Ladyhawke is one of our dear forum members and recently told me that her nephew is in Iraq, part of the sniper unit that was attacked by a suicide bomber this week.
5 other snipers were killed and her nephew Jim Alunni is in stable condition with esophageal injuries from shrapnel that passed through one side of his neck and exited through the other. Because of this injury, he required a tracheotomy which will remain in place for 2-6 weeks. There is also a piece of shrapnel near his thyroid, which the medical team has chosen to leave alone at this time.
Jim also suffered some burns (my apologies - I don't know where on his body) The most serious of his injuries is to the esophagus; he is being fed by a nasogastric tube. He is alert, conscious and since he is unable to talk he must communicate by writing notes.
He was originally airlifted to Germany for treatment and remained in ICU until his condition was stabilized and arrived at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland this weekend.
If you are praying people, please pray for the swift recovery of Jim Alunni, for his family and for the families of our US Armed Forces personnel.
Word came from Iraq this week that five members of the 3rd Battalion, headquartered in Brook Park, Ohio, had been attacked and killed by small-arms fire and then news on Wednesday reported that 14 Marines and their Iraqi interpreter died when a large bomb flipped their vehicle. It was the deadliest roadside bombing of the Iraq war.
When Celeste told me about her nephew, I tied a yellow ribbon around the cedar tree here at the MakeMeThinner Cottage and wrote his name on the ribbon to remind me to pray for Jim and his unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 25th Marine. According to his Mom (and Ladyhawke’s sister) Madolyn, there are yellow ribbons flying in Ohio, Florida and Washington State in his honor.
I am thankful for our military families and am proud of them. I have clients in Iraq, Korea and Qatar and many stateside, like our own Christi and I appreciate them.
Thank you.
When men and women join the armed forces they do so because they feel it is their calling, they want to do it and they enter with the knowledge that they my not return. So often it is harder for the families who remain stateside because they do not always hold the same view or share the same sense of mission.
I know how it feels to see a young man go off to war.
I appreciate what our military people and Jim have done for me and for my country by their service and I am moved by the fact that Jim’s life has already touched mine because of Ladyhawke. We may not all share the same views regarding the military and our country’s part in Operation Enduring Freedom but when our MakeMeThinner Family hurts, we all do.
Thank you, Jim and may you be blessed!
News
Site map
SitemapIndex
RSS Feed