Update: 10/30/10 4:30pm

Ronnie is off the Ventilator. They had to help him get his breathing started, but he is now breathing on his own. They hope to take the tubes out soon.



Below is the link to Ronnie's facebook prayer group...

Pray for Ronnie McCulley wounded in action Afghanistan

Update: 10/30/10 2pm

Ronnie is out of surgery now. He did well and received 2 units of blood. The Dr. excised everything except for his right hand. They got skin grafts from the back of his neck, his back, and his left leg. His skin grafts only covered 5% of his burns and the other burns are covered with cadaver skin.

My Fallen Soldier

I know I havent really given a good update on here about what has been going on so I will try to do so briefly. Ronnie was only back in Afghanistan for about 2 weeks, and only back at his home base for less than 2 days, when the incident happened. He hadnt called in a couple days and I sensed something was wrong, but I couldnt bring myself to look at the casualty report that gets sent to his email after battles. I left my first class of the morning on Tuesday , October 26 to find that I had several texts from his family and a voicemail. I knew it wasnt good.

Ronnie was wounded in a "combat operation" possibly just outside the FOB walls. He sustained burns over 51% of his body. He was later re-evaluated and current estimates are at about 40%. Most of the burns are concentrated on his right side and on his legs and torso, but his right hand has sustained massive injury.

Within a day he was flown to a military hospital in Germany and his family was able to meet up with him there.

So far he has remained sedated with both a ventilator and feeding tube. The following is an update from his mom this morning...

Ronnie arrived in San Antonio Brook Army Medical Center BAMC around midnight last night. He did well on the flight, but has developed pneumonia in his right lung. The Dr. said this was normal and are treating him. He also has a blood clot in his le...ft leg developed that while in Germany. Ronnie will undergo his first major surgery in about 4 hours (around 8:00am)
They will do his first major debreeding and grafting. The Dr. estimates about 3-4 surgeries. The Dr. estimates 40% burn area needing grafting.
If anyone is interested in visiting Ronnie...Please call Ron or me to schedule the best time for Ronnie. We don't want to over stimulate him and give him more than he can process. They estimate that for every 1% of the burn= 1-2 days in ICU, but they said because of his age they think it should only be 1 day per 1%. I will give an update after surgery!

Needless to say it has been a long hard road this past week. I will try to do a little better about putting little snippets up here as I get them.

For now, I plan to travel to San Antonio, TX next Friday morning and stay through Wednesday.

Please be praying for my sweet soldier.

"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there." ~Barbara Bush

With such a short leave this time, Ronnie decided not to make the trip to Oklahoma. We were however graced with loving visits from many relatives all anxious to encourage and bless Ronnie and I. Ronnie's grandparents and family, as well as my grandparents, were all able to make the trip to see us for a short while. We had fun showing them all "our world" here in Indy and sharing memories with them. Ronnie was also able to tell them a little bit about Afghanistan and show them through pictures what his life has looked like the past few months.

But the love did not only flow from our immediate families. Many friends loved on and supported Ronnie and I in his time state-side. We were showered with prayers and gifts (both tangible and not) for which we can not even begin to express our thanks.

We feel truly blessed to be loved by our "family" whether biological or not. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your gifts, prayers, love, and warm welcome to Ronnie during his time here at home.

Night on the town

Ronnie and I were so blessed to enjoy a wonderful meal with our friends at Indy's famous St. Elmo's Steakhouse. The food was spectacular! We feasted on bread, soup, salad, and (of course) the most delicious porterhouse steaks in Indy. We are so thankful to have been able to spend an evening together with good food and good company.

Piece of Cake

The wedding plans have been coming along nicely since Ronnie has been here. He has spent a lot of time researching venues and vendors while I'm in class or studying. We got things narrowed down pretty well for not having a date yet. We were able to attend a bridal show last week and yesterday we went cake testing all around Southport and Greenwood. It was delicious! We got lots of great and unique ideas and got more than our fill of cake. Mmmmm!

Perspective

The last few months have been filled with worry and anxiety for me as I wait for the calls from Ronnie. But my worry is nothing compared to what he goes through.

Ronnie is fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan in a battle against an enemy who doesn't "play fair." Many men have died and we are truly blessed that Ronnie has not been added to their numbers. Ronnie repeatedly accredits God alone with his survival through the day. He has survived car bombs and explosions on several occasions and has had comparatively less significant injuries more times then he cares to discuss. I know that I only know a snippit of what goes on in the land beyond my imagination, but I guess I am thankful for that. I am just thankful to have my soldier alive and on his way home for a couple of weeks. I want to keep it all in perspective I guess.... remember that God has kept him safe in situations where death seemed inevitable.

While I realize that the physical and emotional scars of this deployment will be a part of our lives from this point forward, we know that God is the one that allows us to move forward and live a life of beauty despite the pain.

I am proud of my Army Man and pray that God will continue protect him. I feel incredibly blessed, as we all should, to have Ronnie.

LiFE

work, school, school, work, homework, school, school, work, work.....
Is this really my life??? When did this happen??? When did I grow up???
... and when does sleep come in?

Not that it's bad, it's just... busy. my messy house is a testimony to that....

Ronnie has officially begun his journey home! Though it will take him about 12 days to get here, he is relieved to be at least in the process. And I am relieved that he is not on the front lines. I cant wait to spend to two weeks with him starting on the 24th!!!

Continued Prayer

Please be praying for Ronnie. Things have been heating up in Afghanistan and many of the days are starting to look a lot like this....

picture taken by Ronnie