It’s safe to say that Morgan Hill native and U.S. Army Spc.
David Shebib has fully recovered from severe injuries he suffered
in a roadside bombing incident while serving in Iraq.
It’s safe to say that Morgan Hill native and U.S. Army Spc. David Shebib has fully recovered from severe injuries he suffered in a roadside bombing incident while serving in Iraq. Last month he reached the highest point in North America by climbing Mt. McKinley in Alaska’s Denali National Park with a team of wounded veterans. And next month, he will begin his next assignment with his airborne division in Germany.
His parents welcomed him back to the family home in Morgan Hill Friday, for about a month-long stopover before proceeding overseas.
For the past 18 months Shebib, 25, was stationed at Fort Richardson, Ala., in the Warrior Transition Battalion. That followed 11 months at Walter Reed Medical Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he underwent “five or six” surgeries and intensive rehab treatment from the serious wounds he suffered Dec. 28, 2006 while serving in Iraq.
The roadside bomb Shebib’s convoy ran into while on patrol just south of Baghdad shot numerous pieces of shrapnel into his arm and lower face, severing his carotid artery. Shebib also suffered a broken right arm and a broken collar bone.
He said he has since fully recovered from the wounds, even though he was comatose in intensive care for several days following the explosion. He is pain-free, with plastic surgery to correct deep facial scarring the only remaining procedure related to the combat wounds.
So to demonstrate his recovery, Shebib participated in Operation Denali in June – an attempt by an expedition of wounded American veterans to summit Mt. McKinley, a 20,300-foot peak in Alaska.
And not only did Shebib, a paratrooper and medic, make it to the top with three other team members – two of whom were veterans – but he celebrated his reenlistment in the Army while on the summit.
Shebib said he met Lt. Col. Marc Hoffmeister in a gym at Ft. Richardson one day, and the officer told him about the upcoming expedition to the peak that is also known as Denali. As soon as he suggested that Shebib join, the 2002 Central High School graduate eagerly accepted.
“That’s right up my alley,” said Shebib Monday morning. Though he had never attempted any mountaineering or climbing trips before, his mother described him as a lifelong “risk taker,” and his father spoke of him as one who strives to overcome any challenge.
After a 12-day mountaineering training course in Denali National Park, and several months of general physical conditioning, Shebib and the rest of the team that included two amputees left for the summit June 1. Shebib, Hoffmeister, and two guides made it to the summit June 16.
Three team members, including the amputees, had to turn around, not because of their wounds but because of altitude sickness – the same reason that about half of all attempts on Mt. McKinley end without reaching the top, Shebib said.
But success was achieved as soon as the team set foot on the mountain, Shebib explained.
“Our goal was to attempt the McKinley summit like any normal person, because that’s how we want to be seen. We don’t want to be seen as having physical limitations,” Shebib said.
While he was recovering in the Wounded Warrior Unit at Walter Reed, Shebib said he met many wounded vets who “thought it was all over,” and they would never be able to do the things they did prior to their injuries. Shebib said he felt the same way at one time, but undertook the trek up Mt. McKinley to show other wounded vets they can overcome their injuries.
“You have to adapt, and continue with life,” Shebib said.
He approached his reenlistment into the Army, two and a half years after his injuries, the same way.
“They wanted me to get out of the Army, but I stuck with it and didn’t take no for an answer,” Shebib said. “Before I was injured there was some stuff I wanted to do in the Army. My dream assignment is to go to Europe with the 173rd airborne infantry brigade.”
That dream will be realized next month, when Shebib begins an assignment with the brigade in Germany.
Although Shebib’s father said the family has “mixed feelings” about the ongoing American action in Iraq, he is proud of his son’s accomplishments, including his decision to reenlist. He and David’s mother, Charlene Shebib, traveled to Alaska Father’s Day to see their son return from the summit.
“We’ve overcome intense sadness, because they wouldn’t tell us if he was going to live or not,” said George Shebib, a 72-year-old U.S. Army veteran. “Honestly, I didn’t think he was going to make it up the mountain, but I was in tears (the day they left for the summit).”
Furthermore, he praised the U.S. Department of Defense for following through with top-notch medical care to treat his son. David Shebib noted that advances in medical technology and response times over the years have made it possible for many of the 30,000 wounded Americans to survive their injuries.
In fact, an injury to Shebib’s right eye, resulting in temporary and partial loss of vision due to the roadside bomb incident, were incorporated into a wider study on the effects of explosive blast injuries.
And Shebib doesn’t mind helping others, whether it’s through his past painful experiences or hopeful inspiration to the future.
“That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to climb Mt. McKinley,” he said.
