A woman who was injured while fighting in Iraq as part of "Operation: Freedom" comes home to America to continue her recovery from injuries she sustained.
Unfortunately, this story happens to be timely: upon checking my mail at Yahoo just a little bit ago, I was very saddened to learn that 35 American soldiers were hurt in a mortar attack in Iraq. God be with them, and God be with their families as they await the fate of their beloved sons and daughters who were injured. And God be with ALL our fighting men and women who are fighting to preserve our freedoms here in America!
>tears<
Maria Elena Melendez could be the girl next door: she is beautiful with her long, dark-brown tresses that fall past her shoulders, huge, dark-brown eyes fringed with incredibly long, thick lashes, and pretty, tanned skin; but her eyes do not hold the sparkle of youth or promise: instead, they hold a sense of dread, heartbreak, and hopelessness.
Maria Elena, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, was in the Marines, as part of the fighting force that made up the American fighting force called "Operation: Freedom", to fight terrorism at home and abroad; but during her tenure in Iraq, she was seriously injured when a bomb exploded while the Humvee she and two fellow soldiers were on were going past; and the bomb happened to be nearby. As a result of the blast, both her partners were instantly killed, and Maria was severely maimed. In the blast, she lost both her legs, plus one of her eyes, and one hand.
Maria spent several months in a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, where she was, more or less, put back together, and then she was flown from Iraq to Germany for even more surgery and medical treatment. She was then flown to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., for even more treatments. As one can possibly imagine, Maria not only suffered physical injuries: she also suffered emotional and mental trauma, and she was no longer the outgoing, giggling girl that her family and friends remembered prior to her joining the Marines and then going to Iraq. This Maria was now a shell of her former self in more ways than one: she was morose, ungodly quiet, angry, and bitter, and she suffered horrifying nightmares and suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of being injured. She also was missing both of her legs and one hand, and her one eye had been blown out by the bomb blast; and her face was now scarred. She was forever changed by that bomb blast that had seriously injured her and killed her two partners who were with her at the time of the blast.
For many weeks, Maria refused to participate in therapy sessions, but as time went on, she gradually started to try to help herself; and now, here in America, she was sitting up in a wheelchair and was trying to slowly put her life back together.
After her stint at Walter Reed, she was then flown to her home in San Antonio, Texas; and she is still in San Antonio, where she continues to undergo a daily regimen of physical, occupational, and emotional therapies; and she is regularly seeing a counselor. She is still suffering from PTSD, and she is still coming to terms with her disabilities; and she has her bad days as well as her good days; but she is determined to try to overcome her handicaps as best as she can. It still isn't easy, though, not only for her, but her family, which consists of her mother, Hilda, father Ernesto, five brothers (Miguel, Mundo, Reuben, Juan, and Diego), and three sisters (Wendy, D'Arcy, and Juanita). Still, they are there for her, and they see her every day at the rehabilitation hospital, where she is currently staying during her long and torturous therapy sessions.
Maria's homecoming was a mixture of tears and laughter; but more tears, because of the horrifying injuries that Maria had suffered in Iraq. The reality of the war in Iraq suddenly became all too painfully real for Maria's family and friends, and they were immediately reminded of just how serious the situation in Iraq had become.
Excellent write and read on this end, Mz Karen. It is wonderful how we are welcoming our soldiers returning home now, better than after the 'Nam era...I am sure they would thank you if they could, Thanks, ED & Rufuz
I concur in the salute. Powerful write and excellent reminder of the often devastating and tragic sacrifices our heroic uniformed men and women make for each and every one of us. Bravo, Karen, Bravo!
*tears* war is hell...and you've just described the emotional and physical toll it takes on our men and women "over there"...powerful, powerful write *BRAVA and a salute to you, and them*
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Maria Elena Melendez could be the girl next door: she is beautiful with her long, dark-brown tresses that fall past her shoulders, huge, dark-brown eyes fringed with incredibly long, thick lashes, and pretty, tanned skin; but her eyes do not hold the sparkle of youth or promise: instead, they hold a sense of dread, heartbreak, and hopelessness.
