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Long time readers will appreciate this story. Scott Thorne, who was seriously injured in Iraq in 2004, recently participated in the 2nd annual National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic.
Former Army cavalry scout Scott Thorne, 30, of Escondido hasn't had a lot to get stoked about in the five years since an enemy bullet bounced off his radio and ripped a groove through his skull. He was injured when his foot patrol was ambushed in Mosul, Iraq.Thorne lost part of his vision and had to relearn how to speak. His marriage crumbled under the stress of his long recovery.
Yesterday, Thorne looked and felt triumphant as he successfully rode 12 waves in 15 attempts.
“He was coming out of there like a rock star,” said his instructor, James Sampson.
Related:
Photo: Scott Surfing - The Union Tribune
Photo: Scott Biking - DVIDS
Photo: Profiles in Courage - Sports Illustrated
The following announcement was provided by Steve Thorne, Scott Thorne's father. Long time readers will remember how Steve documented Scott's long recovery from a traumatic brain injury he suffered while deployed in 2003-2004 with the 1-14 CAV, 3/2 SBCT. Really good to have an update.
Dear Friends,
I know a lot of you are "out of town" and others have family plans made long ago, but you are invited to attend a party in honor of Staff Sergeant Scott Thorne's permanent retirement from the United States Army. The event will be held July 4th starting at 1100 hours to about dusk at his home, 2242 Mark Place, Escondido, California. There will be a jumper (courtesy A&A Jumpers) and water slide for the kids, so feel free to bring them along. The Zip Code is 92027, if you'd like to send him a card. If you think you can attend and stay a while, please RSVP by July 1st at 760-533-1336 (ask for Julie). If you'd just like to stop by for a few minutes on your way to some other event, please feel free to do so. Since Scott owns the home (thanks again, Madalyn!), where he lives is a matter of public record. So, I'll be charitable and save the one person who harasses him the time and the $7.95 to do the Internet search to get it herself.
(The following is an email from Steve Thorne, Scott's father.)
Dear Friends,
Every once in a while through this process, someone says something that puts things in a clear perspective. Such an occasion occurred today. I received an e-mail from a retired Marine friend who has met Scott on two occasions; once last July in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and this past weekend in Olympia, Washington. I couldn't help but notice how warmly Scott was greeted by John and thought he was just being nice (his usual state). Today, John shared his reasons and I thought you'd appreciate hearing them.
Steve Thorne sent a few recent photos of Scott. Three were taken during a visit to Walter Reed MC, and the other is of Scott and daughter Aly. Steve has promised an update in the near future.
It is with some urgency and a great deal of sadness that we pass along the following request from Steve Thorne. Steve's son, SGT Scott Thorne, was seriously injured in Mosul last September, and Steve chronicled his recovery here.
(Email from Steve Thorne)
Dear Friends,
Here's the picture of Scott throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the 6/2/05 Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres baseball game. The photograph is not to be reprinted without the credit "Photo courtesy of the San Diego Padres." This picture will likely also be reprinted in newspapers on bases where he was treated and in civilian newspapers near those bases once I get all their e-mail addresses and write the blurb to go with it, etc.
(Email from Steve Thorne)
This just in...
Army Staff Sergeant Scott Thorne will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Chicago Cubs v. San Diego Padres baseball game at PETCO Park in downtown San Diego on Thursday, June 2, 2005 at approximately 1900 hours (7 p.m.) PDT. The game will be covered by ESPN, Channel Four on Cox Cable in San Diego, via live webcast on MLB.TV (however you get on that) and possibly on WGN (Channel Nine) Chicago, which usually broadcasts Cubs games. There is no way to tell if anybody will show the first pitch ceremonies, as usually the sports talkers speak about the upcoming game through even the National Anthem, but if I get the chance, I'll try to talk them into being quiet for a few moments.
As I told my friends when Scott was deployed, "This gives the rest of the country the chance to be as proud of him as his parents are."
See you at the ballpark!
ST
I forgot to mention earlier that Steve Thorne sent a few pre and post operation photos of Scott and his family. He assured me that none of the more "graphic" photos taken by the surgeons are included. Gotta' love that smile.
(Email from Steve Thorne)
Dear Friends,
3/28/05. Not much happened on Monday. We pretty much just sat around and watched movies. Scott enjoyed being home, but was in some discomfort from the surgery.
(Email From Steve Thorne)
Dear Friends,
Julie and I arrived sometime after 9 a.m. and found Scott up and watching Stuart Little on his laptop. His bandages were off his head and the IV's were disconnected. He was happy to see us and we talked a bit about his morning so far.
(Email from Steve Thorne)
Dear Friends,
Scott slept pretty much all day, which is fine by us because we know he needs the rest. It was a good day to sleep as it's been raining all day. Reminds me of my 18 months up here with the 9th Infantry Division.
Dear Friends,
We arrived today a little before 9 a.m., the official start of visiting hours. Scott is still a bit groggy due to the morphine hes getting every six minutes (the Return of the PCA Device), but he is getting noticeably better. He looks less and less like somebody who just had an operation and more like Scott.
Dear Friends,
Its been a busy couple of days since the last update. Preparation for travel, travel, pre-op, operation and recovery.
(Email from Steve Thorne)
Dear Friends,
As I wrote earlier, no updates unless there's something to tell you.
Here's what has been happening (as reported by Scott and various other interested parties):
Steve Thorne sent me a couple photos, which we've added to his album. One is Scott's recent official Deptartment of the Army photo; the other is Steve's from 1976.
Soldiers relied on each other in deadly ambush in Mosul and face more struggles in its aftermath
BY SAMUEL BRUCHEY
As he watched his blood drip through the floor panels of the Army Stryker vehicle racing him to a hospital in Mosul, Spc. William Duran thought about his buddies.
That morning, he and six other soldiers - his closest friends - had decided to stop for a smoke along a narrow street. Their routine foot patrol was nearly over.
Then a car rolled up and blocked the entrance to the street behind them. Several gunmen opened fire.
One of the seven Americans was killed. Two others were paralyzed. A bullet shattered Duran's arm "like a potato chip." Only one avoided injury.
"Your brain doesn't let you think," said Duran, 25, of New Mexico. "It's all training, instinct, reaction. Then you snap to and realize what you've been through ... how important your friends are."[...]
With permission, we've added four photos taken at Scott Thorne's promotion ceremony by J.C. Mathews of the Fort Lewis Northwest Guardian newspaper.
The following article describes a fundraiser to benefit the soldiers, and their families, that were injured or killed in an attack on September 14th in Mosul. The names of Jacob Demand, Scott Thorne, and Travis Majors are familiar to most of you, but the article provides updates on the other soldiers involved in the incident as well.
Link to Full Article (Photo included)
By: James Montalto
Mark and Barbara Vogl, originally from Long Island, will be hosting a charity fundraiser for Barbara's son, Sergeant James Wingate, and six fellow soldiers of the First Squadron-Fourteenth Cavalry of the United States Army who were ambushed and injured by insurgents in Mosul, Iraq on September 14, 2004.
(Updated with photos, 10:30 AM PST)
Dear Friends,
My sister, in a comment posted to a recent update, describes Scott as being on dial up instead of DSL or Cable. This is probably a good analogy. Dial up gets the job done (as I recall from the days of AOL/Yahoo at the Minneapolis Fisher House), but it can be somewhat frustrating if you're used to the other speed. She also describes how wonderful it is to hug Scott. I say that about both sons, of course, but when you almost lose one it makes both more so.
Dear Friends,
It's been an eventful two days. I wrote an update yesterday about midnight, but the computer ate it (a conflict between the newly installed protection and the rest of the software) so I went to bed instead.
Dear Friends,
I've been ordered to write something again, so here goes...
Dear Friends,
Scott and I got up and prepared ourselves for the big day. It was a bit windy, but that wasn't a problem. Fortunately, one of the other Fisher House residents was heading over to the hospital so I didn't need to walk the cart back over there. Unfortunately, I therefore forgot to leave the key to the room (It's not locked, but you can't lock it from the outside without the key). Fortunately, I found someone at the airport who could take it back for me. Just too focused on the mission today, it seems.
Dear Friends,
The Advance Party moved out today. Tiff and Aly got to the airport and home without problems. Julie got to the airport and home without problems, too. I got moved over to the Fisher House with the problem of having too much stuff to lug around. I may have to go buy another bag tomorrow...
Dear Friends,
A quick administrative note: Updates for 12/16/04 and 12/17/04 (assuming anything worth reporting happens) will be from the Fisher House where I will have Internet access via AOL dial-up. I'm not complaining because it's better than nothing. On 12/18/04, the update will be sent from my house via cable modem, baby! Whoo hoo! Ahem. Sorry.
Dear Friends,
After I arrived at the hospital this morning, I sought out Stacy the Social Worker to get the latest news about when Scott was to report at Walter Reed. It seems "they" don't want him there until a date closer to the six month date (3/14/05), which means Scott will remain on convalescent leave until then.
Dear Friends,
I received a copy of Scott's promotion orders today and need to make a slight correction to what I reported previously. The date of rank and effective date are 1 DEC 04, but the orders are dated on his birthday (so I was sort of right). Also, he incurs a one year service obligation with the promotion, which suits me just fine, as there are evil forces lurking in the world who may want to terminate his service prematurely.
Dear Friends,
I was thinking that I should use "Mr. Ed Rules" on these updates now. Never speak (write) unless I have something to say.
Dear Friends,
Julie and I met up with Scott and Tiffany in time for the 9:30 a.m. meeting with the neuropsychologist. She wanted additional background information in order to prepare her report. She was interested in any previous brain injuries (there were none), how he did in school (we had the IEP's from 2nd to 10th Grades and Julie left those with her) and so on. At 10 a.m., Scott went to Speech Therapy while we continued with the meeting.
Dear Friends,
I arrived in time to see Scott at Occupational Therapy. Scott used a piece of non-stick matting (the kind you might put in your kitchen drawers to keep things from sliding around) to butter some bread. Then, he had to prepare a shopping list for grilled cheese sandwiches. We discussed how he was caring for Alyson, but no panda diaper changes today.
Dear Friends,
First, a clarification of the "winner puts the game away" rule discussion from a previous update. My sister reminds me that if she won, she put the game away and if she lost, she also put the game away. The Chair stands corrected.
Dear Friends,
When I arrived this morning, I learned that Scott was undergoing a neuropsychological evaluation. The only therapy he had was Occupational Therapy at 1 p.m. He worked on bolts, nuts and screws, but got frustrated with his right hand after about twenty minutes of working with it. He and the therapist then went to the kitchen area to work on some meal preparation skills.
Dear Friends,
I was going to call this Weekend Update, but that's probably the intellectual property of NBC. Our weekend was not as entertaining as that segment of Saturday Night Live, but it was pleasant nonetheless.
Dear Friends,
I linked up with Scott after Speech Therapy. His Occupational Therapist had come by and I was talking to her when Scott came out. Scott was very gung ho to get to work (in other words, he's feeling better). We went to her office and worked on identifing objects from pictures. "Where is the lawn mower?" for example.
Dear Friends,
When I arrived this morning, I learned that Scott was undergoing a neuropsychological evaluation. The only therapy he had was Occupational Therapy at 1 p.m. He worked on bolts, nuts and screws, but got frustrated with his right hand after about twenty minutes of working with it. He and the therapist then went to the kitchen area to work on some meal preparation skills.
Dear Friends,
No word yet on when we're leaving here. We were hoping for some indication today, especially since we are approaching a major transportation crunch time. Oh, well. Maybe tomorrow.
Dear Friends,
First, an addendum to yesterday's update (because I had a brain cramp and forgot). Julie and I talked to Dr. Champagne about the team meeting last night on our way out of the hospital . We discussed Scott's desire to go on a pass for at least two weeks. She said they seldom went with more than ten days on passes, but discharge had been discussed at the meeting. No set dates were given but she was waving her finger over December 17th on the calendar. (My guess at the time was sometime between the 15th and the 21st.) Julie asked her if she had found any research about cranioplasty and neurological recovery. She said she found two articles and gave them to me.
Dear Friends,
First, an addendum to yesterday's update (because I had a brain cramp and forgot). Julie and I talked to Dr. Champagne about the team meeting last night on our way out of the hospital . We discussed Scott's desire to go on a pass for at least two weeks. She said they seldom went with more than ten days on passes, but discharge had been discussed at the meeting. No set dates were given but she was waving her finger over December 17th on the calendar. (My guess at the time was sometime between the 15th and the 21st.) Julie asked her if she had found any research about cranioplasty and neurological recovery. She said she found two articles and gave them to me.
Dear Friends,
We'll start off today with a "progress note" from Jim Moffet. He describes the Thanksgiving visit.
Dear Friends,
First up, a nice note from the Quilter's Guild of Southern Maryland to someone (okay, it was my sister) who sent them a contribution and card to thank them for their anonymous gift of a nice quilt that ended up being given to Scott at Walter Reed.
Dear Friends,
Lazy start to the day. Scott went to Physical Therapy with "his girls" while I slept in a bit. Unfortunately, Julie woke up suffering from a food counter-attack and was on liquids all day. She ate the same meal Scott and I did last night and we're fine, so we're not sure about the nature of this insurgency.
Dear Friends,
Today had us waking to a steady snowfall. I haven't driven in snow for many years so I had to go through the mental checklist before getting in Jim's car. Fortunately, it's a red car! The plan was for Julie to go to the VA hospital with Scott while I took Tiffany and Alyson to Children's Hospital. We went to the Fisher House and picked up Scott. I dropped Scott and Julie off at the hospital and then went back for Tiffany and Alyson.
Dear Friends,
This morning I drove Jim and Audrey's car over to get Scott at the Fisher House. I figured he would still be pretty tired from this morning's exertions with Alyson and would appreciate the ride.
Dear Friends,
Well, what started as a lazy day had a pretty dramatic finish. Julie and I were at our hotel while Scott was at the Fisher House with "my girls." About 4 p.m., they came over to the hotel to spend some time with us before Jim Moffet came over to pick us up for Thanksgiving dinner at his home. We talked a bit and watched two football teams with atrocious uniforms on television (Chicago and Dallas). Soon it was time to depart for dinner.
Dear Friends,
First, let me wish all of you safe travel and a great weekend. We're going to miss being with the rest of the family, but we're going to be just fine this weekend.
This morning Julie and I arrived and found Scott with Tiffany and Alyson. He was very hungry and bored with waiting for someone from surgery to come get him. Julie, Tiffany and Alyson left about noon to go to the Fisher House. (Julie had to make some pies for tomorrow's dinner at Jim and Audrey's.)
Dear Friends,
Dan (Scott's older brother) and I arrived sometime before Scott finished Speech Therapy and so we went to Occupational Therapy with him. Today, Scott finished up the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test he started last week. No surprise, he's doing better with his left hand than his right, but he's still doing well. He also worked out his shopping list for an upcoming field trip to the grocery store. This will take place possibly as early as Friday. He will get to make his delicacy sometime after the shopping trip is complete.
Dear Friends,
This morning Scott's brother, Dan, and I got up early and headed off to the VA with Kellan and Julie to follow later. Scott was supposed to have a visual field test at 9:40 a.m. As it turned out, he had a regular eye exam instead. The other test was scheduled for next Monday. As the eye exam ran late, Scott missed Speech Therapy. Not much we could do about that. The eye doctor said he had been working on veterans since Vietnam and was very impressed with Scott's recovery. I'll take that as a positive sign.
Dear Friends,
We all got up a little after 9 and went for breakfast downstairs. After he ate, my grandson, Kellan, (with me right behind him) went up the stairs to the second floor, walked down the hall to the elevator and pushed the only buttons he could reach ("down" and "1"). We made this trip about five times before he grew tired of it.
Dear Friends,
Two months ago, all I could do was listen to Scott's breathing change when I managed to talk a nurse into plugging a telephone into his ICU room at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Today, I went swimming with him in an indoor heated pool in a hotel in Minneapolis.
Dear Friends,
Julie has been making a lot of phone calls in an effort to bring Scott's cousin, her fiance and two high school friends of Scott to Minneapolis for a birthday surprise. When we arrived this morning, I went up to Speech Therapy to wait for Scott and Tiffany while Julie made more calls.
Dear Friends,
When Julie and I arrived we immediately noticed that a representative of the 88th Readiness Command (I think that's the group) came in last night and gave Scott a hair cut. I'm happy to report that not one got away.
Dear Friends,
It took me (Julie would follow later as she had a bad headache and needed the rest) a little longer than I thought it would for the shuttle bus to get me to the VA, but since I haven't gone into Speech Therapy with Scott but once since Walter Reed, it wasn't a big deal to be a bit late. I went to his room just to make sure he was gone (he was) and then went up to the 4th Floor. Just so you know, I don't go in because I don't want to be a distraction to him. He works very hard at speaking and there's really no coaching I can do in this kind of session. I know exactly squat about Speech Therapy.
Dear Friends,
The day started with some "Adventures in Moving" (yes, that's registered by U-Haul). We checked out of the hotel at Tranquility Base (Okay, so it wasn't exactly on the Moon, but...) and caught the van back to the Fisher House. Julie called another hotel that told her ten hours earlier there was plenty of space available only to learn they were over-booked now. She hustled (in the good sense of that word, of course) up another place for us to stay and verified all the things we needed were actually present before booking us there. We're now at another AmericInn, but this one really is closer and has excellent shuttle bus service to the VA and the Mall of America. Julie went with the luggage to the new hotel while I walked over to the VA.
Dear Friends,
We got up this morning and hurried to get Scott off to the VA. He walked there with me (Tiff and Julie followed us minutes later) and experienced no problems doing so. He felt the cold in his hands and I missed what this meant until later in the day. Scott got his morning meds and then headed up to Speech Therapy. After the session, I asked the therapist, Don (who had been on vacation for a week), how Scott had improved since he had last seen him. He said Scott was doing better and he was pleased to see the improvement. Don gave us a machine to use to help Scott improve his speech. The machine uses cards, each of which has an image of a person saying the word and some other visual cues. It also has a magnetic strip on the back that plays sounds of the word used in a sentence when you run it through the machine.
Dear Friends,
Not a whole lot to report today. Scott played with Aly after they woke up this morning. She smiled at him the entire time he did so. We discussed extending the pass and managed to do so until Monday morning. We ate breakfast (scrambled eggs and toast), lunch (Mexican food a nice couple brought over for the residents) and dinner (ordered a pizza) together. Watched movies all day downstairs in the living room. I took a nap in the afternoon and played Scrabble with Julie after the kids went to bed.
Nice to have a "boring" day for once!
ST
Dear Friends,
We had Occupational Therapy (computer solitaire with right and left hands on the mouse) and Physical Therapy (stretches and treadmill) early this morning so Scott was finished by 10 a.m. We went to the cafeteria and Scott had a repeat of his cherry Coke and roll experience, only not so intense as the last time. It's hard to repeat those "first time" sensations, isn't it?
Dear Friends,
Well, the urgent X-ray request of Wednesday resulted in our going down this morning (Friday--I'm glad it wasn't "routine") to have Scott's right leg X-rayed to see if he has a bullet splinter working its way out his thigh. We got there, checked in and sat down. Scott immediately removed his helmet. Sometimes, this makes casual observers a little faint. Scott doesn't seem to mind, of course. I suspect he secretly relishes the idea of making people quesy when they see his head.
Dear Friends,
No therapy today due to the holiday. Scott did have an eventful day, though, thanks to Jim Moffet who picked us up before noon for an outing. Scott was over to the Fisher House for an overnight pass last Friday, but he has not been in a vehicle, other than a Stryker or an ambulance/bus since he was injured. Jim had his wife's van for the day and we used it to good effect. Scott had to wear the hated helmet while in the van, but he didn't complain.
Dear Friends,
We had sort of a late start this morning. Scott had to perform the usual personal maintenance tasks, but did so on an empty stomach as the food trays mysteriously keep appearing in the wrong place. If Scott isn't aroused by someone, he often continues to sleep. (It's what you do when you have a traumatic brain injury sometimes.) If you continue to sleep, your tray disappears. Scott's doctor is about ready to pull her hair out over this, I think. (More later)
Dear Friends,
A friend (who has not yet met Scott) wrote to me today and remarked about how wonderful Scott must be to inspire such love. I would only reply here that both my sons inspire such love. Neither of them are "golden boys" but they're the only boys I have. The challenge is that I can only "be there" for one at a time. Dan understands the choice ("Dad, I'm not five years old.") and supports his brother as best he can from afar.
Dear Friends,
Scott put all that rest he got yesterday to good use as he was very energetic today. He wanted to walk without his cane and did so for most of the day. He even walked around with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants (show off!) during the morning. He walked from his ward to OT, rode the elevator up to RT and then went down to the cafeteria (more Cherry Coke, fries and two (!) grilled cheese sandwiches). Finally, he walked back to the ward, engaging some of the fellow elevator passengers in (brief) conversation.
Dear Friends,
This should be short as Sundays are pretty quiet around here and Scott took advantage of this to sleep a lot.
Dear Friends,
It was good to have Scott spend the night. We got up earlier than usual because we didn't want to screw up his first pass. He had some oatmeal and read through a recent issue of Army Times. Tiffany bundled him up and we returned to the hospital. We were tempted to bring him back again after his therapy sessions, but Scott indicated he wanted to stay at the hospital afterward. So much for the outpatient therapy fantasy!
Dear Friends,
On a personal note: Today is the 31st anniversary of my being crushed between two trucks at Ft. Lewis while serving with the 2nd Bn., 47th Infantry. The vehicles involved have, no doubt, been converted to razor blades or washers, and the 2/47 Inf is a basic training unit at Ft. Leonard Wood, but I soldier on.
Dear Friends,
This morning, as she promised, the Occupational Therapist (Deb, by name) came by Scott's room to observe how he performed basic chores like brushing his teeth and getting dressed. When we met with her later in the day, she said Scott was doing well on these tasks.
Dear Friends,
Okay, enough goofing off, vacationing on an Air Force Base. Time to write something.
Dear Friends,
I'm being held incommunicado (no Internet access at the hospital here at Scott AFB so I had to escape to the base library where there's a 30 min. window) by the Air Force. Something about comments about anxiety...
More detail will follow when we arrive in Minneapolis this evening. We're on a C-130 so it will be "Low and Slow" to the Frozen North.
We're alive and sorta well, considering. More later (I hope).
ST
Dear Friends,
One addition to yesterday's report. Julie was photographed with Diana Ross and the Supremes at the post office here yesterday. Well, actually it was the three female clerks dressed like them. They were certainly not disgruntled, but very much enjoying themselves with the party decorations, the nice outfits and the music going all day.
Back to today.
UPDATE: Steve has added a few new photos to his album.
Dear Friends,
Busy day today, but not really much to "write home about." Breakfast did not arrive (maybe they got the word the Air Force didn't) so the delivery person ran down and got something for him to eat. (These guys have been great about this kind of thing--A soldier wants more of something? They run and get some.)
Dear Friends,
A friend asked me some very good questions about Scott's injury which made me think I should explain things a bit better. I also have some new thoughts about how things happened. I'll start with answering his questions and I hope that will explain things better for us all. A good question always makes you think better and work harder to make your ideas understood.
Dear Friends,
As promised yesterday, some names. The last ocularist (maker of prosthetic eyes) and a very nice man is Vince Przybyla. The Stryker parents we met yesterday are the parents of LT Tissereau (I hope that spelling is correct) of First Platoon of B Troop.
On to today.
UPDATE: Steve has added a number of new photos to his album (pages 2 & 3), including pictures from the Purple Heart ceremony for Scott and Majors.
Dear Friends,
We knew we were going to have a busy day today, but no idea of how busy it would truly end up being. We had a meeting with administration about Scott moving on with his rehabilitation and wanted to make sure Scott got off to PT okay. He wasn't feeling all that hot, but decided to go anyway (good!). We left for our meeting as he left for PT.
Dear Friends,
Shortly after we arrived, Scott was visited by two members of the psychiatric liaison team who wondered why Scott was he still here. We've been wondering that, too, and spent much of the day trying to find out. We know Minnesota is awaiting his arrival and we know other soldiers have gone there, so we don't know exactly what the hold up is.
Dear Friends,
As I arrived this morning, I saw an officer who had been very helpful to us when Scott was on another floor. He was happy to see me and asked if Scott was up for a visit in about a half-hour. I discovered that he was. The visitors were representatives from Huntsville, Alabama, Major General and Mrs. Pillsbury from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The general talked to Scott about the unit, the Strykers and about how he was being treated. The general appeared impressed and saluted Scott. (I've been working with Scott on saluting, but I guess he was a little surprised by this to return the salute.)
Dear Friends,
We arrived after the ten a.m. scheduled start of PT, so we decided to split up to see where Scott was. I went to the PT room while the ladies (I include Alyson in this category, of course) went to Scott's room. The PT guys said they thought Scott was supposed to be there today and have Sunday off. Back in the room it was thought he was supposed to have today off and go to PT on Sunday. It was sorted out soon enough and Scott went to PT. Things were pretty routine: Upper Body Cycle (I noted the correct name today--took me long enough), stretches, walking up and down stairs. However, the finish was anything but routine.
Dear Friends,
Scott got a late start this morning. He got to PT a bit late, but did well. He worked the arm cycle and didn't spend much time looking at his right hand. It didn't slip off once. Scott did a few squats between the parallel bars but was concerned about his head and so stopped after a few reps. He went to a new exercise wherein he stepped onto a platform with one leg and then the other while standing between the bars. Coren Point (the PT) put the opposite foot on the same time Scott put his foot on to make it more like a game. I told them all they needed was a jump rope to make the game complete.
Dear Friends (you, too, James),
Today was another mixed day. Things got off to a good start with Scott up and ready to go. When I arrived, he was being interviewed by a woman who performs combat stress interviews on all the soldiers at Walter Reed. Dr. French and the TBI folks (lots of them) were outside, but didn't get the chance to see him. We discussed with them our adventure with the PEBLO folks yesterday and felt confident that we had averted a disaster there. They agreed and one even winced at the paperwork problem.
Dear Friends,
Sometimes, I forget to put everything in the update that happened and I get to correct it the next day. Today is one of those days. While eating lunch in the dining facility yesterday, I noticed the neurologist who showed me Scott's CT Scan on 9/23/04 (I think I described him as honored to do his best to heal the wounded than came his way). I told him about Scott's being up and walking with a walker (Ha! Yesterday's news...) and he asked how he was doing verbally. I told him he talks better on the telephone than in person and seems to be more polite with the please and thank yous. However, every once in a while lets loose with a blue streak. The doctor laughed and said, "That's disinhibition." He said the God of Neurology (actually, he used his professional name, LTC Armanda) was back over at Walter Reed for a week or two and was going to try to see him. That would be nice.
Okay, on to today.
(From now on we will be posting Steve's updates individually. You can view all entries related to Scott here.)
Dear Friends,
Today was a pretty good day. Amazing in places, even. Scott was up and finished with Occupational Therapy (OT) by the time I arrived. The speech therapists arrived sometime later and went for a short session just to make sure he got some work done before PT. Scott still has some trouble getting the right word out, but you know he knows the right word. Sometimes, he starts to draw it with his finger on his leg or on the blanket and you guess half way through. I can't say I noticed any significant improvement with speech today, but then I was out of the room most of the session so as not to distract him. The three of us peeked into his room at times and he was having an animated discussion with them every time. We're taking this as "good," especially since he's starting to gesture with the right hand more often. On a scale from Joe Friday to Joe Pesci, I'd say he's closer to Friday right now.
Today we get a visual update on Scott. Steve has added three new photos to his album of Scott during his PT session.
You'll also notice that we have added a new category called "Scott Thorne". Rather than adding all of the daily updates to one entry, we will now post each progress report individually. Follow the link above to view all of Scott's updates on one page.
Dear Friends,
I understand there has been a misunderstanding about "Official Visits." We estimate that we've missed about twenty of these since being here. We missed Miss America, for example. Most of this missing is due to the fact that Scott is in a part of the hospital where he's the only OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) patient. The rest of the patients are waiting to have their ivory harvested. In other words, you have to work to go see Scott.
Dear Friends,
The day started well enough with Scott just waking up and getting ready to eat. The scrambled eggs were rubbery, the cinnamon roll was ruined by some mysterious process involving heat, but the rest of it, Scott gobbled down, or as close as he can get to gobble by eating left handed.
October 15, 2004
Dear Friends,
First, we have some corrections from yesterday's report. Scott was on the treadmill and not the parallel bars and Tiffany was able to give me some more details about the visit by Paul Wolfowitz. Scott was trying to talk about something and became frustrated about not being able to get the word out he was thinking of. He used an appropriate military term to express his frustration. Later, he tried to get the cap off a dry erase pen and used a second military term. Tiffany suggested he be careful about his language and Mr. Wolfowitz patted her shoulder saying, "That's okay, honey. He's earned it." He also told Mr. Wolfowitz and the assembled generals and other officers that "I'm not done" being a soldier. One of the generals had been with the 101st Airborne and knew Mosul well. They discussed their memories of the city and their experiences there.
Dear Friends,
This is going to be a short update as I'm still not packed for my return to DC via redeye and my ride arrives in 60 minutes. Whew! (faster, faster, faster!).
Dear Friends,
This is going to be a short update as I'm still not packed for my return to DC via redeye and my ride arrives in 60 minutes. Whew! (faster, faster, faster!).
Dear Friends,
Well, I'm back home and re-learning to type on my main computer (a desktop) instead of typing in the dark (so as not to wake her) on Julie's laptop.
Today was a very long day (I'm writing this at 2 a.m. PDT), but a good one in many ways.
Dear Friends,
Forgot to mention this the other day, but interesting stuff is distributed to wounded soldiers from school children around the country. On Scott's wall is a little story about a Hunter B. from the First Grade at Oak Ridge School in Michigan. Hunter writes: "Thank you for fighting for us. I hope you feel better." Well, thank you Hunter. I'll e-mail your teacher and let her know how we're doing.
Dear Friends,
Today's update begins very early this morning ("oh dark thirty") with a telephone call from Scott's room to someplace several time zones away. (I can do some interesting things with a telephone when properly motivated. I've passed on some of my skills to one of the nurses with the usual "Don't get caught" warning/disclaimer!) The call did all parties a lot of good and raised morale on two continents. Some good news followed via e-mail message to me, but I didn't tell Scott the news until this morning when we arrived in his room. "There you guys are," he said as we came in. I made the announcement and he was the happiest I'd seen him in some time. We'll wait for formal announcements later when the paperwork catches up.
Dear Friends,
I learned this morning that the "updates on Scott's progress" section of www.strykernews.com has received over 5,000 visits. If the much-anticipated Tacoma News-Tribune article about our wounded in the Stryker Brigade ever hits Mike Gilbert's front porch, I suspect the number will jump considerably. (Head's up, Todd!) I told Scott this news first thing today. He seemed confused at first and then a bit amazed. I asked him if he knew 5,000 people I didn't know about and he shook his head "no." Later in the day after speaking to some relatives, his brother and two of the men who were injured in his patrol by phone, he said, "All my friends want me to do good." Oh, it's more than that now. We're way beyond just friends, my son.
Dear Friends,
First, to follow up on yesterday's very obscure Jubal Early reference with respect to haircutting. General Early wasn't exactly bald, but there's a strong comb-over possibility. Also, on July 11 and 12, 1864, Confederate troops under his command attempted to take Washington, DC, and there's a marker on the campus here where a tree once stood that was used as a signal station and by sharpshooters. So, there you have it.
(Did you know that Steve was the one that wrote the "letter to the editor" we posted last July? Still one of my favorites.)
Dear Friends,
We start with an update from Scott's wife, Tiffany, about yesterday. She went back to the hospital to be with Scott after dinner. We left him asleep, but he awoke and was asking for her. She arrived soon after this and they watched a movie together on the hospital movie channel (The airline versions of films are shown). She said Scott laughed with her at scenes in the movie.
Dear Friends,
Yesterday's update was long and hard to write. So much so I left out the two very nice Red Cross volunteers who came by. They come by with a cart of goodies every Wednesday. They've got cards, books, magazines, clothes, Girl Scout cookies (and no, they're not made with real Girl Scouts), you-name-it. The American Red Cross has been very good to the troops and their families here and I would suggest helping them out in return if you're able. I know about the hurricanes in Florida, but they're also helping the war wounded here. There's two good reasons to help them out, if you can.
Dear Friends,
Well, today was looking a bit bleak at first, but ended up being very positive. Scott was only supposed to be on a medical ward overnight after a night at ICU to transition after being returned from Bethesda (lost yet?). He's been there for longer than anyone thought, in part because there are no beds available in the ward where he is supposed to be before being sent to the VA for inpatient traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. This is because soldiers keep getting wounded in Iraq and the beds are full. I went to this ward (called P.M. & R.) this morning and saw for myself that this was true. They haven't forgotten him. They're full with higher priority cases. This hit me twice, as it keeps Scott where he is (more later) and it means there's soldiers injured worse than he is, a thought truly awful to contemplate.
Dear Friends,
Well, the lab results are back and Scott does have a urinary tract infection. I hate being right. I also hate pointing out why I think it happened. We're not sure if the catheter was changed since he had it put in, presumably at the 31st Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad. Come on people, it's easier to prevent this than it is to cure it.
Dear Friends,
The list of recipients gets larger all the time. Please feel free to send this along to others whom you know that might be interested or to known friends of mine whose e-mail addresses I'm unable to recall/obtain by remote.
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.
Dear Friends,
Scott was transferred to Walter Reed today about noon. He was transported in a civilian ambulance by a driver who was obviously in no hurry to get him there. Once he arrived, Scott was put back up in the same ICU where he was before going to Bethesda. I had the impression they were very pleasantly surprised to see him back and a bit amazed at his progress. The vasospasm problem was apparently more serious than we knew, but that's fine with me. A little brute force and ignorance goes a long way in the Army. It's nice to see neurologists smiling and shaking their heads at the same time.
Dear Friends,
A friend of mine suggested that I include some demographic information about Scott to put some dimensions on the flat screen you're looking at now. No problem. Scott Thorne is the youngest of three children, born on 11/19/80 at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Ft. Bliss, Texas. His sister, Gretchen, died five days after her birth on 6/8/74, in the same hospital where his daughter, Alyson, was born on 7/31/04 (Madigan Army Medical Center). His older brother, Daniel, was born at William Beaumont on 1/27/77. Scott is a 1999 graduate of Orange Glen High School, in Escondido, California where his parents, brother and nephew still reside. Scott played Pop Warner football from the age of seven until he became a Freshman football player. When Scott was 13, he broke his right arm playing football at school (like his father told him not to do) during the season and missed four games. He came back and finished the last two games. His return was not quite emotional enough to help his team win, but the opponents knew they were in a ball game. Scott left home (amicably) to enlist in the Army on 9/14/99 and was shot while leading a patrol in Mosul, Iraq exactly five years later.
Dear Friends,
More "hurry up and wait" today. We got up early (for those of us who are still in the Pacific Time Zone) and drove over to the hospital. We arrived in time to see Scott and the physical therapist. He described some exercises for Scott's right arm, among which are some that look very much like the quarterback arm drills he's been doing since he was seven. Should be easy to get him to do those. Scott is able to move his right arm above his head (according to his wife), but he still tires easily. He's getting more food intake now that we've discussed what he likes and dislikes with the dietician. The food appears to be more in line with what he's able to swallow instead of "whatever's on the menu for tonight." Scott was too tired to eat dinner, but more on that later.
Dear Friends,
More "hurry up and wait" today. We got up early (for those of us who are still in the Pacific Time Zone) and drove over to the hospital. We arrived in time to see Scott and the physical therapist. He described some exercises for Scott's right arm, among which are some that look very much like the quarterback arm drills he's been doing since he was seven. Should be easy to get him to do those. Scott is able to move his right arm above his head (according to his wife), but he still tires easily. He's getting more food intake now that we've discussed what he likes and dislikes with the dietician. The food appears to be more in line with what he's able to swallow instead of "whatever's on the menu for tonight." Scott was too tired to eat dinner, but more on that later.
Dear Friends,
Another busy day for Scott and a long wait for us. He had a PET Scan (tests brain activity using radioactive markers--takes 1 to 3 days to read/interpret one), a brain ultrasound test, which went well enough to pull the pads off his head, and a visit from two speech pathologists. He had some cereal for breakfast, which we heard he enjoyed very much. We don't know what kind of cereal because we weren't able to see him until about 2 p.m.
September 27, 2004
Dear Friends,
Scott had to go for a second angiogram this afternoon. This process involves injecting a contrasting dye into the blood vessels of his brain and taking an x-ray of them. It pretty much wipes him out for the rest of the day. We were able to see the comparison of the two tests this evening when we met with the God of Neurology, LTC (Lieutenant Colonel, O-5) Armanda, for the first time. When I told him he was underpaid (he's a neuro- and vascular-surgeon so he cuts from the outside and he's an interventional radiologist so he runs things into the blood vessels to fix them from the inside), his response was "I have other motivations." This is exactly the man we want on Scott's case. Plus, he's a soldier, not just a doctor in an Army suit. He has been in Baghdad and that counts for something with us. I told him about what Scott was doing in Iraq and he asked me to write this up for him so he can introduce him properly at case reviews. (Darn, I should have asked how many volumes he wanted!) It was nice to see an Army doctor in a Navy facility, too. We can't wait to get back to Walter Reed, which could happen as early as Friday if Scott continues to hold up.
Dear Friends,
Today was a reminder that no matter how well things go one day, they do not necessarily go that well everyday. Today was a difficult one for Scott because he had to go for another CT scan. This entails being taken to the basement of the hospital at Bethesda and moved to the table of the CT device and then back again to his bed and rolled back to the ICU. A nurse, corpsman and a doctor are required to be present before he can be moved anywhere, so it makes quite an expensive entourage. He is made uncomfortable by this process and it takes him some time to recover afterward. He takes it well, but cries out during the table changes. The good news is that the CT scans and the readouts of the other devices attached to him still indicate that he is doing well. The bad news is that Scott is only dimly aware of this and we get the impression he feels he is taking a step backward because of the need for tests and monitors.
Dear friends,
If this is the first of these updates on Scott that you have received, you can go to www.strykernews.com to read the previous ones. Sorry, but there's new addresses to add all the time, so...
Steve, the father of a 1-14 CAV soldier, is someone I've come to know over the past year. He has provided me with invaluable advice, which I'll always be grateful for. Consequently, my heart skipped many beats on September 14 when I received an email from him informing me that his son, Scott, has been seriously injured in the same incident that took the life of SGT Demand. Very few details were available at the time.
Steve has allowed us to post his email updates as a way to keep those who know Scott informed of his progress. We don't often hear the stories of the wounded. As Steve mentioned in one of his messages to me, we might not hear the stories, "but they're getting great personal and medical attention from the staff here. Everyone has been wonderful to us. No exceptions. If you want to see dedicated staff helping our warriors recover, you can see it at Walter Reed every second of the day." As we mourn the fallen, let's also say a prayer for their wounded comrades.
These updates are listed in reverse chronological order. To read Scott's story from the beginning, scroll down to the September 14, 2004 entry and work your way up.
UPDATE: We have now created a separate category for Scott's progress reports. From now on we will be posting daily updates as individual entries rather than adding them to this one (it's getting too big!). Follow the link above to read the latest.