thedrifter
05-13-08, 08:48 AM
Amputee Marine has long recovery at Walter Reed
The Evening Sun (Hanover)
Article Last Updated: 05/13/2008 07:52:09 AM EDT
The pain reads like a book on the face of U.S Marine 1st Lt. David Borden.
Between winces and saying words he later apologizes for using, Borden struggles to move leg muscles that have not supported his weight in months during a recent physical therapy session at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Sometimes the pain is so bad his attention focuses entirely on fighting through it.
Borden said the area where his right leg was amputated from the knee down felt like it was on fire as he worked through the different stretches and exercises.
It has been nearly four months since a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the 27-year-old Delone Catholic High School graduate in Ramadi, Iraq - a blast that took the life of another Marine and injured three others.
Borden was leading a platoon of about 40 Marines through Ramadi when fighting broke out between them and a group of insurgents.
When the bomb went off, few parts of Borden's body escaped injury.
His right foot was blown off by the blast, and doctors later amputated from the knee down.
Both of his forearms were broken, the left one shattered. He suffered a collapsed lung, a ruptured bladder and the loss of hearing in his left ear.
About 150 ball bearings struck him all over his body, many of which remain embedded in his skin.
He has already undergone 18 operations and still cannot sit up.
Borden is expected to make a full recovery, but progress is slow while
he lives as a patient at Walter Reid.
Now a 1st lieutenant and a recent recipient of a Purple Heart, Borden said he is nothing special. He feels he does not deserve of the attention his service and injuries have subsequently brought him.
Borden will tell you he is just "fine."
And asked whether the price he has already paid to serve his country was worth it, he said, "I'd do it again."
Ellie
The Evening Sun (Hanover)
Article Last Updated: 05/13/2008 07:52:09 AM EDT
The pain reads like a book on the face of U.S Marine 1st Lt. David Borden.
Between winces and saying words he later apologizes for using, Borden struggles to move leg muscles that have not supported his weight in months during a recent physical therapy session at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Sometimes the pain is so bad his attention focuses entirely on fighting through it.
Borden said the area where his right leg was amputated from the knee down felt like it was on fire as he worked through the different stretches and exercises.
It has been nearly four months since a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the 27-year-old Delone Catholic High School graduate in Ramadi, Iraq - a blast that took the life of another Marine and injured three others.
Borden was leading a platoon of about 40 Marines through Ramadi when fighting broke out between them and a group of insurgents.
When the bomb went off, few parts of Borden's body escaped injury.
His right foot was blown off by the blast, and doctors later amputated from the knee down.
Both of his forearms were broken, the left one shattered. He suffered a collapsed lung, a ruptured bladder and the loss of hearing in his left ear.
About 150 ball bearings struck him all over his body, many of which remain embedded in his skin.
He has already undergone 18 operations and still cannot sit up.
Borden is expected to make a full recovery, but progress is slow while
he lives as a patient at Walter Reid.
Now a 1st lieutenant and a recent recipient of a Purple Heart, Borden said he is nothing special. He feels he does not deserve of the attention his service and injuries have subsequently brought him.
Borden will tell you he is just "fine."
And asked whether the price he has already paid to serve his country was worth it, he said, "I'd do it again."
Ellie