Family says recovery is progressing, welcomes prayers and
support
Morgan Hill – A 22-year-old Morgan Hill man who was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq Dec. 28 is scheduled for more surgery today to remove a piece of shrapnel from his chin.
U.S. Army medic David Shebib, a 2002 graduate of Central Continuation High School, will undergo the procedure at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he is recovering from injuries with his family by his side.
Shebib’s father, George, a Vietnam war veteran, said his son’s condition is improving and the family is grateful for prayers and support.
“We’re quite pleased with his progress so far,” the father said, speaking in a phone interview from Washington, D.C., where a team of neurologists, ophthalmologists and other physicians are attending to Shebib. “He’s off the feeding tube and able to move around.”
Shebib was violently injured on a road south of Baghdad when an explosive went off near his platoon. Bomb fragments covered 80 percent of his face below the nose. He suffered multiple fractures and a severed artery that caused a mild stroke. He was airlifted from the scene and taken to an Iraqi hospital for surgery. He was later transferred to a U.S. Army hospital in Germany and then to Washington, D.C. where his family joined him Jan. 1.
Shebib suffered a concussion and possible brain damage from the blast. All he remembers, the father said, is a flash of light. He has limited vision in his right eye and may need an operation to restore his sight. He’s also struggled to beat pneumonia and a stomach infection.
Nevertheless, he seems to be on the road to recovery, the father said, as the Iraq war continues to produce the highest wounded-to-fatality ratio of any war in U.S. history, thanks in part to advancements in medical science.
“He took quite a smack,” George said. “If this had happened in Vietnam he would have been dead.”
Shebib joined the Army in 2004 to learn skills to become a firefighter. He was trained as a paratrooper and a medic. He is a member of the 3,500-soldier 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, which was deployed in October.
About 3,020 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion began in March 2003. A study released Jan. 5 said for every U.S. fatality in Iraq as many as 16 soldiers are injured. The result is the highest killed-to-wounded ratio in U.S. history, according to the study’s author, Harvard University researcher Linda Bilmes.
In comparison, 2.6 soldiers were injured for every one who died in Vietnam and less than two soldiers were wounded for each death in World Wars I and II.
Readers who want to send letters of support to David Shebib may use the following address: David Shebib, c/o the Shebib Family, Mologne House, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave., NW, Bldg. 20, Washington, D.C., 20307-5001.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
