thedrifter
05-07-07, 07:47 AM
May 7, 2007 - 12:00AM
Sergeant helps wounded warriors mend
CHRISSY VICK
DAILY NEWS STAFF
At 28 years old, Sgt. Jason Simms has been through a lot more than most people his age.
Since July 2004, his life has been turned upside down. That's when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Propane in the bomb set his hands and face on fire. It also lodged shrapnel and bullets in his legs. He woke up two weeks later at Brooke Army Medical Center with third-degree burns on his hands and second-degree burns on his face.
"When I woke up I was confused," he said. "I was under so much medication I would hallucinate and think things were happening that weren't."
Simms would wake up to terrifying images that Iraqis were trying to kill him, his son hated him and one of the Marines in the vehicle who was killed was lying in bed with him.
"It was hard to differentiate what was real and what wasn't," he said. "Obviously the burns hurt a lot, but that was the worst thing."
One finger was lost and arteries and tendons in his hands were shredded. Nineteen surgeries later, he is now able to use his hands, but still has pain.
He still walks with a cane. But he's come a long way.
"I still have pain," he said. "I can feel the metal in the bottom of my feet if I've been on them all day. My hands hurt if I'm gripping things."
And just when Simms began settling into an apartment in Jacksonville, it caught fire and was destroyed in February. He lost everything.
"My family was coming to see me that day because my little brother was going to Iraq," Simms said. "It was very overwhelming."
But the community pulled together through Hope for the Warriors, a non-profit organization that refurnished his entire apartment. His brother, 20-year-old Nathan Simms, has been in Iraq for 10 months.
"I understand how my parents felt now - worrying constantly," he said. "But I did encourage him to join."
Simms is happy to be back among Marines.
"I love being a Marine and when I was at home there weren't any," he said. "I missed the haircut, the uniform, everything. I missed being a part of something."
It's the bond between Marines that makes them want to go back - to fight for one another, he said. He shares that bond with best friend Jeremy, who saved his life by pulling him out of the vehicle after it was hit and putting out the fire that engulfed him.
Although the past two years haven't been easy for Simms physically, perhaps the hardest thing of all was losing one of his friends - the driver of the vehicle when it was hit.
When Simms returned home to Philadelphia after two months in the hospital, he found himself on the verge of depression.
"I spent 75 percent of my time by myself," he said. "It was hard because I just wanted to be with my Marines in Iraq. It was hard that I was sitting there safe and they were over there. I felt guilty for living. I felt guilty for my friend's death. I felt like there was something I could have done even though he was killed instantly."
Simms struggled with thoughts that no one understood his pain. But when his unit, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, returned from war, it helped.
"My best friend didn't know where I was or how I was doing," he said. "I tapped him on the shoulder when he got back. He cried. We hugged. It was great to see everybody. It was kind of like an ease swept over me."
The Wounded Warrior Barracks was not yet created when Simms was hurt, but he now serves there. And he does more than just caring for the warriors.
He shares their pain.
"They can talk to me because I know what they've been through," Simms said. "It's a great feeling, knowing that everybody in this building understands. At home, I didn't talk to anyone. I did here. It helped a lot mentally."
When new wounded warriors arrive, they are quiet like Simms used to be. But within a week, he coaxes them to open up and begin the healing process. His healing began with his 7-year-old son, Jason Jr.
He fought to get better for him, as it was hard realizing that he couldn't chase his son, play sports with him and ride bikes with him.
"I can do those things now," he said. "But he can still run faster than me."
Simms has one other goal in his recovery - to walk without his cane again. And to get past the nightmares.
"I still have flashbacks and nightmares, but I know they'll slow down," he said. "Everybody is different."
Simms just has to keep pressing on. And that is something he said he plans to do.
Ellie
Sergeant helps wounded warriors mend
CHRISSY VICK
DAILY NEWS STAFF
At 28 years old, Sgt. Jason Simms has been through a lot more than most people his age.
Since July 2004, his life has been turned upside down. That's when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Propane in the bomb set his hands and face on fire. It also lodged shrapnel and bullets in his legs. He woke up two weeks later at Brooke Army Medical Center with third-degree burns on his hands and second-degree burns on his face.
"When I woke up I was confused," he said. "I was under so much medication I would hallucinate and think things were happening that weren't."
Simms would wake up to terrifying images that Iraqis were trying to kill him, his son hated him and one of the Marines in the vehicle who was killed was lying in bed with him.
"It was hard to differentiate what was real and what wasn't," he said. "Obviously the burns hurt a lot, but that was the worst thing."
One finger was lost and arteries and tendons in his hands were shredded. Nineteen surgeries later, he is now able to use his hands, but still has pain.
He still walks with a cane. But he's come a long way.
"I still have pain," he said. "I can feel the metal in the bottom of my feet if I've been on them all day. My hands hurt if I'm gripping things."
And just when Simms began settling into an apartment in Jacksonville, it caught fire and was destroyed in February. He lost everything.
"My family was coming to see me that day because my little brother was going to Iraq," Simms said. "It was very overwhelming."
But the community pulled together through Hope for the Warriors, a non-profit organization that refurnished his entire apartment. His brother, 20-year-old Nathan Simms, has been in Iraq for 10 months.
"I understand how my parents felt now - worrying constantly," he said. "But I did encourage him to join."
Simms is happy to be back among Marines.
"I love being a Marine and when I was at home there weren't any," he said. "I missed the haircut, the uniform, everything. I missed being a part of something."
It's the bond between Marines that makes them want to go back - to fight for one another, he said. He shares that bond with best friend Jeremy, who saved his life by pulling him out of the vehicle after it was hit and putting out the fire that engulfed him.
Although the past two years haven't been easy for Simms physically, perhaps the hardest thing of all was losing one of his friends - the driver of the vehicle when it was hit.
When Simms returned home to Philadelphia after two months in the hospital, he found himself on the verge of depression.
"I spent 75 percent of my time by myself," he said. "It was hard because I just wanted to be with my Marines in Iraq. It was hard that I was sitting there safe and they were over there. I felt guilty for living. I felt guilty for my friend's death. I felt like there was something I could have done even though he was killed instantly."
Simms struggled with thoughts that no one understood his pain. But when his unit, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, returned from war, it helped.
"My best friend didn't know where I was or how I was doing," he said. "I tapped him on the shoulder when he got back. He cried. We hugged. It was great to see everybody. It was kind of like an ease swept over me."
The Wounded Warrior Barracks was not yet created when Simms was hurt, but he now serves there. And he does more than just caring for the warriors.
He shares their pain.
"They can talk to me because I know what they've been through," Simms said. "It's a great feeling, knowing that everybody in this building understands. At home, I didn't talk to anyone. I did here. It helped a lot mentally."
When new wounded warriors arrive, they are quiet like Simms used to be. But within a week, he coaxes them to open up and begin the healing process. His healing began with his 7-year-old son, Jason Jr.
He fought to get better for him, as it was hard realizing that he couldn't chase his son, play sports with him and ride bikes with him.
"I can do those things now," he said. "But he can still run faster than me."
Simms has one other goal in his recovery - to walk without his cane again. And to get past the nightmares.
"I still have flashbacks and nightmares, but I know they'll slow down," he said. "Everybody is different."
Simms just has to keep pressing on. And that is something he said he plans to do.
Ellie