thedrifter
04-05-08, 04:24 AM
Iraq veteran Joshua Hoffman suffers setback
Posted by Ted Roelofs | The Grand Rapids Press April 05, 2008 02:59AM
The battles continue for former Marine Joshua Hoffman.
Hoffman, 26, was admitted Thursday to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital with pneumonia, according to his fiancee, Heather Lovell.
"He didn't need this," Lovell said.
More on Hoffman
• Marine returns home to well-wishers
• West Michigan soldiers embody nation's 5-year commitment to war in Iraq
Hoffman was paralyzed from the chest down when he was hit by a sniper's bullet in the neck in Iraq in January 2006.
The former Wayland resident returned to West Michigan on March 25 after spending more than a year in a Virginia Veterans Administration hospital.
In a brief homecoming in a hangar at Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Hoffman was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers. They included dozens of Marines in dress uniforms from his old unit, the Grand Rapids-based Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment.
To cheers, Hoffman was wheeled on a gurney draped with an American flag to a waiting ambulance.
Hoffman was in good spirits Wednesday at the couple's apartment in Kentwood, his eyes lighting up as Lovell, 21, recounted stories from his military service or his days as a top high school wrestler. He was looking forward to a scheduled visit today from a pair of Detroit Lions.
But Lovell said Hoffman became listless later that night and developed a fever. He was transported by ambulance early Thursday to Butterworth.
Lovell said the unexpected detour to the hospital was tough on Hoffman, who was glad to return home to West Michigan after so long in the veterans hospital.
Hoffman is expected to begin therapy soon at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. At home, he receives 24-hour nursing care.
Because he does not yet have full control of his swallowing, Hoffman receives food through a feeding tube. He communicates with Lovell and his mother, Hazel Hoffman, with blinks of his eye to communicate "yes" or "no" and to spell out words or names.
"He is not in a good mood," Lovell said of his latest hospital stay.
She expected him to be able to leave in a few days.
Marine Corps Maj. Jeff O'Neill said word was getting out about Hoffman's condition among the fraternity of those who had served with him in Iraq and Africa.
"There is an intense following of his situation, since nearly everyone else was over there with him," O'Neill said.
Staff Sgt. Dave Ogden stopped in to see Hoffman in the hospital Friday, adding the young soldier is on the minds of plenty of his fellow Marines.
"We will do everything in our power to help him out," Ogden said.
E-mail: troelofs@grpress.com
Ellie
Posted by Ted Roelofs | The Grand Rapids Press April 05, 2008 02:59AM
The battles continue for former Marine Joshua Hoffman.
Hoffman, 26, was admitted Thursday to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital with pneumonia, according to his fiancee, Heather Lovell.
"He didn't need this," Lovell said.
More on Hoffman
• Marine returns home to well-wishers
• West Michigan soldiers embody nation's 5-year commitment to war in Iraq
Hoffman was paralyzed from the chest down when he was hit by a sniper's bullet in the neck in Iraq in January 2006.
The former Wayland resident returned to West Michigan on March 25 after spending more than a year in a Virginia Veterans Administration hospital.
In a brief homecoming in a hangar at Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Hoffman was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers. They included dozens of Marines in dress uniforms from his old unit, the Grand Rapids-based Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment.
To cheers, Hoffman was wheeled on a gurney draped with an American flag to a waiting ambulance.
Hoffman was in good spirits Wednesday at the couple's apartment in Kentwood, his eyes lighting up as Lovell, 21, recounted stories from his military service or his days as a top high school wrestler. He was looking forward to a scheduled visit today from a pair of Detroit Lions.
But Lovell said Hoffman became listless later that night and developed a fever. He was transported by ambulance early Thursday to Butterworth.
Lovell said the unexpected detour to the hospital was tough on Hoffman, who was glad to return home to West Michigan after so long in the veterans hospital.
Hoffman is expected to begin therapy soon at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. At home, he receives 24-hour nursing care.
Because he does not yet have full control of his swallowing, Hoffman receives food through a feeding tube. He communicates with Lovell and his mother, Hazel Hoffman, with blinks of his eye to communicate "yes" or "no" and to spell out words or names.
"He is not in a good mood," Lovell said of his latest hospital stay.
She expected him to be able to leave in a few days.
Marine Corps Maj. Jeff O'Neill said word was getting out about Hoffman's condition among the fraternity of those who had served with him in Iraq and Africa.
"There is an intense following of his situation, since nearly everyone else was over there with him," O'Neill said.
Staff Sgt. Dave Ogden stopped in to see Hoffman in the hospital Friday, adding the young soldier is on the minds of plenty of his fellow Marines.
"We will do everything in our power to help him out," Ogden said.
E-mail: troelofs@grpress.com
Ellie