An update on Micah

Recently I posted that one of the Soldiers in Christopher's troop was ill and would require surgery followed by a recovery period at home before he would be allowed to return to Ft. Knox and complete his training. I asked for prayer request and told you I would update as soon as I heard from his mom. With her permission I am including a few passages from our last pm'ing sessions. I have taken the liberty to edit any information that I feel would be to personal or irrevelant concerning Micah's recovery. :

Sooo......we waited at the surgical station and at 8:45am, in walks Micah with his DS. He immediately grinned when he saw us, and made a mistake, he took one step towards us, but then caught himself at the same time his DS pointed him to the front desk to check in. Micah's dad didn't recognize him and was still staring at the door waiting for Micah to walk through it. I don't even know how to describe what I felt. He is at the absolute skinniest he could be without actually looking bad, he looks better and fitter than he has ever looked in his life. He couldn't stop grinning. He got the hernia on saturday and collapsed in severe pain, but was better by the time we saw him. The upper muscles he spent so much time building, he was bodybuilding before training, were gone. Same with his leg muscles. He was lean and every muscle in his body proportional, I don't know how to explain it, they build only the necessary strengths, nothing above and beyond like Micah had done. Zero fat, pure muscle, lol. And he has grown at least two inches in height, he is now taller than his dad. I normally handle everything where his dad and I go, I make the reservations, navigate while he drives, make necessary phone calls, handle the kid's lives, etc, because he worked to much and we got used to it that way, but this time I concentrated on Micah and made his dad take over, except for phone calls for info. So he went to talk to the DS while I sat with Micah, one look and he knew I was NOT going to leave Micah to talk to anyone, lol.

We got to spend the whole day with Micah at the hospital, going from test to test, dept. to dept. We went to the cafeteria and ate lunch with him. He is totally different, but in a nutshell, he is still Micah, but a mature, controlled, and self confident Micah. I have never in my life been prouder. I cannot wait until you get to spend time with Chris, I really think you are going to be so very proud and happy. Honestly Tami, it is worth all the worry, and this is from a mom that was completely against ANY of her kids joining any branch of the service. I fought like a wildcat to get him to attend college instead of the army, but once he made that decision, I of course was and am 100% behind him and support him. Micah's decision was right, the army is right for him and his argument to me was always that I taught him to trust in himself and his brain. The changes in him: physically in the best health he has ever been in his life, including childhood. Self confidence and control that he never had before. He is not a different person at all, he is a refined, improved Micah, lol. He moves differently and reacts differently, quicker more precise. He says he has changed, that he now has a greater appreciation for what he has and had. He said this because he was able to use a fork to eat his salad, lol. (yes, they took their forks away again) He said what he misses the most, besides his family, is his freedom, the freedom to choose for himself and go where and when he chooses. He said he now realizes all that he took for granted and that his family and freedoms are gifts, not rights. I was amazed at this. I observed him very closely while he was talking with his dad, huge change in them both there. Micah shows a new level of respect for his dad, partly due to dad's previous experiences as a CAV I think. They now talk man to man, not as father to son.


At lunch, he was with just us, but passed on cookies and took yogurt, stuck right to his allotted calories. I offered him my cell phone so he could call his mamaw(my mom), but he said no because he wasn't given permission. Let me tell you, that had to be the hardest thing he ever passed up because he totally adores his mamaw and papaw and misses them just as much as he misses us. At the hospital, he had a typed out sheet from his DS on exactly where to go for tests and in what order. He followed it to a T. He tuned us out while reading it, and proceeded exactly as instructed, right down to which elevator to use. We had been wandering that hospital for hours and knew shortcuts, but no way, lol. We just followed him and once he got to his destination and checked in, he then talked to us while he waited. Anyway, the First Sargeant told me that Micah was NOT to do anything but relax, no PT, nothing. They would take care of getting him back to shape when he returned, and slowly. He said that Micah tended to overdo and that they expected that he might try to start working out too soon and that I was to keep him from doing this. I laughed and said I wouldn't be able to stop him so they would have to order him not to if they didn't want him to do it. Anyway, this is rambling, but i wanted to put as much as I could remember so that you could gleen any info that you could. I know how bad it sucks not to have any information, I do know that he said since they entered the white phase, things are much much better. He said he was miserable for the first three weeks though and was just starting to get homesick. He also said the letters are what kept him going and that he does receive mail daily, from mon-fri. I asked about Chris and Matt, and he isn't sure because they are called only by last names, lol. He thinks he knows who Chris is because "one guy said that he thought his mom knew your mom". I hate that we won't get to meet you on family day, poor Micah has to have a new troop and form a whole new set of relationships. This is long, but I hope you can get something positive from it. Be prepared to be overwhelmed with pride in Chris. It is going to hit you like a hurricane. And as far as I can see so far, they aren't different people at all, they are very much still our same sons, just refined. That is for lack of a better word. Micah said he is very happy there, and loves it. So much luck with Chris and I hope you get to hear from him more now.

This was in my inbox this morning:

Micah is fine, we had a hectic two days but he is home now. Alot of tests and paperwork, instructions, etc. The surgeons at the hospital there are fantastic, much more thorough than in our home town. They found another potential problem during surgery because the surgeon did a complete check while Micah was opened up. We were told to have Micah see another doctor during his time off and if surgery for his new problem was required, which it probably will be, to get it done during his time off so that he can heal all at once.

Proud Mom of Micah



So in a nutshell Micah is doing better and I will keep everyone updated. Please continue to pray for this young Soldier.


God Bless :)
Tami