Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Okay, for all those who have been wondering - Jason and family weathered the storm quite well. The "southern" sections of this latest hurricane went through the Maryland area, and Bethesda got soaked pretty good. However, it wasn't anywhere near as wet as New York or other parts North (and East). When I spoke with him yesterday and today he seemed liked it was no big deal, and that all he noticed was heavy rain. Of course, when I spoke with him today, he had just gotten back from one of his "procedures" and he was still quite groggy from the anesthetic he had been given. I asked him about the girls and he said they had been in earlier and that Bridgette had to get them back to the room so they could lay down, since they were getting kind of cranky. My guess is that with all the bad weather they are not getting a chance to even go outside and are starting to feel a bit of the cabin fever. We are looking forward to going out to see him and the family next month,...

Okay, its been long enough since the last entry - and the good news is that there really hasn't been a bunch to report. Jason is doing well, though still in the hospital and waiting on the folks who do the housing set ups to get his housing done. He has a prone-cart that provides him with a bit better ability to get out and around, so that he doesn't have to remain in his room all day long, and that does make him much happier. They are still working on his wounds and trying to get the healing to take place, and it looks like they may be going back to a skin graft, but we're waiting to hear more about that. There was a procedure done to help with the pain level and discomfort, in that they deadened the nerve(s) in the area that was causing the greatest discomfort, and it seemed to make it better for Jason. Linda and I are planning on going out to see Jason and the family over the Thanksgiving holiday, and will be there for the entire week. We hope to be able to spend a con...

We had a great chat today, right when he was finishing up his dinner. He said that Bridgette and the girls were supposed to be coming by a bit latter, so we didn't get to talk with them this time. Linda had a class tonight and I had a couple of chores to get done, so we really didn't have a lot of time to call back later anyway. Jason is doing well, though he is beginning to really feel the "cabin fever" from not being able to get out like he used to. The good news is that he thinks the issues with the housing are getting worked out and perhaps they will be moving in soon, though no date was given. He will be going in for another procedure, again for the wound vac change out and a checking of the healing of his wounds. This is going to be going on for a little while longer, and then he will be starting all over again with the right side, and a major surgery again. The bright side to this is that this coming surgery is going to be much smaller than that experienced o...

Well, I'm back and I have a bit of an update for you, and I'm hoping that I will be providing another update tomorrow, as well. I did the Wounded EOD Warrior Ride, from Los Angeles to San Diego (just over 160 miles) and I was able to generate some funds for the organization. While on the ride, at one of the times I found myself being basically alone (no one ahead of me within sight and no one behind me within sight), and I was feeling tired. It was the second day of the ride and we were traveling along the coast, right at the beach and I was thinking to myself, "I'm doing this for Jason." I had to repeat this to myself a few times, and it got me through. On the bright side, I only had one flat tire, and it wasn't too difficult to fix - I just replaced the tube, once I determined the tire was still good. My guess is it was a "pinch" type puncture because there wasn't any thing sticking through the tire. A couple of the other riders had stopped to ...