Stryker Brigade News

We arrived at PT a little after 10 a.m. Scott had to put his shoes back on for an OT (her name in Latonya Henriques--sorry for not mentioning it sooner) exercise when he did something he's done thousands of times before. He bent over to tie the shoe instead of pulling the shoe up to be tied. He was immediately in pain and then quickly rose up to avoid it, but only caused more by the sudden move. He laid back down on the mat slowly, but appeared to be in trouble. He started to shiver (still no body fat to speak of) and we covered him with four sheets. The doctor was called and Scott was eventually taken back to his room and his vital signs were taken. All this checked out okay and he was given some more medication for pain. Eventually, this kicked in and the pain eased off. He was upset about the pain, but also because he wasn't able to do any PT. When the doctor left, he was resting comfortably. He slept for about an hour and then again for almost two after eating his lunch.

While Scott was resting, I went to the 3-D Medical Applications Center (located off the tunnel between the new hospital and the old hospital) that Julie and Tiffany had visited the previous day. A very interesting place, indeed. A window in the wall allows those who walk by to glimpse two devices that make all kinds of interesting medical stuff. One is sort of a three-dimensional printer and any description of the other device I could give wouldn't do you any good. Let's just say, it's amazing stuff. Inside the entrance is an office and another door that goes to a workshop. This workshop looks like a combination dark room and small college/high school biology/human anatomy lab. There are plastic skulls and parts thereof in three sizes (including actual), leg bones, joints and a small Statue of Liberty on almost all horizontal surfaces in the office. In the back room was Dr. Stephen Rouse, working on something that resembled some candle making project. I introduced myself and he remembered about the previous day's visit from the ladies. His partner came in a few minutes later along with the Army's last ocularist (makes eyes to match the one you still have). (These three guys should be cloned when that process becomes legal. When they retire, we're screwed.) We discussed the work and I learned the process through Scott's example. Dr. Rouse brought up Scott's 9/23/04 CT scan (the one where I first saw the bullet in his head) on the computer and after a few keystrokes had a rotating three-dimensional model on the screen (If it's not too big a file, I'll get a copy for Strykernews.com to post), complete with a green blob for the bullet. The resolution for this scan was 5mm, which means it took 5mm "slices" of his head for the picture. The resolution for the CT scan he's going to get to make the prosthesis will be something like 1mm. Once the computer generates the 3D model, one of those two devices in the window room makes a life-sized model of his skull and another of a mirror image of the missing piece based on the part he still has. Some hand model work later and the piece to be molded for the prothesis is ready. I asked what level of education these guys had. Mechanical engineers? Nope. One's a retired dentist and the other is a machinist. Both are damned good at computers and love their jobs. I took Dr. Rouse to lunch (which is the least I could do for the man) and we discussed making a model of the bullet, in case Scott needed it for some future medical procedure. It will probably be good for his morale, too. We talked about Carl (the first soldier to have a prosthesis made by this equipment) and what a great guy he was. Carl's head was so sensitive before the patch that closing a door in his room could affect the pressure in his head and hurt him. The whole process is something used in industry to make things, but at Walter Reed it's making missing bone and making skull models for doctors to review before operating on cranial tumors and all sorts of cool stuff. It's a very rewarding job these men have, but it could go away soon as the project was a three year experiment, begun when no one at Walter Reed knew a war was coming. This is a "family" update or I'd tell you exactly what kind of mistake this would be.

I caught up with the ladies after a quick check on Scott. We compared notes on the morning's activities and had a discussion of the Army's promotion policy. Apparently, there is some 90 day/three month wait from the time a soldier passes the promotion board ("is recommended," is the proper term, I think) to when they can be promoted. For Scott, this would be December or January, assuming the number of promotion points he has exceeds the cut-off number for his job at that time. We suspect some people around here want to promote him earlier. I want the policy to change instead. It's wonderful that people want to do something nice for Scott, but we're not going to ask for it. If they want to do something nice for Scott, they can do something nice for everybody who has earned promotion. Even if they only make an exception for wounded soldiers, I would be okay with that, but I don't want Scott to get promoted "early" just because he impressed somebody on a visit. It's not the Army way. I also think it would be better if someone from his unit "did the honors" and let the "impressed" be proud witnesses. It will mean more to Scott and is a honor his commanders deserve to be a part of. (Just my two cents worth.)

As an aside, I don't think anybody here knows I'm writing these updates, which is just as well. Everybody seems to know who he is, though. (Maybe shouting "I'm not done" at the Deputy Secretary of Defense was a good thing for Scott to do after all.)

We woke up Scott for speech therapy in time to get him off to his 3 p.m. appointment. He did pretty well, considering he'd rung his own bell earlier in the day. I think speech is lagging behind the physical, but ahead of the occupational--just my guess. After this was over, I asked Scott if he wanted to see the guys who would be making his "lid." He said he did so we headed back down to the 3D lab.

Dr. Rouse had told me in the morning that some visiting dignitaries were coming at 3 p.m., so I guessed our arrival after 4 would be great timing. He said they hadn't shown up, so we figured the tour wasn't coming and got to work. He explained the process and pulled up the CT scan again to make the rotating image. Scott was impressed. I was concerned he might be bothered by that green blob still in there, but he seemed more curious than upset. (Whew!) Just as he was about to go into detail about the model making process, the tour arrived. It consisted of MG and Mrs. Farmer, the wife of the commander of U.S. Forces Korea (whose name I missed, but she knows what you ain't if you ain't Cav, so shame on me for missing it), Mrs. Myers (as in General Myers, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs), several Koreans and some liaison officers. Dr. Rouse briefed them on his work, and with our permission, used Scott as an example of how important the process is for the soldier. Scott's head wasn't covered so if you've seen the photo on the strykernews site, you know it's obviously got a piece missing that needs to be replaced. Our being there personalized the process in a way that Carl's mini-skulls (which were distributed to all) couldn't do. We had to keep an eye on the general's wives to make sure we got Alyson back as they thought she was a cute as I do. I thought Mrs. Myers wanted to keep her after getting to hold her so I told the liaison officer next to her to make sure the baby stays (and got the laugh I was hoping for). Told the Koreans and the USFK wife I was once a guard at Panmunjom (I have seen the enemy, my friends) where talks are often held with the Evil Koreans. They were kind enough to give Scott a gift of two dolls in traditional Korean costumes. Aly will get them one day, no doubt.

After the tour left, Scott looked around and said, "What the Hell happened?" After we stopped laughing, we finished up talking about the skull repair process.

Dinner was Chicken Lasagna (a WRAMC favorite) and Scott scarfed it up. We finished the Ring Trilogy with The Return of the King, which Scott had not seen since he was in Iraq when it was released. Lots of little interruptions for vital signs, shift changes, etc. No big deal, but from now on, shorter movies!

ST