I think my "regular" status gives me some lee-way here, but I'll abuse it for a bit of a "pitty party."

My girlfriend's brother, Josh, was hit by an IED in Iraq last Sunday. He was doing a typical patrol and trying to make sure nobody blew up anybody else. As it turns out, he's the one who got hit.

Josh is presently at Walter Reed, because he wasn't stable enough to transfer to Ft. Lewis. Future use of his legs is questionable. This is just a gentle reminder that this war impacts real people even if you don't know them directly.

I'm not religious, but given the circumstances - prayers and thoughts for Josh are greatly appreciated.

And now I'm going to (kinda) change the subject. I'd like to get Josh something to pass the time. At first I thought I'd buy him a DS. But apparently, while his hands still work, muscle control is in the "grey area". So a DS might be a bit much for him. So I was thinking some books on CD perhaps? Any recommendations? Books or otherwise?

Please keep politics to the politics thread.

I'd be happy to give him an Amazon.com gift certificate. Or I could just give it to you, and you can pick something out for him. Drop me a PM.

Wow! This is not quite what I was expecting, but thank you all! I really appreciate the support everyone has offered as does his family.

Many of his fellow soldiers, including others in his patrol, have been hurt in Iraq and need help just as much or more. For this reason, the family has asked that those who wish to contribute, please contribute to wounded soldiers as a whole. I honestly don't follow all the involved organizations, but the Red Cross has provided exceptional support to Josh's family. The Red Cross is of course not the only option, but so far they've been the most accessible and most helpful to Josh's family. They were kind enough to provide his wife with a stroller for their newborn daughter, which was
a tremendous help.

I'm going to go ahead and takes CRs offer if it's still open, however. I think it speaks volumes for not only CR himself, but this community. Not to mention, Josh could use some bitchin' tunes that only Posi can provide.

Thanks to Nwilhelmy, ClevandMike, and others who PMd me. I and Josh's family greatly appreciate your support and desire to help him personally.

I'm looking for a way to finish this message with some clear message, but it just isn't happening. Let me just say, thank you.

I feel kind of bad replying to my own thread so many times. But I just found out about "Hero Miles" (link [www.heromiles.org]), which is essentially a way of donating your airline miles to the family of those injured in IZ and AF. It's a great program, that will help my girlfriend get to DC to see her brother. I have a fair amount of miles that I'll be donating to this program.

I know we have a few military and retired military on this board, so I was looking for some help. Hotels in the DC area are incredibly expensive ($150+ a night). Is anyone aware of a program similar to the "Hero Miles" program mentioned above for hotels? Or can airline miles be applied to hotel rooms? Does the "Hero Miles" program extend to hotels? Does the military have particular resources for sibblings? They seem to take care of spouses and parents, but sibblings don't seem to be covered at all, which is quite understandable. Any info is quite appreciated.

Hello, I am CR's sister Heather and saw the link he posted on the blog to your thread. I am active duty Army and have been for more than 13 years. I would like to convey my prayers and condolences on the plight of Josh and his injuries. I know how hard it must be for him and his family. I will be donating my frequent flyer miles to the hero miles program which I hadn't heard about until now. I also would like to tell you about the Fisher House, www.fisherhouse.org , which provides military families a free or low cost place to stay while their wounded Soldiers are in the hospital recovering. Please contact the one in the DC area (6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, (202) 545-3218) to see if your girlfriend qualifies to stay there or any other family member. Also I have very good friend's who would be happy to let your girlfriend stay with them while she is visiting. I was stationed in DC prior to my assignment in Belgium, they former Army as well. If you are interested in contacting me please contact CR directly and he can give you my personal information so we can arrange something for you. We with the Army like to help in any way we can our fellow Soldier's and I hope that Josh's family is getting the excellent care and treatment they deserve. I know that we have provided movies, portable dvd players, books and calling cards to wounded Soldier's at Landstuhl as new releases are in dire need for so many troops while they recover. If you need help navigating the red tape (as it's hard for extended family to find out the right information) or need more specific information about how to help please contact me via CR. I hope this has been useful information! To everyone else, remember the news constantly reports the dead but not the thousands of men and women who are injured each day and taken to our swamped and overworked military hospitals all over the world. Please visit the fisher house site to see how you can help as it really does make a difference. I talk to the people that your donations affect every single day. Also if you are a band or musician speak to the USO or Armed Forces Entertainment about how you can go on a European, Southeast Asia or US tour that they will pay for to give the troops free entertainment. We really appreciate anyone that comes over and lately it's all country :) Take care, Heather

Just a quick update: Josh did have his left leg amputated. He's in pain, but doing well all-things-considered. We have the flight and lodgings all taken care of. The girlfriend flies out tomorrow. She wasn't able to stay at a Fisher house, unfortunately, as they are full. However, she was able to get a relatively cheap hotel nearby, so no worries.

We ended up getting Josh a DS with Phoenix Wright, Metroid Prime, and New SMB. Hopefully he'll like at least one of them. As an interesting aside, I mentioned to the salesperson that I was looking for "an adult game that wasn't overly violent" and then explained the situation to him. The first game he recommends: Trauma Center. WTF?

We're staying in denver tonight as driving her to the airport and then back so late/early is just too much for me (it is a 6AM flight, with a 2 hour drive each way).

I'll be alone for the next two weeks. I should start a new thread about what to do when the significant other is away.