Erin Grace Trieb / PANOS
Spc. Jon Andrew Fanlo, 23, sits exhausted in the trauma center.
“We were on a routine patrol and were hit around 6 a.m. when we struck an IED on Georgia Road in the Tangi Valley,” he said. “The nurses were really cool with me. Every time I had some pain they were right there, they were always checking on me,” said Fanlo, who was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
Fanlo left Afghanistan and was sent to Walter Reed after medics discovered the extent of his injuries. “The left side of my face was numb, and so they sent me home. I was pissed off about this, I really wanted to stay,” he said. “My buddies are still over there, everyone is still over there. I didn’t want to leave my guys behind.” “When I first got to (Walter Reed) it was pretty hard,” he said. “At first, I was probably getting about an hour of sleep each night. I’m having a problem with short-term memory. But I’m getting better.” |