An update on Chuck

I have no words to express what I feel about the overwhelming responses and words of encouragement that I have read from all of you. Saying thank you is not enough... but that is all I can muster at this moment. God Bless ALL of you who are praying for Chuck and our family.

Chuck is in Landstuhl in the ICU. He will have another surgery tomorrow. These are the "basics" of his injuries, although none of them are fun to talk about.

1. He has severe nerve damage in his left hand and has lost his left pinky (all of it). It will be a long recovery for his hand due to the nerve damage.
2. His right thumb is pretty messed up and the docs are not sure how much he will lose or keep... he may be okay and keep his thumb, we just don't know yet.
3. ALL of his internal organs are okay. One of his lungs is bruised, but not damaged.
4. His brain, spine, and neck are all okay... paralysis is not an issue.
5. He has no muscle damage in his legs or arms, but his right thigh has been damaged.
6. His face was "peppered" by shrapnel. He has a cut on his right cheek, which has been stitched up.

He MIGHT be headed back to the states as early as Friday. I should know for sure what the short term plan is by noon tomorrow. I will keep you all posted as much as possible.

For those who may be thinking, "We just need to bring all the troops home and forget this war," let me tell a quick story.

As you know I told Creighton that his daddy was hurt and that he will be okay and coming home soon. One of the questions he asked was, "Why did Daddy have to go so far away to get the bad guys?" I said, "Daddy had to go far away to fight the bad guys so we are safe here in the US. We don't want the bad guys to be here in our country, so brave men and women like Daddy go far away to make sure that never happens." (A side note... a 5 year old is too young to understand that bad guys are here in the US and managed to do some serious damage on 9/11).

I'll be in touch soon

Again, I can not thank you enough for everything you all have done, said, prayed, etc.

God Bless!
Carren