thedrifter
03-10-07, 07:19 AM
03/10/2007
Dinwiddie man continues to recover from war wounds
BY T. DEVON ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
DINWIDDIE — Lance Cpl. Matthew Bradford, 20, is still in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., after being wounded in combat in Iraq Jan. 18.
The 2005 graduate of Dinwiddie High School was on foot patrol in Haditha, Iraq, when an improvised explosive devise was detonated near Bradford and several others.
Of all in his company, Matthew sustained the most severe wounds. His small intestine and his bladder were damaged, shrapnel was embedded in his left elbow and right wrist, and bones were broken in his right hand. Both of Matthew’s legs had to be amputated. His left leg was removed above the knee and right leg below the knee.
He also lost his left eye and the retina in his right eye was detached.
On Thursday, he underwent surgery on his right eye, his father, David Bradford, said on a Web site he keeps on Matthew’s condition.
As of Friday, it was too early to say if the eye surgery was successful. It will take between 10 and 14 days to ensure that Matthew’s retina does not detach again, his father said.
Previous surgeries included skin grafts, reconstructive surgery on his bladder and the closure of wounds on his legs.
In February, Matthew was removed from a medically-induced coma and taken out of intensive care, Bradford said.
Matthew has since been alert and talking, and has been undergoing physical therapy, Bradford said. Earlier this month, Matthew was taken out of bed for the first time and has been sitting upright in his bed and in a wheelchair, Bradford said.
On Feb. 14, Bradford said, Matthew received a Purple Heart from Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps.
Matthew was serving in the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, which arrived in Haditha in September.
The duties of his regiment included building a 15-mile-long, 8-foot-high berm around Haditha and two neighboring cities about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.
To find out more on Matthew’s condition, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/mbradford.
• T. DeVon Robinson may be reached at 722-5160 or at trobinson@progress-index.com.
Ellie
Dinwiddie man continues to recover from war wounds
BY T. DEVON ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
DINWIDDIE — Lance Cpl. Matthew Bradford, 20, is still in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., after being wounded in combat in Iraq Jan. 18.
The 2005 graduate of Dinwiddie High School was on foot patrol in Haditha, Iraq, when an improvised explosive devise was detonated near Bradford and several others.
Of all in his company, Matthew sustained the most severe wounds. His small intestine and his bladder were damaged, shrapnel was embedded in his left elbow and right wrist, and bones were broken in his right hand. Both of Matthew’s legs had to be amputated. His left leg was removed above the knee and right leg below the knee.
He also lost his left eye and the retina in his right eye was detached.
On Thursday, he underwent surgery on his right eye, his father, David Bradford, said on a Web site he keeps on Matthew’s condition.
As of Friday, it was too early to say if the eye surgery was successful. It will take between 10 and 14 days to ensure that Matthew’s retina does not detach again, his father said.
Previous surgeries included skin grafts, reconstructive surgery on his bladder and the closure of wounds on his legs.
In February, Matthew was removed from a medically-induced coma and taken out of intensive care, Bradford said.
Matthew has since been alert and talking, and has been undergoing physical therapy, Bradford said. Earlier this month, Matthew was taken out of bed for the first time and has been sitting upright in his bed and in a wheelchair, Bradford said.
On Feb. 14, Bradford said, Matthew received a Purple Heart from Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps.
Matthew was serving in the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, which arrived in Haditha in September.
The duties of his regiment included building a 15-mile-long, 8-foot-high berm around Haditha and two neighboring cities about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.
To find out more on Matthew’s condition, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/mbradford.
• T. DeVon Robinson may be reached at 722-5160 or at trobinson@progress-index.com.
Ellie