Leo
05-22-2003, 01:04 PM
Fort Stewart soldier with spinal-cord injury refuses to give up
The Associated Press -
RICHMOND, Va. _ With their Bradley Fighting Vehicle poised on a ridge line in Iraq, Sgt. Kenneth Dixon and eight of his men held on tight.
The Bradley plummeted into a ditch about 15 feet deep. It was just after midnight as the members of the 3rd Infantry Division started their second patrol of the night. Everything was black.
Dixons men were thrown forward. He held on in the back.
That decision has landed him at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, where he is recovering from a severe spinal-cord injury. His spine was snapped in the impact.
Dixon, who had been stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga., arrived at McGuire recently for treatment and rehabilitation.
For four hours a day, he labors through physical therapy to strengthen his arms and help him learn how to adjust to life with no movement in his legs.
He will likely be there for at least three months. Dixon is one of two military personnel being treated at McGuire for injuries suffered in Iraq.
I would do it again, he said recently after a grueling day of therapy. Doctors and therapists joke that he wears them out as he pushes himself to do more each day. They marvel at his optimism.
There was nothing I could have done to prevent this, he said. Its just one of those things.
Dixon, 35, was deployed to Kuwait on Jan. 23. It was two months of anticipation before the real action started.
The wait was harder than anything, he recalled. Wed play cards, listen to music and just talk. Smoke and joke. The young guys didnt know what to expect. You could see it in their eyes.
Sometimes, radio reports told of protests and Americans against the war. Those reports only brought Dixon and his men closer.
We were all each other had, he said.
Then his platoon moved into Iraq.
March 28 was the night of his injury.
Two guys in the Bradley suffered broken jaws. Others had minor injuries.
And one of my buddies, another sergeant, died, he said. That was the last thing I remember before I was medevacd out.
Dixon was flown to Kuwait for evaluation _ Thats when I realized I couldnt feel my legs, he said.
From there, Dixon was moved to the USS Comfort, where a team of doctors took one of his ribs and used it to fuse his spine. In the next two weeks, Dixon moved to Germany, then back to Kuwait, then home to the states.
Dixon was initially treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, then moved to McGuire because of its strong spinal-cord-injury programs.
For now, Dixon gets support from his mother-in-law, Queen Wilson, who is in town from Durham, N.C. Soon, his family will move temporarily to the Richmond area. Dixons wife, Allescia Wilson-Dixon, is an Army sergeant, too, and has re-enlisted for two more years. She will be posted at Fort Lee near Petersburg. They have two daughters, Kennecia, 14, and Monique, 12.
Dixon is hopeful about his future, although doctors do not know whether he will be able to use his legs again. When his wife finishes her military duty, the family will likely move to their home in Georgia.
Im going to do an outstanding job here, and Im going to do an outstanding job when they release me, he said. Im not going to stop. This is just another one of lifes obstacles.
The Associated Press -
RICHMOND, Va. _ With their Bradley Fighting Vehicle poised on a ridge line in Iraq, Sgt. Kenneth Dixon and eight of his men held on tight.
The Bradley plummeted into a ditch about 15 feet deep. It was just after midnight as the members of the 3rd Infantry Division started their second patrol of the night. Everything was black.
Dixons men were thrown forward. He held on in the back.
That decision has landed him at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, where he is recovering from a severe spinal-cord injury. His spine was snapped in the impact.
Dixon, who had been stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga., arrived at McGuire recently for treatment and rehabilitation.
For four hours a day, he labors through physical therapy to strengthen his arms and help him learn how to adjust to life with no movement in his legs.
He will likely be there for at least three months. Dixon is one of two military personnel being treated at McGuire for injuries suffered in Iraq.
I would do it again, he said recently after a grueling day of therapy. Doctors and therapists joke that he wears them out as he pushes himself to do more each day. They marvel at his optimism.
There was nothing I could have done to prevent this, he said. Its just one of those things.
Dixon, 35, was deployed to Kuwait on Jan. 23. It was two months of anticipation before the real action started.
The wait was harder than anything, he recalled. Wed play cards, listen to music and just talk. Smoke and joke. The young guys didnt know what to expect. You could see it in their eyes.
Sometimes, radio reports told of protests and Americans against the war. Those reports only brought Dixon and his men closer.
We were all each other had, he said.
Then his platoon moved into Iraq.
March 28 was the night of his injury.
Two guys in the Bradley suffered broken jaws. Others had minor injuries.
And one of my buddies, another sergeant, died, he said. That was the last thing I remember before I was medevacd out.
Dixon was flown to Kuwait for evaluation _ Thats when I realized I couldnt feel my legs, he said.
From there, Dixon was moved to the USS Comfort, where a team of doctors took one of his ribs and used it to fuse his spine. In the next two weeks, Dixon moved to Germany, then back to Kuwait, then home to the states.
Dixon was initially treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, then moved to McGuire because of its strong spinal-cord-injury programs.
For now, Dixon gets support from his mother-in-law, Queen Wilson, who is in town from Durham, N.C. Soon, his family will move temporarily to the Richmond area. Dixons wife, Allescia Wilson-Dixon, is an Army sergeant, too, and has re-enlisted for two more years. She will be posted at Fort Lee near Petersburg. They have two daughters, Kennecia, 14, and Monique, 12.
Dixon is hopeful about his future, although doctors do not know whether he will be able to use his legs again. When his wife finishes her military duty, the family will likely move to their home in Georgia.
Im going to do an outstanding job here, and Im going to do an outstanding job when they release me, he said. Im not going to stop. This is just another one of lifes obstacles.