from the archives - hero

one year ago my brother in law matthew
was shot while deployed in afghanistan as a combat medic.

i wrote a little bit about it last year, here and here,
and thought that it would be a fitting tribute to his courage and recovery
to post the story again.

as for an update,
his recovery has gone so well, both physically and mentally.
he is stationed at fort lewis only a couple hours away
so he has been able to spend quite a bit of time with us and his family.
it certainly hasn't been easy for him this past year,
and there will probably be things he will struggle with for the rest of his life,
but his outlook is becoming more positive everyday.

his courage is definitely something his whole family looks up to,
you go mattman!

.......................................................................................................................................

my oh my what a week its been...

the mr's brother is a combat medic in the 101st airborne division in the army and has been deployed to afghanistan for four months. monday morning, 5 am, we get a call from his mom that matthew was shot in the neck. we've finally heard the full story, and its pretty incredible.

they were in the middle of a mission and had been under fire for sometime. matt moved from behind his cover to shoot, and was hit. in his neck, out underneath his shoulder blade, on the left side. one of his buddies ran over to help and was shot in the hand in the process. matt said they needed to move, so he had some of his guys stand him up so they could run to a nearby house. in the house, matt had another guy check him out, and taught him how to take his vitals, gauze him up, and give him an iv and some morphine. after matt was good he then told the guy how to fix the other guy's broken hand. when the helecopter came to pick him up, he left his medic bag with his boys so they would have medicine in case anything else happened. now if that isn't a hero, i don't know what is.

he's now safe in sound in germany. bruised lung, four broken ribs, very little movement in his left arm, but in really good spirits. he recieved a purple heart and combat medic badge from a two star general.

the mr and i came down monday night to be with his family and it has been so good to be here. the communication has been incredible, we've talked to matthew a couple times, and all of the nurses and case workers have been so helpful and informative. i just can't believe how amazing all of these people have been.

and most importantly, matthew really is a hero. he just loves his boys so much and is so concerned with how they're doing. he saves lives, every day, and loves doing it. and we love him :]




(the mr and his brother over christmas. and why is the sky blue? cuz god loves the infantry!)

Comments

  1. Wow this is so inspiring! Thanks for resharing this; I never would have known. These are the stories that make a difference.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my gosh. What a story! I'm so glad he is healing well. What a crazy thing to have happen.

    xoxo
    Janee

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sometimes, combat doesn't seem real to me because I'm never exposed to it... but this post helped remind me and I am so thankful for the men and women willing to fight for our nation and our freedom. Thanks for sharing :) and I'm glad he's healing up okay!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This story means so much to me since well, in an hour I'll be at his old home of Fort Campbell.
    Getting to know the real people of the 101st and 160th divisions has changed my entire view of the war and what life really is like in the military.
    I think more people should get the chance to really know the men and women that are fighting for our country so we can all understand just how grateful we should be for their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families.

    I'm on team brother-in-law Matt!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

thanks for stopping by :]

i love replying to comments, either here or by email.
so be sure to check back if you have a question!