April 8, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "For nine wounded warriors, a relaxing retreat with family"

Kathryn Corazzelli:
"Gunnery Sgt. Chadd E. Jackson of the United States Marine Corps is a hard man to keep down. In February 2005, Jackson and six squad mates were returning to Camp Fallujah in Iraq when they were hit by a roadside bomb. Flying shrapnel severed two major nerves in Jackson's arm.

The injuries Jackson sustained from the blast seven years ago were many and permanent, and the nerve damage in his right arm brings pain that surgeries have failed to halt. He sustained damage to his spinal cord, requiring surgery to implant a stimulator, which helps alleviate constant pain. He also suffers from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic-stress problems. Despite everything he has been through, Jackson remains on active duty and was recently promoted.

Jackson, his wife, Darci, and their three children will arrive in Breckenridge tonight for a week of skiing and counseling courtesy of the Wounded Warrior Family Ski Week, a local program paying homage to injured veterans.

The project provides a week of retreat in Summit County for permanently and severely injured service members from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts and the global war on terrorism. Now in its fifth year, Wounded Warriors is bringing nine veterans and their families — chosen from a pool of 54 — from all over the country for five half-days of skiing, four mornings of meetings with mental health professionals and one day for fly fishing, ice skating or whatever else the soldiers choose. Everything — from the airfare to lodging and instruction on the slopes — is free for the recipients....."  (Read more?  Click title)

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