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Posted on 05/22/2007 5:56:27 PM PDT by Mrs.Nooseman
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So did I and I got Eagle! I also chose meat! What did you say about flying?
Evening rainbow sprinkles.
LOL.
Welcome to the Canteen and thank you for playing.
Love the Duck.
I chose berries LOL!
Duck.
Duck.
Duck.
Duck.
Duck.
Duck.
GOOSE!
Hubby’s fine! Well........he’s on the road to recovery!
Don’t tell Kathy I’m here, OK? ;)
I sorta kinda got Gramp’s cold and she’s been just HORRIBLE about harrassing me to go to bed.
I mean. Really. She’s been a NAG about it. Good thing she’s not here right now, huh?
 You are a true inspiration, and many people look to you for guidance. And you are quite demanding in relationships... but you're worth it. People know that you will become even greater than you imagine. |
After life-shattering experience, Ramsdell looks to recover
By Ken Waltz
VillageSoup/Knox County Times Sports Director
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (May 4): As Christopher Ramsdell led a group of U.S. soldiers on foot patrol in Iraq toward the end of March, he understood how, at any moment, his body could be shattered and his world rocked to the core by an explosion. Then his nightmare became a reality. Like so many members of the American military serving in Iraq, Ramsdell had his life threatened and changed forever by the detonation of an improvised explosive devise, which has become a common way for the enemy to injure and kill soldiers during a war now in its fifth year.
The Warren resident is recovering from injuries suffered in a March 28 explosion in an area near Tikrit. Although it is unclear exactly how Ramsdell suffered injuries to the right side of his body, including a broken right jaw, damage to his right eardrum and an injury to his right arm/hand, he now appears to be on the road to nearly complete recovery.
The 26-year-old U.S. Army sergeant now faces months of physical and mental rehabilitation.
Ramsdell, a 2000 Medomak Valley High School graduate, is recovering from seven surgeries he has had to treat injuries he suffered during the explosion and possible gun battle while he was on routine patrol.
Ramsdell was leading a group of eight people, including seven soldiers, on the final day of a six-day/night foot patrol excursion when he and his squad came under attack.
Ramsdell's broken jaw is expected to be wired shut for at least four or five weeks. At this point, he is drinking through a straw. Skin grafts were used to close some wounds and sutures were used to close others.
There was initial concern Ramsdell might lose his right hand or arm, but the surgeries seem to have alleviated that danger. The recent surgeries have reconstructed his right arm, but there still is concern he may not have 100 percent use of the area around his right elbow. Ligaments higher in his right arm had to be reattached to his lower arm.
Christopher Ramsdell, left, and his dad, Steve. (Image courtesy of Ramsdell Family)
Some shrapnel from the explosion remains in Ramsdell's body, including several pieces in his neck. Those pieces are in dangerous spots and cannot be removed, he said.
On the day of the attack, Ramsdell said, his group had to walk around a large hole in the ground that had been left by a previous explosion. The hole was filled with water.
Ramsdell said he saw two civilians farther down the road before the explosion. He said after the explosion, the other soldiers shot at people in the area. "I'm not sure if anyone was killed or not," he said.
Ramsdell said the explosion occurred about 5 to 10 feet from him. He said an interpreter was standing about 25 feet behind him and other soldiers followed.
"I made it about three-quarters of the way [around the previously blown-out area] and then boom," Ramsdell said. "I'm lucky. It went off and I heard a buzz in my ear from the shock wave and the blast. I remember falling and I landed up against part of the road on my right side. My helmet got blown off.
"I don't really like blood or anything, but I remember seeing my arm in front of my face and I could see all the open wounds and holes. All I could think about was the pain. I went into shock almost immediately. I just remember seeing my arm and having blood coming down my face and into my eye. I could taste the blood in my mouth. I can remember screaming because of the pure pain."
Ramsdell said one of the other soldiers raced to him and kept shouting to him. "He reassured me that my right arm was still attached," Ramsdell said. "That was my biggest concern."
He said a medic also raced over to care for him. "He said I looked like I had gotten shot with buckshot in the face," Ramsdell said. "There were little pieces of shrapnel all over my face."
Ramsdell said the shock wave from the explosion knocked all of the soldiers to the ground. He said he is sure he did not step on an explosive device and believes someone set off the device from an area of palm trees near the site.
Ramsdell said he had no idea that his jaw was broken until he came out of the initial surgery. He lost tendons, muscle and nerves in his right hand, wrist and arm. He is unable to fully bend or straighten his right arm. If the scar tissue fills in where it should, Ramsdell said, he might get 85 to 90 percent of his arm movement back.
"I'm never going to lift weights and be a body builder [with the right arm]," he said, "because a lot of the muscle is gone. But I should be able to golf and ride a motorcycle again. It is just going to take time."
After the incident, Ramsdell was immediately treated in Iraq, then in Germany, then at the Veterans Administrative Hospital in Fayetteville, N.C., and finally in Chapel Hill on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
Ramsdell returned to the United States on April 4 and had a number of surgeries. One was a skin graft "the size of a dollar bill" taken from his thigh and put on his wrist and elbow. "All the other holes [on my body] they were able to stitch together," he said.
Ramsdell began physical therapy on May 1 at Fort Bragg. His mom, Jean, and dad, Steve, have spent time with him. His dad has been with Ramsdell since he arrived back in this country.
Ramsdell, who hopes to return home to Warren on medical leave in June and July, has been told by doctors that given his young age he should make a strong recovery. "It depends on what I can handle as far as pain and how mentally strong I am," he said.
Ramsdell's spirits are high and he said he is thankful for the phone calls, cards and letters he has received.
Ramsdell was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. His first tour, during which he served as a cook, was for nine months in Fallujah and Ramadi. This second tour, which started Aug. 7, 2006, was supposed to last a year. His role changed for this tour, in which he served as a foot soldier instead of a cook. The military now has civilian contract cooks.
Ramsdell, who visited the Midcoast while on leave from the service not long before he was injured, turned 26 in March. After high school, he graduated from Johnson and Wales University, where he studied culinary arts.
Ramsdell said he is lucky, especially given that several soldiers from his unit have been killed since he left Iraq. He said he feels the pain of the families and soldiers killed or injured and all they must endure in the coming months and years.
"I'm happy to be alive and now I'm looking forward to starting physical therapy and trying to get back to a normal life," he said. "I'm frustrated that it happened, because I feel I really shouldn't have been there [because I'm a trained cook]. But I wasn't the only one. I just feel very lucky. Someone was definitely watching out for me."
I am glad to hear that your hubby is on the road to recovery.
I am keeping him and you in my prayers.
I won’t tell Kathy that you are here.;)
It’s our secret.
Ich bin auch ein Adler.
Vielleicht mag der Adler auch gerne Sashimi essen.
| Your Power Bird is an Eagle |
|
You are a true inspiration, and many people look to you for guidance. And you are quite demanding in relationships... but you're worth it. People know that you will become even greater than you imagine. |
| Your Power Bird is a Vulture |
 You aren't afraid to move on from what holds you back. Energetic and powerful, you have a nearly unlimited capacity for success. You know how to "go with the flow" and take advantage of what is given to you. |
Welcome to the Canteen, de meanr, where we honor our troops, our veterans, their families, and our allies every day. We are here 24(mostly)/7/365 to provide a place for our military to stop in, pull up a chair, and enjoy a joke, hear a song (requests taken), read some history, enjoy a cyber meal (no calories), hear about our families lives, join in the silliness, and just relax.
All who honor our troops, veterans, their families, and our allies are welcome to join in the every day honoring. We have serving troops, veterans, family members, allies, and those who just wish to help honor them here every day.
Thank You, M’am!
| Your Power Bird is an Eagle |
|
You are a true inspiration, and many people look to you for guidance. And you are quite demanding in relationships... but you're worth it. People know that you will become even greater than you imagine. |
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