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Scott Thorne Update 10/3

Oct- 3-2004 » Filed Under: Scott Thorne

Dear Friends,

Well, today Scott was moved to a general medicine ward on the 7th floor of Walter Reed. He will likely only be there for tonight. He has his own room for now and he's already enjoying the peace and quiet compared with the bustle of the ICU. We watched TRON again this morning and the movie for this afternoon was Kids in the Hall Brain Candy (which is semi-appropriate under the circumstances). He seemed pretty sleepy most of the day. We were pretty wiped out, too, and left for the Mologne House at 3:30 p.m. to take a nap. We got up late and went to see him, but he was sleeping through Twister on cable TV when we arrived so we let him rest.

We went to see PFC Majors this evening. He was a member of Scott's patrol and was also wounded in the incident. I'm not going to go into any of the details of his condition here, but he was alert and able to communicate to us. My wife spoke to his mother earlier this evening and learned her son thought Scott was killed in the incident. It fell to Scott's wife and mother to give him the news about how Scott was doing. They report he was happy to hear Scott was alive and doing better. I went in with my wife and repeated to him what I've been told more than once here: If you're a high-speed soldier you recover better and more quickly. I told him that I couldn't imagine Scott going into combat with anyone who wasn't high-speed so he should do well. We promised to bring Scott by when he was able to get around for a visit and he was pleased to hear this.

Since there's not a lot of detail today, I thought I would briefly describe the campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I'm not into acres, but it's probably the size of a good university campus with beautiful multi-story brick buildings. We don't get the chance to see many brick buildings in Southern California due to earthquake hazards, so it's nice to walk or drive around here. The building (Building 2) where most of the medical stuff is performed is not brick, but it looks much like a modern university classroom building. The 7th (top) floor is particularly nice. The dining facility is on the 3rd floor and similar to many military mess facilities. The food is inexpensive, but since it's priced by item, it's kind of "nickel and dime" time.

Tomorrow comes the formal transition to rehabilitation and probably another move to their ward for Scott.

We met a nice young soldier in the lobby of the Mologne House when we returned this evening. He showed us his head which he said was five months after similar restoration work to what Scott faces. We were unable to tell that he was even injured. He told us his situation, but unless we knew we would not have known. Again, youth and determination help a lot.

ST


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