Mississippi Soldier Prepares For More Surgery
From The Clarion Ledger And The Associated Press
MERIDIAN — A Mississippi Army National Guard soldier, recuperating at home for injuries he received in Iraq in April, will return to Washington D.C. on Tuesday for more surgery.Sgt. 1st Class Grayson "Norris" Galatas, a member of the 150th Combat Engineer Battalion, has been home in the Martin community for about a month."I'm doing all right," Galatas said. "I still have a little trouble walking, I'm having a problem with a hand that doesn't want to work right, and having a colostomy is not one of my favorite things. But other than that, I'm OK."Galatas, 43, and four other soldiers were injured April 19, when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle.Galatas is scheduled for two rounds of surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His injuries included lacerations to his stomach, buttock and back and shrapnel wounds over much of his body.While Galatas hopes to return home for Christmas, he said he wasn't sure that would be possible.He said he will be released from Walter Reed when a medical review board clears him.Galatas said it will be some time before he is sent back to Iraq, if he goes at all.The 150th will return from Iraq soon, and a second deployment, if it happened, would likely be at least a year away.A medical review board will determine if Galatas should be medically discharged from the Guard. His preference is continued service."I liked what I was doing," he said. "I just don't like getting blown up in a truck."
MERIDIAN — A Mississippi Army National Guard soldier, recuperating at home for injuries he received in Iraq in April, will return to Washington D.C. on Tuesday for more surgery.Sgt. 1st Class Grayson "Norris" Galatas, a member of the 150th Combat Engineer Battalion, has been home in the Martin community for about a month."I'm doing all right," Galatas said. "I still have a little trouble walking, I'm having a problem with a hand that doesn't want to work right, and having a colostomy is not one of my favorite things. But other than that, I'm OK."Galatas, 43, and four other soldiers were injured April 19, when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle.Galatas is scheduled for two rounds of surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His injuries included lacerations to his stomach, buttock and back and shrapnel wounds over much of his body.While Galatas hopes to return home for Christmas, he said he wasn't sure that would be possible.He said he will be released from Walter Reed when a medical review board clears him.Galatas said it will be some time before he is sent back to Iraq, if he goes at all.The 150th will return from Iraq soon, and a second deployment, if it happened, would likely be at least a year away.A medical review board will determine if Galatas should be medically discharged from the Guard. His preference is continued service."I liked what I was doing," he said. "I just don't like getting blown up in a truck."
posted by Auntie Tracye @ 5:14 PM
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