I hope things will become easier for not only myself, but my friends ... things can't possibly get any worse than what they already have been ...
We were all injured in battle. Some of us served in Iraq; others, in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Yet we are united by one common force: becoming injured in the line of duty.
Some of us suffered catastrophic losses: loss of eyes and/or eyesight. Terrible facial disfigurement that will take years of reconstructive surgery. Ears blown off. Missing arms and/or legs. Chest trauma that required emergency heart (or lung) surgery. Catastrophic injury to the abdominal region resulting in life-long colostomies or iliostomies. Paralysis and becoming dependent on wheelchairs or mechanical ventilation for the rest of our lives.
We just arrived home from Germany (or Washington, DC, at the Walter Reed Army Hospital) to continue our recovery time ... and to adjust back to civilian life.
Myself, I am one of the lucky ones. Only lost my leg; now walking again, this time on crutches, until my prosthetic leg is ready (could take up to six months to a year [or longer], according to the doctors at Walter Reed). 'Til then, I will have to use my crutches (or my wheelchair) as my main mode of transportation.
It hasn't been an easy task trying to adjust to my life, but as I said, I only lost my leg. Other members of my squad lost so much more. Their recovery time will probably last much longer ... or not at all. So I am blessed, very blessed.
I thank God for my life (such as it is). I just hope that my family can adjust right along with me because their wife/mother is now a shell of her former self. I will take longer to do some things, and some things I will just have to abandon altogether until I get my prosthetic leg.
And the pain. Oh, God, the PAIN!!!! Stupid brain thinks my leg is still there; I look down, to see what's pulling my toes sideways, only to discover: no leg. Then I get frustrated. I get depressed, but then I think about what some of my friends have lost, and then I ask myslf: WHY am I feeling sorry for myself?? At least I can still get around!!
I still have nightmares about the bomb blast that took away my leg, but I am sure with the right support and/or counseling, I will move on with my life, especially after my posthetic leg arrives and I can get back to living again. Until then, I will just have to take it one day at a time.
One day at a time.
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