BlackFive

Geoffrey reminded me to update you all on Sergeant Bozik.  Here is the latest story from Texas A&M University:

Fiancee says Bozik still improving

By GREG OKUHARA
Eagle Staff Writer

Army Sgt. Joseph Bozik, who lost three limbs to an explosion while serving in Iraq, is out of intensive care and continues to improve, his fiancee said last week.

Jayme Peters, a senior at Texas A&M University, said she and Bozik even got to watch an Aggie football game recently, when the team narrowly lost to Oklahoma.

Although the outcome was disappointing for the couple, Peters said she was happy she was able to give him a kiss each time the Aggies scored. Having that contact with him after he nearly lost his life meant much more than a football game.

“He’s really lucky he made it,” she said from Washington, D.C., where Bozik is hospitalized. “We’re glad he’s doing OK.”

The soldier lost both legs and his right arm when the vehicle he was riding in near Baghdad struck a roadside bomb Oct. 27. He was flown back to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington on Nov. 1 and has undergone extensive treatment to get him on the path to recovery.

Peters said Bozik is able to talk and spends much of the day communicating with her and his family.

He told Peters he didn’t remember anything about the explosion. She said he remains optimistic about his condition and isn’t going to let his physical limitations place any constraints on how he’ll live his life.

“He’s not acting like this is the end of the world,” she said.

Bozik was taken out of the intensive care unit last week, but doctors were not able to control his pain levels, Peters said. He was placed back in ICU for a short time, but now is being cared for in the hospital’s intermediate care facility.

While Bozik receives his rehabilitation care, Peters and her mother have been looking for apartments in the Washington area so they can help take care of Bozik. His mother, Gail, also plans to move there from North Carolina while Bozik is under the hospital’s care.

The family plans to stay as long as it takes for Bozik to recover.

Additionally, Peters, a kinesiology major, is trying to find an employer for the internship she needs to graduate. She said Texas A&M is working with her to locate one.

The presence of family, Peters said, is helping Bozik as he begins his recuperation process.

“He said he’s at peace now that I’m here,” she said.

I have also heard that he is surgery again and has that Iraqi Bacteria Infection.

[Previous Sergeant Bozik Posts: Original, First Update (with pictures of Sergeant Bozik), and Second Update.]