Military veterans?

[SHC]

Walt 

USMC 0311/8541 (now 0317)

Finished basic at Parris Island in ‘02 as an E-1. Made E-5 middle of ‘06, rapidly made it back to E-3 by my EAS at the end of that year. 

[Malleus]

U.S. Army Infantry (Airborne)- 25th Inf. Div. & 101st Airborne 1996-2004

U.S. Navy Corpsman (FMF)- 2nd Marine Div. & 4th Marine Div. 2009-2015

[George N. M.]

Again, welcome aboard and welcome back.  There are a fair number of us here who are veterans.  I don't have numbers but I would guess the percentage is higher than the general population.  We often make a point of commenting on Memorial Day and Veterans' Day.

George N. M.

late of 1/C/1/12 Cav/ 1 Cav. Div. (airmobile)

Republic of Viet Nam 1970-71

[CharFox]

USCG - Electronics Technician 2nd Class. 2003-2009

Finished Basic Training in Cape May and graduated with Honors and the MAA award. Guaranteed A School immediately after in Petaluma, CA. Graduated Honor Graduate(Top Grades) and may have been the first SAET for like 1 month before I became a SNET and six months later an ET3. Enlistment career was cut short due to an accident involving a TBI where I almost died and I could no longer serve. Now I'm 100% P&T Disabled (Not Complaining!) xD

 

-To all who served, we will remember.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Ah.... Cape May NJ, the coldest place on earth in January 1964. My bio is on page 1.

Semper Paratus

[CharFox]

Haha! I hear ya! My cycle was during December-January and we were marching with sleet peppering our faces! Fun Times! =D Great to see another Coastie around!

[George N. M.]

Charfox, welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have another vet.  We have at least one other TBI survivor.  Frosty came out 2d best in an encounter with a birch tree in 2009.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[M.J.Lampert]

charfox welcome and thank you for your service

what does TBI stand for?

[ThomasPowers]

Traumatic Brain Injury; I've done the "bounce test" with my head on concrete a couple of times, 2 concussions less than a month apart don't help I've found out; but nothing like Frosty went through when we thought we were going to lose him! 

[CharFox]

George, Thank you for the welcome!! =)

M.J. Thank you for the welcome as well!, Thomas is correct. TBI stands for Traumatic Brain Injury.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Charfox, glad to have you aboard. And ANOTHER member of the lucky to be alive club.

Not to be picky George but the birch tree is dead and firewood, I'm still here. . . Mostly. It was close, too close the flight medic stopped to see me in intensive care when he found out I survived, I flat lined a couple times on the 15 minute life flight to the brand new state of the art head trauma clinic in Anchorage. I was their 2nd. customer. Two rounds of emergency surgery and it was a week or so before they thought I was going to survive.

I was incredibly lucky on so many counts. Hence my sign off.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

You were a bit rough when you came back online at IFI too.  It was interesting to watch your progression with language and cogitation.

[Frosty]

I felt rough from the inside, still do and have my unreasonable days. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Like when you pointed out that a caboose in NM would make a great Christmas gift for someone in Alaska?

[Frosty]

Nope, I didn't expect you to take that any more seriously than I meant it. However if you're considering it, give me some summer lead time so I can clear, grade and lay the tracks! If I make the grade the right height we can roll it off the lowboy onto the rails and I won't have to hire a crane.

I grew up reading sci fi and playing constant running pun games with Mother so I'm really good at thinking and expanding on thoughts mundane folk think unreasonable, been that way my whole life. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[CharFox]

Frosty, thank you for the welcome! =)

Yes, I earned my membership to the club while doing a security round during sunset hours. I'll share the story for those who might be interested.

On Saturday, November 22nd 2008. I was assigned OOD (Officer of the day) duty which means I'm responsible for all the logistical aspects and security of the base for that day. Uneventful day during normal business hours. During sunset hours getting ready to do my final security round I put my food in the microwave to leave heating up before I go do my round... and that's the last thing I remember before phasing in and out of consciousness with a massive headache inside an ICU. With nurses and doctors all around me.

Now, according to third party eye witness accounts...

Sunset at the time was around 1740 or so. This was the time I began my last security round. Around 2300 there was an engineer leaving the Civil Engineering building. As he was heading to his car he heard a phone ringing. Thinking someone dropped their phone before leaving for the day he followed the ring tone. Walking on the parking lot behind some shrubs he found the wreckage of a John Deere Gator utility vehicle flipped upside down, with me pinned underneath, laying in a pool of blood, trying to reach the Duty Phone which was around 3 feet away from me. According to this person, I was adamant in answering the phone, I needed to answer the phone, there was an issue that needed my attention. (I cannot recall this). He dialed 911, an ambulance and firefighters were dispatched. Upon their arrival, after freeing my mangled body from the wreckage they called in an airlift since they feared an ambulance ride to the hospital would not be sufficient to ensure my survival. Helicopter arrived and I was airlifted to the Miller Neurological School of Medicine. I began turning on the memory tape recorder after I was stabilized in the ICU. In there I was greeted by some of my peers, my Commanding Officer, and my wife. Details of my interactions are a bit hazy but I remember me thinking I was talking to them and their faces of confusion not understanding what I was telling them. Later I found out I was talking incoherently saying things like "I were in motions through tomorrow's phone." And "Is the isn't for me? Or video with not?"

Days later while still bed riden doctors discovered I was bleeding in between my skull and brain membrane and pressure was building against my brain. Doctors were considering drilling multiple holes into my skull to install bleeding lines to help ease the pressure from the brain. I remember opening my eyes, seeing things on a Monday going to sleep and waking up somewhere else on a Wednesday. It was weird.

The neurosurgeons, while against the idea of performing the operation originally, now had no other options as my condition continued to deteriorate, so they scheduled the operation for Friday.

Here is where the story gets miraculous, or weird if you're lacking in Faith. On Thursday November 27th (Thanksgiving day) I was at my worst. I could barely open my eyes, my parents, sister and wife visited me to "celebrate" Thanksgiving. Afterwards, they left for the evening. Everyone thought that was my last day on earth. That evening, my sister ran into my parent's room and crying told them that she felt I was not going to make it through the night. At the same time my in-laws were staying at my house with my wife, my wife told her parents the same thing, and they all began to pray for my recovery.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, I could not fall asleep due to the intense pain coursing through my head. At one point I remember feeling as if someone had turn on the light in my room. The pain in my eyes and head was overwhelming. I tried reaching for the nurse call button to ask them to turn off the light. But as soon as I felt the pen button in my hand, the light switched off. Relaxing my hand the light switched back on. I reached again for the pen button, and the light switched off. I remember getting annoyed lol. I relaxed my hand and the light came back on. Feeling tired of the effort it took to move my hand, I gave up and figured whoever was foxtrotting around in the room would soon be done and leave. I tried to close my eyes and dozed off to sleep.

Friday Morning. I awoke, feeling much better. Still in pain, but the headache was tolerable. The Doctor came in to prepare me for the operation and upon seeing my physical semblance and coherent articulate conversation ordered another MRI. The handshaped blood stain had reduced significantly to the size of a silver dollar... and I desperately wanted to drink chocolate milk! lol. The operation was cancelled and 6 weeks later I was finally discharged from the Hospital.

Sadly my motor skills and cognizant ability had suffered, and I was deemed incapable to continue to perform my basic military duties.

 

And here I am today, Lucky (and blessed) to be alive. =)

[George N. M.]

Charfox, that's a xxxx of a story and I'm glad you made it.  Not all military casulties are the result of enemy action.  Welcome back to the world.

Blacksmithing may be a way of developing new motor and neural pathways.  It may take you a bit longer to develop the skills and muscle memory but I'm willing to bet that you can get there.

GNM

LTC, US Army (ret)

late of 1/C/1/12 Cav/1 Cav Div (airmobile), Republic of Viet Nam, 1970-71

[Anachronist58]

OK, you went from roasting your foot in front of a radar feed horn, to being pinned under a gator?  Glad you made it. I concur with George, smithing may do the trick.

Thank you for your Service.

Robert Taylor

U.S. Army Cold War.

[Frosty]

That's a heck of a story Charfox! You remember a lot more of the immediate aftermath than I do. Two weeks in a drug induced coma and another 2-3 weeks of being pretty much completely out of it. I have some spotty  memories, voices, occasional light and movement but that's about it.

Then one day I come to / "become coherent." I'm sitting in a wheel chair outdoors on a nice sunny day and Abby the family dog has her head on my leg and I'm petting her head talking to her.  I said, "You're a good dog Abby, I love you." It was the first coherent thing I'd said since the accident and I remember it clearly now. She was wagging her whole body with a great big happy dog smile. I'd have to ask Deb but I think that was 45+/- days after the accident. 

You develop work arounds for the issues, I have trouble focusing or staying on task, though sometimes I get so lost in a thought or idea I can ramble on forever. Initiation is an issue, I want to do something but just don't get up and do it. That ones common. 

Blah blah blah, You don't need to read my ramble on about me. Mostly I guess I'm saying you ain't alone, there are lots of us TBI and stroke survivors. We all have similar issues and you learn to live with or work around the ones that don't heal or fade away. 

Any time you want to talk PM me, talking about it helps and there are tricks that help almost as much as the prayers friends and strangers alike. I'm living proof prayer works.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[ArmySoldier72]

Hello to all,

US Army SFC (Ret), 1994-2014 25U formerly 31U Communication Chief

Short Version, about 1/4 - 1/3 of my career deployed (Bosnia, Albania/Kosovo, Iraq, Qatar)

The only thing good to come out of my last assignment (Fort Polk LA) was they have retirement and medical retirement down to a science and take really good care of soldiers.

My Plan Short version - to learn a hobby to keep me occupied. 

Army.

 

PS My father was US Navy and my Mother was Canadian Navy, they met in Key West, Florida. 

Neither ever talked to us kids about going in the military, but I ended up there anyways. 

PPS My Step Grandfather (I only knew him as Pop Pop) was in the Army and once I enlisted always referred to my First duty Station as CAMP STEWART, from back in his day. 

[Anachronist58]

Welcome, ArmySoldier72, and thanks for your Service

Me, US Army Cold War, - '76 - '79, 3rd of the 59th ADA,  IHAWK, Federal Republic of Germany. Honorably discharged, undistinguished tour of duty. I often dream that I have reenlisted, cause I would love a do-over

Robert Taylor

[Mcald62]

Introduced myself earlier under “ Another Newbee” . I’m also a US Army vet.”81-84” 63Y track vehicle mechanic with NO combat experience . Thanks to everyone who served.

[BillyBones]

Army welcome aboard. Spent some time in Iraq myself.

Mcald, thanks for keeping my tank rolling. 

19K, 3rd ID, 1st AD, 1st Cav. 

[George N. M.]

Mcaid, Always glad to have another vet.  I would say that we have a higher proportion of veterans here at IFI than in the general population.  I don't know why that would be but I'm glad of it.  We usually have conversations and rememberances on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

George

LTC(R)

late of 1/C/1/12Cav, 1 Cav Div (airmobile), Republic of Viet Nam 1970-71

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

Beating hot steel may be the healthiest coping strategy we have…