Stryker Brigade News

3/29/05. Tuesday was a lot like Monday with the exception of lunch. Mike Gilbert of the Tacoma News Tribune was kind enough to take us to lunch at the Olive Garden. We talked about stuff that happened somewhere to some people we know. There was a heavy wind blowing very hard all day and Julie was concerned it might cause Scott to have some head pain, but it didn't materialize.

3/30/05. Julie and I arrived after noon. Since Scott was doing so well, Tiff was able to leave with Aly to spend some time with her family for her birthday. After they left, Scott went with us to the PX to get a movie we talked about the previous day (Alien v. Predator). Scott had no problems getting around the PX at all. This is in stark contrast to the Occupational Therapy tests at the Minnesota VA hospital. He walked right inside and went directly to the DVD's. They didn't seem to be in any particular order and I happened to see it before Scott did. I had a hard time keeping up with him at times, he was walking so well. He still tends to lift his right knee a bit more than he needs to, but he scans around very well and does not run into things anymore. When he got to the register, he showed his ID card (He got a new one after he was promoted to Staff Sergeant, but the picture still has the missing piece up there.) The nitwit clerk looked up at him and asked if he was "born with that?" Scott replied, "No, I got it fighting." "Well, you're getting better, aren't you?" D'oh!

After leaving the PX, we went to Scott's unit. He had a grand time telling the other staff sergeants the story about how his drainage tube was removed from his head and the opening stapled. I was a bit startled to hear his friends refer to the opening as a "portal" until I realized they had been reading the updates. (Gentlemen, I'm flattered you enjoy them as much as you apparently do and I hope they were helpful to you while you were away. Scott very much wants to get back to work with you as soon as possible.) The troop commander, Captain Paczynski, came out of his office about this time and we talked about what to do with the hated helmet. I suggested they take it to gunnery with them and use it as a target, but I think Scott wants to wait for that pleasure himself. Captain Paczynski noted how much better Scott looked and how much better he appeared to be doing since the last time he saw him (about two weeks ago).

Not wanting to push Scott too hard, we left and returned to his home. We watched the AvP movie and enjoyed it. We went out for Subway sandwiches for dinner, but took them home to eat them. Overall, a very pleasant day. We spent the night, of course, as Scott is supposed to have somebody there with him still.

3/31/05. The day started well enough, but about 10:30 or 11, Scott became ill. He felt some pain in his chest and was nauseous. Julie called the ER and they said to bring him in. Of course, we had ample opportunity to tell Scott's story since you don't see recovering TBI patients in the ER very often. All the medics wanted to see the photos of his cranioplasty once they learned I had them. So, I conducted a mini-briefing upon request and showed the pictures on my camera. Fortunately, one of the main ER docs was a man who has known Scott since he was a PFC. Captain Todd Lindsey, who was assigned to the 1/14 for some time, knew Scott from the pre-deployment training and instructed Scott in a combat life saver course. He said Scott punctured him and his men several times for IV's, in fact. He told us he was nearby the 67th CSH in Mosul, preparing to leave for R & R, when he heard of the incident. He ran with another man from B Troop only to find Scott being put on the chopper for the ride to Baghdad. He was very glad to see he was doing so well. Another doctor was surprised to hear Scott was having some resistance to staying in the Army. "Hey, he just got shot. Give him some time to recover!" said Major Maria O'Rourke. (Sorry to quote you, but I like to give credit for medical brilliance and insight in these updates!) Scott was able to feel IV and blood draw stabs on his right arm, a very significant event since he was unable to feel these sticks only a week earlier.

While we were waiting, I told Scott that we were proud of him for trying to return to duty, even if it ultimately turned out he was unable to do so. I told him if he could not do it, he would know and would say so. As long as he wants to keep trying, I would do what I could to make sure he got the continued opportunity to return to duty. Of course, we don't want him to return to Iraq, any more than we want anybody to have to return to Iraq. Being able to return, however, is the mark of recovery.

I had an appointment to see Major Davidson, Scott's Squadron Executive Officer at 3 p.m., so I had to briefly leave Scott at the hospital with his mother. We had a pleasant chat and he very kindly signed the letter he wrote to me while in Iraq. I told him this letter would likely be framed on my office wall on Monday. He also writes, which is obvious from his letter (I'm going to have to post that one day). After we finished talking, we went to see CSM Shover and Scott's troop commander happened to come in about the same time. We talked about Corporal Mike Oreo's C-Span performance and I related (again) how impressed I was with him as a soldier and told about how he jumped out of bed to greet Scott when he first went over to see him. I told them that if the Navy could spend billions to repair the USS Cole, we could afford to spend a few bucks to fix kids like Scott and Mike. They agreed.

I returned to the hospital to find that Scott's lab work came back negative, so the best guess was that he had some post-operative gastric reflux thing going on. We returned to Scott's home and took it easy until Tiff came home sometime later. Julie and I then left for the Fisher House to pack up for the trip home the next day.

4/1/05. We met Scott, Tiff and Aly at the Neurosurgery Clinic at 10 a.m. He was there for a post-operative follow up appointment with The Man and to get his sutures/staples removed. When he came back out you could have read in the dark from the beaming off Scott's face with the news he had to relate. He is not going to be assigned to a medical holding company. He is to remain assigned to B Troop and placed on convalescent leave. The thing he was happiest about was the order to come back in uniform on April 26th for his next appointment. He was put on an anti-seizure medication as a precautionary measure.

After the appointment, we went up to see Michael Collins, Scott's case manager, on the 8th Floor. Scott talked with him about his combat experiences in Iraq (Michael wanted me to talk Scott into speaking to the post-deployment counselors, but Scott refused). He said he didn't need to watch movies like Black Hawk Down anymore because he had been in close combat and knew what it was about. While I had heard some of this information before, I had not heard Scott tell about it in such detail before. He spoke very well and rarely got stuck on a word. When he did, Michael guessed it correctly and quickly, and the story telling did not suffer. Scott told Michael about his recovering sensation on his right side and how it had come back since the surgery the previous week. He was very pleased to hear about this. We discussed getting Scott more speech therapy and Michael agreed to arrange as much as he could.

After Scott got his prescription filled, we left for lunch at Arby's over in Lakewood. We went home for a nap for Julie and Aly. Tiff, Scott and I watched the movie Closer (I think it was a birthday present to her). We went out to dinner at Appleby's about 5 p.m. and we had another pleasant evening. We also had a medical surprise as Scott jumped a bit after his right hand touched his plate. It was hot and he was surprised by the sensation!

After dinner, we left the restaurant and headed out to the parking lot in a light sprinkling that threatened to become a real downpour. Everybody hugged everybody else goodbye and we got in our cars to go. We left under similar circumstances when Scott was home on R & R last August. We find that leaving after a dinner like this takes a lot of the sting out of departures. It's more like you're leaving for the evening and you'll see each other soon. For us, the next time will be in late May when Scott's cousin (the one left unable to travel to Minneapolis by an alleged airline) gets married. We can hardly wait to see them all again.

ST