Special to The VOICE, Conclusion
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Zacery Blaisdell, formerly of Ravensdale and Selleck and a specialist in the United
States Army, suffered severe injuries one year ago when his convoy came under enemy
attack in Afghanistan. He spent most of the past year at the now-closed Walter Reed
Medical Center in Washington, D. C. and it is expected that he will require another
year of treatment at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland where he is currently a
patient.
The first couple weeks of October 2010 constituted a particularly rough stretch
for Zac and his family. He had been in and out of constant surgeries, including
the experimental skin graft operation undertaken to save his left forearm. He had
been experiencing bouts of extreme nausea and often he couldn’t sleep. He was in
unceasing pain which, at its worst, couldn’t be fully managed even with the strongest
medications. Compounding those challenges, he was facing uncertain days ahead—both
in terms of his physical health and what the future might hold for him as a soldier.
The strain on him and his family was apparent. How it was all going to turn out,
they had no inkling. All they knew was that they were going to fight as hard for
Zac’s recovery at home as his fellow Combat Wombats of 3rd Platoon were fighting
overseas. We are “ARMY STRONG,” Zac’s mom, Leanne Blaisdell-Stevens, wrote at the
time to her sister and Zac’s aunt, Colonel Laura Ludwig, an Army trauma nurse stationed
at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. I “guess when going
thru hard times the enemy thinks you are weak,” she added, issuing a warning to
those who might reach such a conclusion that appearances could be deceiving. “But
we are strong!!!!” she underscored.
That indomitable inner strength and unwavering commitment factored forcefully in
the process of Zac’s healing. He and his medical team, his family members, friends,
and fellow soldiers, confronted his injuries with a warrior’s intensity. For Zac,
the battlefield might have changed, but the qualities that would enable him to achieve
the medical outcome he sought were the same as those that had been instilled in
him through his military training. Keeping himself centered squarely in the realm
of possibility and waging his fight with everything he could muster, Zac refused
to stand down to obstacles that could have proved debilitating.
In every sense, Zac’s recovery has been a team effort, but in so many ways he assumed
charge of the direction it would take. In consultation with his physicians and his
parents, Zac made all his own decisions. But oftentimes the route he opted to take
was simply an outgrowth of his own feelings and a sense of what he thought was best.
For example, about half the nurses at Walter Reed were civilian and the other half
were military. Zac requested that he be treated only by those that were Army, most
of whom had served in Iraq or Afghanistan and possessed, he believed, a “better
understanding of what he was going through” and had his utmost trust and confidence.
As much as he could tolerate, he also declined to take medications for pain, even
though he knew what that meant in terms of the level of his discomfort. He preferred
to do it on his own and without the aid of outside substances.
That inner resolve has paid dividends. The fixator bars that had for so long held
his arm in place have been removed and the bones and tendons in that appendage have
been surgically transplanted with steel plates, rods, and artificial bones. Months
of grafting and mending remain ahead, but it appears that Zac will qualify as the
second successful patient to have undergone the new surgery.
In the late spring of 2011, Zac underwent the long-awaited cornea transplant to
restore the vision in his right eye. And while it is too soon to know for certain,
the outlook is encouraging there also. Unaided his vision is about where it was
after the injury, but with the benefit of a powered contact lens, it is 60-20.
Finally, and as expected, Zac’s left knee has repaired itself and he can now ride
a bike. In all, he has had some thirty surgeries and is scheduled for five or six
more.
As much as the physical changes, his medical journey has impacted his perspective
on life. Although as a small boy he was baptized in a local church in the Maple
Valley area, he was never an outwardly religious person. But today, Zac credits
his faith and belief in prayer for having gotten him to where he is.
His injuries have also instilled in him a greater sense of those closest to him.
According to his mom, he now regularly says “I love you” which, before the attack
on his convoy, he rarely did.
Despite all he has been through, there has been an abiding constant that has energized
his recovery. Shortly after his arrival at Walter Reed, Zac informed his mom that
he planned on remaining in the Army and his devotion to that objective has never
wavered. His intention is as it has always been. He wants to return to his unit
in Italy. “I am not done with the Army,” he advised his father while Zac was still
a patient at Walter Reed.” I am not giving up on it yet.”
Zac’s commitment to the military is rooted in the marrow of who he is. Terry Blaisdell
says this in describing his son’s service: “Zac did this and everything he has done
in the Army on his own. He wanted to serve his country and to protect his country
and to help make it where his family—his mom and me and his sisters—could live free
and have a free life, as we are doing.” Fitting words that have poignant resonance—for
Zac, and for all our unassuming heroes—those brothers and sisters in arms who without
complaint or fanfare go out and place their lives on the line each and every day
with little expectation of anything in return other than the fulfillment of their
profound sense of duty and unbounded love of home and country.
The author wishes to thank the following individuals for their ongoing assistance
in the preparation and publication of “Zac’s Story”: Emma Beasley, Tori Blaisdell,
Leanne Blaisdell-Stevens, Terry Blaisdell, Jasmine Brown, Tina Collins, Karly Gordon,
Donna Hayes and everyone at the VOICE, Jeff Heil, Joseph Hissong, James “Jimmy”
Kreiman, Sandy Kreiman, Jordan Kurtz, Erica Lewis, Bill Lovlien, Laura Ludwig, Matthew
“Matt” Monjes, Charles Mutschler, Danielle Pilutik, SuAnn Reddick, Rudolf Schultz,
James Smith, Ursula Smith, Jason Stevens, Maria Vallejos, Adam Wakefield, Matthew
Young and, most especially, Zacery Blaisdell.
