same remarkable kind of person... which from the nurses we heard he was an awesome, awesome young man and had the same high spirits as Pannell and his roommate.

After that... we were sort of gliding down the hall... and this part could be real long - so I will skip all the in betweens... we brought the rest of the contributions up to that floor (on a 4 shelf rolling cart - do you have an idea now how much stuff was there???)... We then had the honor and privilege to meet the head, not the acting or assistant to... BUT the Head of Nursing for orthopedics, Lt Col Reggie Tellitocci. I do not know who was more excited talking - us to her or her to us!!!!! She was also an inspiration and thank God there is someone on that floor and in the system that has the command and the compassion of her!!!! We have a picture, which we will post soon under Walter Reed in the photo section. She was so excited about what was brought in for these soldiers and marines... and she cannot wait to distribute them personally (it was late by now and most were at the ball game so she did not intend to distribute them until today or Monday). She was extremely impressed with the wheelchair bags and like everyone else the Miller Brewery hats... and there were probably enough for the entire floor (told you there was tons and tons of stuff)... She shared story after with us for about an hour... and when we were introduced to her she had her keys in her hands and was leaving... I actually said that we would let her go and thanked her... BUT she had more to share... soooooooo we stood in her office and joked and shared and heard many courageous stories about these brave heroes... and in particular her personal crusade to keep all of the injured soldiers in the military if that is their desire!!! Please keep in mind that in ALL prior wars, the injured, i.e., the amputees were medically retired... NOW the goal is that they can certainly continue to serve their country in another capacity... even if that means 'bye bye' to the civilian admin jobs in the military!!!! YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!

... and now ... it was time to go to the Malogne House and meet Edmund Aponte... but first we need a coke!!!!!

PS - I'm getting tired of typing... and Sharla is my manual spell checker and if there are any typos I DO NOT take any responsibility... and by the way.... orthopedics is spelled correctly... look it up!!! Sharla, my spell checker, crashed on orthopedics... she smacked me and said I was wrong... never ARGUE with an Army MOM !!!! ..and she now owes me 10 bucks... I never make a bet I cannot win....

Ok really onto Part 3 and Aponte... and here is a trailer...
whewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww talk about interesting!!!!

Walter Reed Part 3 of 3

......After leaving the hospital we went to the Malogne House Guest House -which is used for out patients and their families... set up like a hotel... and on the Walter Reed base area and around the corner....

When we got to the house, we inquired at the front desk and they connected us to Aponte's room. He immediately acknowledged that he knew who we were BUT unfortunately he could not meet us right away. He was packing to go home for the weekend and then onto Ft. Drum for his release from the military. He then hesitantly said give him until 6:30 p.m. and he would meet us in the lobby... soooooooo we sat and waited... during our wait, we witnessed many comings and goings of soldiers, most again with 'healed' multiple and extensive injuries, particularly missing limbs. Again, so humbling as each was jovial and with great spirits. Broke our hearts!!!!

Then in comes this man in civilian clothes and obviously NOT injured. He was with another soldier (SFC Jorge Andrade). They walked over to us and introduced themselves.... and yes Aponte was the injured troop. In his hand he had a 3 ring binder... and asked if we wanted to hear his story... and of course we did...

He first showed us a picture of approximately 8 men - all soldiers and explained that this was their original unit and that this picture was taken during Desert Storm... the group's first mission together was in Panama.... needless to say, he had our attention.... and when he shared that everyone had been killed (1 or 2 in Desert Storm and the remaining in Iraq this time) except the 2 of them!!!!! He then proceeded to share each of the other soldier's stories on how and when they were killed. Ok Ok Ok... we now were even more humbled and in awe of the sacrifices of these brave men... but particularly about the bond between the two that sat before us!!! After sharing picture after picture and laughing with them - over an hour had passed and Aponte and his friend realized they were not going to make the plane... and Aponte immediately made a call to reschedule his time out - the next day. Sharla and I attempted to tell him we would go and let him make his plane, but he was not ready to let us go... sooooooo onto more stories and sharing of great military stories!!!!! We should share that this soldier, though he looked uninjured and practically no scarring, had multiple injuries. An injury that nearly maimed him forever. He was hit by an RPG while in his vehicle. He was the gunner. I believe that everyone else in the vehicle was killed. It was the second RPG attack on his vehicle in the same week - which really did not cause any injuries since it went right through the passenger window and out the driver's side window. His injuries in the second attack cause multiple head trauma from his neck up to the crown of his head. He is now deaf in one ear and has minimal brain and other neurological injuries. Though not evident to look at him - but evident to speak with him. His right eye has some muscle damage and he must 'tape' his eye closed at night. Again not real noticeable until he points it out. He shared that President Bush visited him and presented him with his Purple Heart and showed us a picture... When I said... "Wow you got a picture with George Bush".... he said "No, George Bush got a picture with me!!".... During our visit another person walked up to him to share the condition of his brother-in-law whose injuries were similar to Aponte's. We also spoke with him at length and gave him a lap quilt to give to his brother-in-law.... We might add that Aponte has been in the hospital since last September and has used the last few months of his stay to counsel and assist the new and incoming injured soldiers. He has made this his life mission upon his discharge. He will be assisting with the Injured Vets office located at Walter Reed. After politely saying no to his invitation to take us to dinner to thank us... and I mean our insistence to NOT go... we took several pictures together and began our farewells. We truly felt by the time we left we were all 'old buddies' and we knew as much about his life and his friends as they did ours. It was a remarkable time.

Jorge and I spent a lot of time laughing and telling stories and realizing how close our lives were. He lives with his wife and children near where I grew up and he was amazed that I knew so much about his area. He kept telling us how much he liked us and insisted that we stay in touch.

...now on to the funny part.... WE (Aponte, Jorge, and I) tried to convince Sharla that she needed to join the military... and that we think they would waive the 'age requirement'.. geeee she is only about 3 years too old... but hey we women never tell the truth about our ages anyway... the guys flattered her by guessing her age at 24!!!! I just sat there and went... "hmmmmm are they trying to pick her up????" ... it would definitely work for me!!!! Soooooooooooo I had to spend the next 24 hours convincing her she was NOT 24 and get her back down to earth and to the real world and real thinking.... It worked when I told her the military would NOT accept her when they realized she was delusional!!!!!

OK guys - we hope that you have found these stories as remarkable and humbling as we have and particularly entertaining!!!!