When I called this morning, Aaron was highly chapped because Mom and Kelly were holding up his plans for the day. Apparently, Aaron got up and about this morning at 5 a.m. working to convince his various doctors and nurses that it would be fine for him to get out of the hospital for a day of sightseeing in the Washington, D.C. area. His campaign worked, and he was given permission to go, but when I talked to him, he was waiting on Kelly and Mom to get beautified so they could leave.
"If it were up to me, I would have been out on the streets of D.C. by 6 a.m., Haley, but it's taking the ladies three hours to get dressed," he said.
That made me laugh, because my family's general inability to get anywhere in a hurry or on a deadline is legendary. In fact, my Dad even has a name for it: Lowry Standard Time. Lowry is my mother's maiden name, and my dad has a theory that there is some kind of genetic oddity passed down from that side of the family that takes away all concept of time passing. He might be right, but somehow I think it's probably good that Aaron has someone to slow him down ... it might not be good for him to wander around D.C. for 14 hours straight. He had what sounded like a pretty ambitious agenda for all the monuments and things he wanted to see, and they were getting ready to brave the Metro system to get down to the Capitol. I'm sure there will be tall tales to tell from that adventure, so stay tuned.
Aaron also told me last night that he had his eyes checked out yesterday, and his vision is perfect in both eyes. Actually, in the eye that was injured, he has 20/15 vision, better than perfect. So now he really thinks he is Superman. We're so thankful that his eyes are going to be OK.
I'll check in tonight with the story of their day, and in the meantime, please pray that they stay safe while they're out and about.
Happy Friday.

Hey Everyone!,
I just wanted to let you all know what an encouragement you have all been. I get online at least a few times a day to check the new postings, and just to read Haley's spin on things. It is so nice to have such an easy way to read encouraging thoughts from everyone back home. Please keep it up. If there is anything you would like to tell me, just drop a line on Haley's website! I promise I will enjoy reading it.
I did have a fun day in D.C. today. I just got back and now I am cooking out steaks with T.C., the guy from Starkville. We are having a good time, and I just stopped to read the new comments and leave a note for everyone. I am still doing great. I have yet to get discouraged in the least. As much as all of you praise my ability to stay optimistic, believe me, it is easy with such love and support from back home. Another thing that keeps things in perspective for me is one of my hobbies of visiting Marines who are hurt much worse than myself. It is a great pastime because they enjoy getting a visit from a fellow brother in the Marine Corps and I enjoy encouraging them, and also realize everytime how truly blessed I am. I am looking foward to seeing Ryan this coming week, and to starting rehabilitation afterwards. Keep me in your prayers and God bless you all for your support.

Love,
Aaron Rice

A note from Haley: Several of you have asked me for an address for Aaron. At the moment, it looks like he will be going to an entry appointment at Walter Reed early next week, either Tuesday or Wednesday. Once he's admitted, we should have a new address. Until then, I would say hold off on the snail mail because it might take a while to get forwarded to him. I'll get y'all a new address as soon as we have one. Have a good evening, and keep checking in.

Aaron asked me to post this photo of him in his red Marine shirt because he thinks he looks "healthy and sexy" in it. I don't know if that's true, but it's good to know his self esteem has not been damaged. Hope y'all like this photo as much as Aaron does.
Sorry for the lack of updates today. Aaron has been out and about D.C. again and was hard to catch in his room. I actually ended up talking to Mom today, which was good. She said Aaron and Kelly went out to see a movie, and they bought Aaron a new wedding ring. I noticed in the pictures they have been sending that Aaron did not have his wedding ring on, and it turns out that it had to be cut off of his hand after the attack. He still has it, but it's got a big gap in it, so they got him a new one today. Now all the women in the hospital who notice that Aaron is healthy and sexy will also notice that he is taken.
It sounds like right now, Aaron is mostly just waiting for a space to open up at Walter Reed, so he's got a lot of time on his hands. Mom is still there with he and Kelly. She will be traveling to South Carolina with them for Ryan's graduation this week and then she will go back to Mississippi. Please continue to pray for Mom's health. She said she has been feeling sick again today and coughing. Please pray that she will be able to stay healthy through this week and then go home and rest. It's been a long two weeks.
That's about all for tonight. Tomorrow I hope to track Aaron down and talk to him in person, if he can find the time. Thanks for checking in. More tomorrow.

I got this email from Kelly this morning and she wanted it passed on to y'all. Enjoy.

Hey y'all,
As you've read in Haley's blog, we're not exactly hanging around the hospital much these days. If I had it my way, I would be sleeping all day, but Aaron is perfectly happy making his mom and I push him around Washington D.C. and the entire state of Maryland it seems, so that is exactly what we have been doing. It has been a blast. We kind of consider this a really weird sort of vacation, all expenses paid. I'm sure you all are jealous that you don't get to spend several weeks in a Naval hospital.
There are a lot of things that Aaron and I have agreed on since this whole thing happened. The main thing is that this really is not that big of a deal. We actually hardly consider this a stepping stone or a hurdle. It's just something we have to take head on just like we all have to do in life sometimes, right? Aaron's attidue is amazing, as we all know by now. He tells me all the time that he likes his "stump" and thinks it's awesome because it adds character to him. He plans on putting an Operation Iraqi Freedom sticker and a USMC sticker on his new leg because he's proud of it. He also wants to name his stump, so we are open to suggestions. Another thing we've agreed on is that we are so blessed to have been chosen by God to be an inspiration to so many. It's crazy to me the way God will change your life in a matter of seconds. I love Ryan Rayborne's comment: "God never wastes a hurt." We have already seen so many prayers answered and our little experience has so far shown us that God never closes a door without opening another.
We really are having fun here, as weird as that sounds. Aaron lets nothing get him down. The nurses are having a fit because they can never find him. They finally gave him an "official" weekend pass because they knew he wouldn't come back to his hospital room anyway. Washington D.C. was great. It was very humbling to Aaron to have Vietnam veterans go out of their way to shake his hand and thank him for his service. If you know Aaron at all, you know he is a huge history and war buff, so he was in his own personal heaven as we walked through the WWII memorial and the Vietnam memorial. We took LOTS of pictures so you will see them on this site shortly. I have a feeling we will be back at those memorials at least three times a week until it is time for us to go back to my personal heaven that is Mississippi.
We are trying hard to stay patient but Aaron is so ready to get his new leg and start running marathons. We have met so many inspirational people so far, such as T.C. Rollins (Marine from Miss.) and his faithful mom, Millie, who we will always be thankful for and never forget. In God's perfect timing, we will be back in Mississippi in our own little corner of the world. We just want to thank y'all for being so dedicated to Haley's site and keeping us encouraged. We praise God for the power of prayer. One of the last things Aaron told me before he left for Iraq was, "This will all be over with before you know it." Well I would like to pass those wise words on to you all, so you can expect us home in no time. Thank you for everything!
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." - our testimony.
Love,
Kelly

These are some photos from Aaron, Kelly and Mom's trip to the D.C. area. They saw a lot of the monuments.
I think this photo of Aaron was taken in front of part of the WW II memorial.

Aaron and Kelly in front of the Southern states part of the WW II memorial. We're fond of those states.

Mom and Aaron taking a break.

When I talked to Aaron today, he said he slept a lot today after having a pretty rough night in terms of pain. He asked for a sleep aid and was given it early in the morning, and then he fell asleep in the middle of Kelly trying to read her letter for the web site to him. Apparently she had quite a time getting him back to his bed. He slept for a long time and then took a two hour nap in the afternoon, which is good. Aaron said he has still been waking up at five a.m. no matter what because of the short sleep schedule he was on in Iraq, so sleep is good any time he can get it. When he woke up, he and Kelly and Mom made a run to the Dunkin Donuts downstairs in the hospital, and when I talked to them, they were getting ready to watch a movie. The next couple of days should be fairly low-key since Aaron is just waiting to be transferred to Walter Reed and then leave for Ryan's graduation.
Please pray that Aaron would get lots of sleep and be able to be well-rested for all the travel coming up this week. Pray that Mom would feel better and her coughing will decrease, and pray that all the details of Aaron's transfer to Water Reed will go smoothly. He and Kelly will have to wait for some apartment style housing to open up before they can move into their own space, so pray that there would be an opening soon so they can start setting up some semblance of a schedule for themselves soon.
No address for Aaron at Walter Reed yet, so please just hang on to your postal mail until we get one. Thank you all so much ... Aaron and Kelly are checking the site several times a day to keep up on their fan mail, so keep leaving them comments. That's all for tonight. More tomorrow.

Well, Aaron has escaped from National Naval Medical Center. Mom said he checked out this morning and will be considered an outpatient until he begins his rehabilitation. He and Kelly are not in the apartment-style housing they hope to be considered for during Aaron's time at Walter Reed, but are staying in a handicapped-accesible room in the hotel style place that Kelly and Mom have been staying in. Aaron will have his first appointment at Walter Reed on Wednesday morning before he leaves to attend Ryan's graduation, and will probably have his first true day of rehabilitation a week from today.
Mom said that when Aaron was checking out, he was given a good evaluation, but in that report the nurse said that Aaron has tissue damage in two places on his right knee instead of just one as we previously thought. He has to wear a brace on it when he uses crutches right now, but as far as we understand, it will require surgery sometime soon. We haven't really heard the whole story on what the damage is yet, so please pray that Aaron and Kelly can talk to someone and get a clear pictures of what kind of surgery he's looking at for that and how long it will take to make that knee fully functional.
More tonight.

Prior to Aaron and Ryan becoming Marines, we have not been a military family. Perhaps that explains how foreign the process of all of this has seemed to us, although I suspect that there’s really no amount of information that can prepare you for an event of this nature. But in spite of the difficulties of the last few weeks, we have been blessed to stumble upon or be sought out by the following organizations who make it their sole mission to assist military families in times of crisis. If you want, take a minute to stop by the Web sites of these organizations.
Soldier’s Angels, www.solidersangels.com, performs multiple services for deployed or injured soliders including an adopt a solider program which allows an individual or organization to choose a soldier to write to or send a care package. They also make themselves available to families of injured troops and helped us find the next organization listed here:
Operation Hero Miles, www.heromiles.org, allows organizations and individuals to donate frequent flier miles into a fund for soliders and their families. If I am not mistaken, our family took advantage of Operation Hero Miles during the last several weeks. This is an interesting program, because a provision for these donations was actually signed into law as part of the 2005 Defense Appropriations Bill. Information on how to donate miles is on the site. We can attest to the fact that an event like this makes for a lot of unexpected travel for families, and any help with the expense of that is greatly appreciated.
The Fisher House is another great organization. Here is some information from their web site, but to learn more, visit www.fisherhouse.org.
“Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times - during the hospitalization for an unexpected illnes, disease, or injury. Annually, the Fisher House program serves more than 8,500 families, and have made available more than 1,500,000 days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990.”
Also, the Web site address for Walter Reed, where Aaron will be doing his rehabilitation, is www.wramc.emedd.army.mil. They have a lot of really interesting information there, if anyone wants to learn more about it.
Just thought that might make for some fun light reading for y'all. If you have trouble with the links here, I'm sure you can just Google the names of the organizations and find their sites easily.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.
I talked to Mom today and it sounds like she and Aaron and Kelly will be busy today and tomorrow getting Aaron all checked in at Walter Reed and then getting ready to leave for South Carolina. Aaron is considered an outpatient right now, as I mentioned before, which means he and Kelly are responsible for staying on top of his medications and such. There’s a lot of that sort of thing to do, so pray that it will all go smoothly, since Aaron will be far away from his doctors this week. In a pretty funny note, we’ve been told that our family is supposed to sit in the VIP seating area at Ryan’s graduation, which is somewhat disconcerting, so please pray that we don’t fall off the podium or embarrass ourselves or Ryan in any way. We’re not really accustomed to being Very Important anything, and I have a feeling funny stories are forthcoming.
Please pray for safe travel for our family this week. I’ll be taking a flight from Albuquerque to Jackson tonight and then driving to South Carolina with Dad and the girls. Kelly and Mom and Aaron will all by flying to South Carolina on Wednesday, and then there will be a variety of return trips. All told, we’ll be covering a lot of miles and we’d appreciate your prayers for smooth, safe travel.
With that, I am afraid that the site is going to be very low on updates for the next few days. I won’t be back home again until Sunday and it is very doubtful that I will have Internet access in the meantime. So, if you have any pressing questions, send an email to my wonderful husband, Dan, at daniel@wachdorf.com. If I get any information during my visit that I think y’all might want ASAP, such as an address for Aaron and Kelly while Aaron is at Walter Reed, I will give it to Dan and he can post it. Incedentally, I need to thank Dan for living with me the last few weeks as I have been something of a basketcase and have had my hands glued to our laptop for hours at a time keeping up with email and posting updates. He's also provided wonderful technical service for the site, which, people, is getting roughly 1,500 hits a day, WAY more than it ever has. It's to his credit that it hasn't crashed or had any major complications. To show your appreciation, if you live in the Albuquerque metro area, feel free to feed Dan while I’m gone. He’s being really sweet about the fact that I am going away and leaving him all alone for most of the week, and I don’t want him to starve.
On that note, I will say farewell for now. Feel free to keep on leaving comments for Aaron, since he will be able to check them once he gets back to D.C., and please pray for our trip. We love and appreciate you all so much.

Oh, people. What a weekend. There is so much to tell y'all that I am overwhelmed. But at the moment, I am also on my way out the door to work. So you'll have to wait until tonight for the whole story. In the meantime, we do have a couple of prayer requests for y'all.
Today, Aaron should begin his first set of therapy appointments at Walter Reed. This is the beginning of a very important phase because this is the place and these are the people who are going to help Aaron walk again. But it's not all going to happen today. It's going to be a long process, and, like the rest of this, I'm sure it will have its ups and downs for Aaron and for Kelly. Please pray that God would give Aaron's therapists wisdom, give Aaron patience and perserverance and help Kelly to know the best way to support Aaron during this time. She's been doing a great job at that, by the way.
Also, Ryan, our newest Marine, is now home on a ten day leave. He and Aaron were able to spend some time together this weekend, but it was fragmented and brief. Right now, Aaron is trying to find a way to get Ryan up to Maryland to visit for a few days during his leave. Things look good for that working out, but pray that all the details would be taken care of. I know it would mean the world to Aaron and Ryan to be able to spend some time together.
More tonight, and possibly a family member letter posted during the day if I can get to it. Have a good Monday, and leave Aaron some encouragement for his first day of therapy.

Here is something that Mom gave me to post before I left home this weekend. Mom, just so y'all know, is back home in Mississippi now, after three weeks in Maryland. Dad and the girls are ecstatic to have her back. I'm sure they'll be celebrating Mom Appreciation Week for the next few days. Please continue to keep Mom in your prayers. She really needs to rest after what has been an exhausting few weeks. With that, here is what she wrote to y'all:

Dearest and loved family and friends:
Please know that we have all been richly nourished by your many prayers on our behalf. I hope soon to be able to write some words here in keeping with such lovely things as have already been put down.
For now, I wanted to share a song by Mo Leverett which holds more meaning for me at the moment than my own thoughts are capable of.
A debtor to all in Christ,
Debbie.

Things Disguised
by Mo Leverett

"Brokeness makes pure my heart, as slowly it refines the rotten views that plague me so and rest within my mind.
Sadness is a treasure found, for then it is my chore to leave my old and weary way and search for something more.
Weakness, it defines the Strength in Whom I hope and trust. For Christ has breathed new breath in me and changed to gold my dust.
Poverty crowns my head and seeks to change my mind. It teaches me of priceless truths and riches God designed.
All these things are things disguised, for few have seen their worth. But I will hold them dear to me until I leave this earth."

Editorial note from Haley: For those of y'all who don't know, Mo Leverett is an ordained PCA pastor who is the founder of Desire Street Ministries, a work devoted to reclaiming and revitalizing the Desire neighborhood in the heart of New Orleans. In 1990, when Mo and his family moved to begin this work, the centerpiece of the neighborhood was the very large Desire Street housing project, which, at the time, was ranked as the worst in the country, a place of extreme violence and poverty. The project buildings themselves have since been condemmed by the government and torn down in order for new buildings to be raised, but the surrounding neighborhood is still one of great need. Over 14 years, the focus of Mo and DSM has been to raise up Christian leaders from within this community who are committed to seeing the neighborhood become a place of hope and peace through the spreading of the gospel of Christ. The physical ministry has grown to include a church, a ministry center, a school, and, I believe, a medical clinic.
In addition to this life's work, Mo is also a very talented musician who has produced multiple albums of songs that deal with everything from the reigning superiority of New Orleans to all other towns in the South to issues of poverty, and violence and the hope of God's redemption in the midst of so much darkness.
I was privileged to be an intern at Desire in the summer of 2000 and I have never seen life in quite the same way since. For more information about DSM or Mo's music, both of which are well worth your money and your time, visit www.desirestreet.org.

Below is posted a column that I recently wrote. But first, here is a long disclaimer about how this column came to be and why you poor, innocent people are being subjected to it at this time:
Every few weeks, the editor of the newspaper where I work has the bad judgement to give me a turn to write a personal column that runs in our Lifestyles section. Usually, I write funny, lighthearted things because I don’t have a lot of really serious or deeply personal points I am dying to discuss in front of our 20,000 readers. That’s because of an odd and little-known truth about the kind of people who go into print journalism: Although we are willing to write things that thousands of people will read, we actually tend to be kind of an introverted and shy bunch. Go ahead and laugh, but it’s true. The kids who grew up to write for a living were most likely nerds who spent a lot of time listening to other people’s conversations and feeling vaguely out of place at parties and stayed up all night in the campus newspaper office. Journalism is the only thing that enables us to feel confident going up to total strangers and asking questions. It’s almost like having a superhero alter ego. Outside of that framework, we’re basically the same geeky, shy kids we always were. (I’m pretty sure this doesn’t hold true for people who go into TV news, but that’s not even remotely the same thing.)
My point is that because of this tendency, writing something about your personal life in the newspaper is a little bit more frightening than writing about anything else. It’s like putting a piece of yourself out in the public eye to be scrutinized and maybe laughed at. So if it’s too personal, you tend to withold it.
But there are also moments when you just have to write about something. When we first learned that Aaron was going to Iraq, I wrote about that, and because of the column, a great many people in the community where I cover schools and government let me know that they were going to be praying for our family. Because of their love and support for me, practically a stranger, it only seemed natural to write a column about what has now happened.
Aaron read the column during our trip to Parris Island and claimed that he loved it, although he may have been lying just to humor me. He also insisted that I post it here. So, if you cry and short out your keyboard, or find something in this column totally objectionable, know that it is Aaron’s fault that you ever had to read it in the first place. The column is always called People and Places and it was originally printed in the Valencia County News-Bulletin in New Mexico on April 2, 2005. Also, for the sake of accuracy, when I wrote the column I still thought I would be going to see Aaron in Bethesda instead of at Parris Island.
Enjoy. I’ll have something real for you to read posted here as soon as possible.

People and Places
By Haley Wachdorf
News-Bulletin Staff Writer

Friday, March 18, was just another day for me. I came to work, wrote a story, went to a school to take some photos, and then went home. I remember that I was in a really happy mood as I was driving down Highway 47 looking at the beautiful countryside and thinking about all the little errands I needed to take care of on Saturday.
I didn’t know that at that very moment on the other side of the world, my brother was gravely injured, lying in a building west of Baghdad waiting for the fighting around him to subside enough that a helicopter could land and take him to a hospital.
It has been about six months since my family learned that Aaron, one of my two Marine brothers, would be deployed to Iraq. Since he left in January, I think each member of my family has visualized what would happen if we ever had to hear news telling us that Aaron had been killed in combat. It’s a morbid thing to do, but somehow it’s impossible not to think about it.
In my vision of that moment I hoped would never come, I knew that I would be told on the phone, most likely by my mother, and that I would know something terrible had happened immediately, because my mother would be crying.
On Saturday morning, just as I was starting in on my second cup of coffee, the phone rang. My husband answered it. He handed the phone to me. It was my mom, and she was crying.
Some people claim that when you get close to dying, your life flashes before your eyes. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that in the moment when I thought Aaron was dead, it was like someone had flipped a switch that turned off all the lights in the world and started a rapid-fire series of images in my mind.
Instead of my kitchen cabinets, which were inches from my face, I saw Aaron when we were little, clinging to the top of the magnolia tree in our yard with his twin brother, Ryan. I saw them walking in front of me on the way to school on cool fall mornings, starting off at a casual walk and then eventually breaking out into a full run, racing one another to the stop sign at the end of our street. I saw them dangling their skinny, tanned legs out of the window of our two-story playhouse, daring one another to jump out into the summer twilight. I saw them land safely and roll around in the grass, holding their sides in hysterical laughter at their brush with gravity.
Then I tried to picture it all without Aaron. Ryan without his brother and best friend Aaron. Kelly, Aaron’s beautiful wife, without Aaron. I tried to see our big loud family, with our marathon meals and poker games and fireworks and inside jokes and constant laughter, only with four kids instead of five.
This is the moment when the nightmare comes true for some families, and my heart breaks for them.
But for me, a few seconds after that moment, the words my mom was saying to me suddenly turned into English again, and I realized that Aaron was alive. The Humvee he was driving in Iraq struck an improvised explosive device planted by insurgents, and Aaron was injured in the explosion. His leg had to be amputated below the knee after he was taken to Germany by helicopter.
It’s not good news. The idea that someone would lie in wait to hurt or kill someone you love so much is absolutely hateful. Knowing that my brother will have to go through life without his leg makes me sad.
But I’m thankful that we don’t have to go through life without him.
In the next week or so, I’m going to travel to National Naval Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to see Aaron. He is recuperating marvelously and will be learning to walk with a prosthetic leg soon.
When I see him, I’m not sure if I’m going to hug him or beat him senseless with hospital pillows for frightening all of us so much, but I know that I’m going to talk to him for hours and hours.
Because I still can.

I'm sure there are families that would just breeze through a 13 hour one-way trip in the car as if it were as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I'm sure these families also regularly drive across the surface of the moon in their sugar-powered space cars to pick up their pet dinosaurs from the galactic pet groomers. But here in this universe, that is one long car ride, I don't care who you're with. The trip to Parris Island wasn't so bad on the way out, in the daylight. But on the way back, as we drove across Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi from 5:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., on a route that included one of dad's famous "shortcuts" to avoid driving through Atlanta, a level of delerium was reached in that Chevy Suburban that I hope never to experience again. Mom and I collapsed into hysterical laughter over absolutely nothing around 2 a.m. in the highly questionable bathroom of an equally-questionable gas station in Alabama. It's laugh or fall asleep at the wheel. So we laughed.
Aside from the trip back, the rest of the Parris Island invasion went very well. Dad and Hannah and Audrey and I arrived in Savannah at about 10 p.m., just in time to pick up Aaron, Kelly and Mom from the airport. It was so good to see them. Aaron really looks great, in spite of being thinner than I've seen him in a long time. He's even got this chic hollowed out cheeks look going. If you're familiar with our family at all, you know we have cheeks of a size that defies explanation, so I take that as a sign that Aaron has really lost some weight. Although I'm sure I'd lose weight, too, if I had to eat hospital food.
On Thursday morning, we loaded up and went to Family Day, where the new Marines are presented with their Eagle, Globe and Anchors and then given liberty for about 6 hours to go out with their families. This is when the surreality started. I mentioned that we had been told that we were going to be seated in some sort of VIP area. What they didn't tell us was that the story of Ryan enlisting after Aaron was on his way to Iraq and then Aaron being injured but still making it to Ryan's graduation from basic training had taken on a life of its own, circulating through the Marine world at a rapid pace. The result was that every third person we encountered, it seemed, knew who we were. We did, indeed, sit in VIP seating, where we met some actual VIPs, including Brigadier General Richard Tryon, the commanding officer for Parris Island and various other military officials all of whom were very, very kind to us. Then the recruits started marching in, and we started looking for Ryan. We eventually picked him out of the crowd, although we were somewhat thrown off by the military-issued glasses he was wearing, which were not flattering to say the least. Check them out:

Because Ryan is going to absolutely kill me when he finds out I put that photo up, here is a photo of him with his usual contact lenses restored. He's very, very handsome, ladies.

We got to hug Ryan and were standing around talking when the boys started being approached by reporters. It was kind of fun for me, as a reporter, to stand back and watch other people do what I do all the time. We were there for an hour while the boys did interviews for print, television and radio media outlets. For some reason, we all kept taking pictures while this was going on. I'm sure the TV people wanted to choke us for making their footage look like there was a strobe light pulsating in the background the whole time. But take it from me, you can't choke the family of the people you're interviewing, so we survived. Then we were sent over to the Public Affairs office for the Island, and the boys did an interview and photos for their newspaper as well. The public affairs officer who conducted the interview is planning to let us know how we can see copies of that article when it comes out ... the others we have no idea about, but we'll give you all links to them if we find out how.
Before we left the offices, we also met the Marine mascot bulldog. Here are Kelly and Audrey instructing the dog on how to salute them.

Then, I am pleased to report, we went out and ate some of the best fried chicken I've ever had in my life. Say what you want about our family, but we take our eating very seriously, and I think the people at the place we went called Traditions probably wished they had charged us a more extravagant fee when they saw the sheer volume of food we consumed, all while talking. It was a shocking display of bad manners, and it was great fun. We learned that on the rifle range, Ryan scored high enough to be a "Rifle Expert," the highest score ranking, I think. When Aaron was in basic training, he scored one level below that. I find it amusing that in spite of their apparently deadly shooting skills, the boys and Dad have come home empty-handed from the majority of their deer hunts over the years.
Then Ryan had to go back to his barracks (is that the right word, Marine people?) for the night and we all went back to our hotel. After taking naps that we really, really needed, most of us gathered up in one of the hotel rooms and talked for a long time. It was really encouraging to me to talk to Aaron. I'm the only one who hadn't so far, besides Ryan, so it was really good for me. He is doing very well, like I've been telling all of you, but it was nice to see that for myself. I also had fun with Kelly, because we always laugh together. I'm very impressed that Kelly has kept up her sense of humor in spite of joining our family. Perhaps we give her more material for humorous thoughts.
On Friday morning, we went to Ryan's official graduation ceremony, which was quite impressive. I've only personally been to one or two major military ceremonies in my life, and it always amazes me how they manage to get so many people to do the same thing all at once. A lot of practice, I suppose. Here are some photos we took after the graduation.

Aaron and Ryan

A very suspicious group of people: Aaron, Ryan, Audrey, Hannah, and Haley.

Since the boys looked so very handsome and manly, we had them pose for a few photos. Here is one of those photos: Notice their very serious Marine-like expressions.

And, finally, the whole family, minus my husband Dan. A beautiful sight to behold, if I do say so myself.

Also as part of the celebrity treatment, several former drill instructors of Aaron's and other DIs on the Island asked Aaron to speak to their current platoons of recruits about his experiences in Iraq. Aaron gave them what was really a very good speech considering that the first one he was asked to do was very impromptu. By the third speech, he had it down to a science, and really told the recruits some good things about how what they are learning in basic will be important in a combat situation. Aaron was really honored to be asked, and I think he enjoyed the opportunity to make recruits yell "Aye, Sir!" at him repeatedly until he was convinced that they had screamed as loud as was humanly possible.
You can see from the photos that the trip was a lot of fun, and well worth the long drive. We're all so proud of Ryan, and it was so good to have the whole family together. We are thankful to the folks at Parris Island for making us feel so welcome, and to all of y'all for praying for our safe travel. I'm hoping to talk to Aaron later tonight and found out how his day went, but I'm sure I've posted more than enough material here to keep you busy reading for a long time. Until tomorrow, then. Goodnight.

I think we're now up to a record-breaking five blog posts in one day, but we need y'all to pray about something tonight. Aaron has had a bit of a setback in terms of his recuperation. At his examination today, his doctors found that although a majority of the skin that covers what he affectionately refers to as his "stump" has done well, a portion of that skin that had formerly appeared to be bruised is now dead skin. They had hoped it would heal and regenerate itself, but it didn't happen. Tomorrow morning, Aaron will have to have a surgery to remove that dead skin. He will spend several days recuperating from that and allowing the newly-exposed area to be cared for, and then he will have to have some skin removed from his thigh to make a skin graft. The whole process, we're told, will take three weeks to a month depending on how well he heals. This is very dissapointing, because Aaron had hoped to be able to begin his physical therapy at Walter Reed today, and now he has been readmitted to Bethesda Naval. In the grand scheme of things, this actually just means that Aaron is now going to be spending closer to the usually allotted amount of time to heal. Six weeks or so is average; Aaron was only injured three weeks ago. But it is frustrating to Aaron, who is getting very tired of being in a wheelchair all the time and just wants to walk. Please pray that God and the people around Aaron would be an encouragement to Aaron in spite of this bad news. Please also pray that Aaron's surgery tomorrow morning will go well. He will be under general anesthesia, and I will let you all know as soon as he comes out of surgery.
Thank you. We love you all.

Aaron had his surgery this morning and is awake now. Mom said when she talked to Kelly, Aaron was in some pain, so pray that they'll manage to get that under control soon. I'll try to call Kelly myself tonight and post more information. Thank you all for your prayers. And, by the way, I am also going to try to sort out with Kelly what would be the best way to get mail to she and Aaron right now. Plans have changed a bit in that they planned to be at Walter Reed and are now back at Bethesda, so bear with us and we'll get you a new address soon.
Thanks to all of you. Please keep praying.

Hey folks.
I just talked to Kelly, and, briefly, Aaron. He's been out of anesthesia since around noon, and unfortunately, he's still in a lot of pain. When he was in the surgery to remove the dead skin from his amputation site, his doctors also did some work on the sizable gash Aaron has on his right foot. It has been stitched up for a couple of weeks, and they needed to go in and remove some dead tissue from the cut to make sure it doesn't get infected. This didn't sound like all that big of a deal since Aaron really hasn't complained much about the pain from the amputation, much less the cut on his foot, so we didn't expect it to be very bad. But as it turns out, it is extremely painful. Aaron's doctors have given him a regular dose of morphine on top of his usual regiment of painkillers, but it doesn't seem to be making much of a dent in his pain. Tonight, please give us all the prayers you can for Aaron's pain to diminish so that he can sleep. From what the doctors are saying, it may continue to hurt him for the next several days, and if that's true, this is going to be an unpleasant week. Please also pray for Kelly. I know it is hard on her to see Aaron in pain. Pray for the rest of us while you're at it, and leave us some encouragement in the comments section. We could certainly use it.
Aaron told me to call him back later tonight because he wants to talk. I'll post a report after I talk to him then.
Thank you.

I just talked to Aaron and he isn't in very much pain anymore. That's a huge relief. It turns out that the reason he was in so much pain wasn't because of the procedure, but because after he had the procedure on his foot, someone got a little overzealous with an ACE bandage and wrapped his foot up so tight that he had no circulation to his foot and it started swelling. Aaron said once they loosened up the bandage, the pain went away instantly. It's good to know that Aaron doesn't have to expect that level of pain for the next few days. Now we should just pray for him to sleep tonight and also pray for mercy for whoever tries to put an ACE bandage on him next. I have a feeling they're going to be getting some in-depth supervision from their patient.
Goodnight, y'all. Thank you for praying. At least the mistake was figured out before Aaron spent the whole night in pain.

Drum roll, please: Here's how to get mail to Aaron for the next month or so.

Lcpl Aaron Rice (or Mrs. Kelly Rice)
Bethesda Navy Lodge
Bldg #52
8901 Wisconsin Ave. Rm. 107
Bethesda, MD 20889

Also an excerpt from a note Kelly sent with the address.
"As of 11:01 pm on Tuesday, Aaron is doing awesome. Pain is a 0 on a scale of 1-10. Praise God. Love you!
Until tomorrow,
your sister-in-law."

I'm so proud of my sister-in-law.
Send mail, everybody.

When I spoke with Aaron just now he was highly chapped because his doctors and nurses have declared him to be on "bed rest" and got on his case for having left his room in a wheelchair without permission a few times yesterday. The technical definition of "bed rest," it turns out, is that you are supposed to STAY IN BED. Aaron has been known to have bouts of selective hearing in the past, and it seems that he is still trying to negotiate the terms of his confinement to include occasional jaunts in his wheelchair. However, it sounds like the doctors are standing pretty firm on this, and he is coming to grips with the fact that he is pretty much going to have to stay in his bed for most of the next few days. Kelly is bringing his X-box to him, and he is going to get all set up to watch lots of movies and play lots of video games. Pray that Aaron will have the patience to follow his doctors' orders and that the time will pass quickly for him.
One of the odd things you learn when a family member spends a long period of time in a military hospital is that there are constantly celebrities and other people of note parading through the halls just to visit troops. Case in point: since Aaron has been at Bethesda, he has met Miss USA (Or Miss America. I'm not up on my vital pageant statistics.) an aspiring country singer from Nashville who performed two songs for him, and, today, the New England Patriots. Aaron had just finished talking to them when I called. So depending on how you feel about the Patriots, Miss America and country music, you should either be jealous of Aaron or feel sorry for him.
Aaron said he hasn't been in any pain today, which is great, and thank you all so much for praying for him yesterday. Please keep praying.
More tonight.

Aaron is still playing his X-box and hating bed rest. But he had some diversion today even after the visit from the Patriots when various military officials came by to visit troops, and he enjoyed visiting with them. Also, I forgot to mention that on Monday, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Mississippi's First Lady Marsha Barbour came to visit Aaron and Kelly. Aaron worked on Governor Barbour's gubernatorial campaign in 2003, and it was a great experience for him. The Governor brought along Ryan Annison and Joe Cloyd, both friends of Aaron's from the campaign who, I believe, now work on the Governor's staff in Jackson. Aaron really enjoyed talking to all of them, and we really appreciate them taking time out of their extremely busy schedules to spend some time with Aaron and Kelly. I know it brightened his spirits. Probably even more than meeting Miss America. Very probably.
Please pray tonight that Aaron will be able to sleep well tonight and that tomorrow will provide him with some entertainment so that the bed rest is more bearable. Thanks.

So first, some bad news. I'm going to be leaving you for a few days. But, never fear, our dauntless hero, Kelly, has agreed to take over posting updates in my absence. As for why I am running out on you, I am going to Arizona with my husband, Dan, to celebrate our upcoming second anniversary. Our anniversary is actually on Tuesday, April 19, but we are going to spend a few days in Phoenix and Scottsdale to celebrate.
This is a photo from our wedding.

The reason we are doing the celebrating a little early is because in addition to celebrating our anniversary with my handsome husband, I also get to spend it with U2. We actually managed to get tickets to the Phoenix show on the Vertigo tour, so this time tomorrow night, we'll be doing a very good impression of people who want to hear music so loud that their ears ring for two days.
A note for our older readers: U2 is a rock band from Ireland. They have been hugely popular for longer than I have been alive and, reportedly, put on a fantastic live show. Unfortunately, the name U2 sounds kind of like the words "You, too," when you say them. This lead to the following conversation between my mom and I.
Me: "Yeah, we're going to go to Phoenix in April and see U2."
Mom: "Wait. How are you going to see me in Phoenix too? I'm not going to Phoenix."
To mom's credit, it's pretty much my fault that she missed the 1980's. I love you, mom!
Dan and I got married two years ago on April 19, and I can't believe how quickly those two years went by. I'm sure I'll be saying something similar at our 50th wedding anniversary, only I'll be talking louder, because I will have destroyed my hearing at rock concerts in my twenties. ("I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S BEEN 50 YEARS, DAN! WHAT?")
It is fitting that we are celebrating this way. On the day Dan and I got married, I drove myself to the church to meet my bridesmaids and get dressed. I had my wedding dress in the back seat, and I was so happy that it was FINALLY April 19, and I was getting married to Dan. And I was listening to U2's song "Beautiful Day," with the windows down, almost bouncing up and down in my seat from sheer giddiness. That was the start of the happiest day of my life, which turned into the start of the happiest two years of my life. Here's to many, many more. I'll talk to you all again after I get back into town on Sunday.

As you all know, I (Kelly) have taken on the responsibility of keeping you updated with everything happening on our side of the world, for a few days at least. Congratulations Haley and Dan on your anniversary, I hope U2 gives you the same VIP treatment Parris Island did and I can only hope that Aaron and I are as happy as y'all are after two years of marriage.
Well, on this absolutely perfect Thursday afternoon, Aaron continues to sit patiently in his hospital room keeping himself busy with Halo 2, his newfound love. Halo 2 is an addicting X box video game for those of you not familiar with this form of entertainment. Aaron's doctor came in this morning and said everything looks great and has scheduled a skin graft for Monday morning. Maybe we should all start praying early for this procedure because we've heard from other Marines it is very painful. It is supposed to feel like a really bad sunburn and is supposed to hurt pretty bad for about five days. Aaron is not very worried about it though. I guess after losing a leg, he can handle a sunburn. We've learned to laugh at the situation and make it funny. We always make jokes about how I never have to worry about his mismatched socks and I only have one foot to massage, so really this is a good thing.
A special visitor is scheduled to arrive this evening, and that is Ryan. He is flying into Washington D.C. tonight and will stay until Monday, I believe. I have warned him that sitting around in a hospital room is surprisingly not very entertaining, but I know he just wants to sit and talk to Aaron and exchange boot camp stories. I can't wait to see the way Aaron shows Ryan off to every person in this hospital. They are so proud of each other and it is going to take a powerful force of nature to separate them on Monday.
On a side note, there is a dinner tonight honoring heroes at Lone Star Restaurant, so at least we get to dodge hospital food for a change. I made Aaron's doctor promise me we would be able to go, regardless of whether he was on bed rest or not. So Aaron had to promise his doctor he would be a good Marine and not get out of bed until it was time to leave tonight. A change of scenery is always a good thing.
We still have not really been given a time frame of how long we will be here, but we are guessing at least another six to eight weeks to ensure adequate rehab time. Please pray for patience, especially during this waiting period. We can't wait to get home. But as of today, everything is great. Aaron is in very little pain, if any, and is trying to keep himself busy until Ryan gets here. I will try to get ya'll at least two updates a day while Haley is gone, so keep checking up on us and please continue sending comments!

I have to apologize for only writing one update yesterday. It was pretty late when we got back to the hospital and I pretty much crashed because we ate as if it were our last meal ever. We are pretty sure Lone Star will never invite 15 Marines back for a free dinner again.
As it turns out, Ryan did not make it in time to eat with us but he was waiting for us when we got back. I am still amazed every time I look at him because he really looks like a Marine. The pictures do not do justice. I guess unless you've been surrounded by Marines for the past few weeks you might not understand, but you would think Ryan has been a Marine a lot longer than one week. Don't worry, he is still a very goofy Ryan Rice. It's going to take a lot more than 13 weeks of boot camp to wipe that goofy grin off his face. But he still wants everybody to know he's a "hardcharger devildog." In the few hours I have been around the Rice boys today, I learned how to make a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the Drill Instructors seeing me and how to get my hummer in perfect condition for a convoy, and everything between. In other words, there is no need to wonder what the conversation has been about.
I think they started getting a little antsy talking about war and the Marine Corps, so they decided to blow some steam and play Halo 2 together. That was my cue to leave the room and let them be boys.
We have had a few more visitors lately which have made the time pass quickly. The Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps came by yesterday to talk to Aaron again. This time around, Aaron was much more alert and told them his plans for the future, which is to stay in the Marine Corps and go through OCS (Officer Candidate School) to become an officer. This is a rigorous 12 weeks of physical training, and no Marine has ever gone through with a prosthetic that we know of. Leave it to Aaron to make history.
Today will be a very relaxing day, hopefully. Ryan makes everything so fun. I'm especially grateful he is here while Aaron is chained (not literally) to his bed.
Well I'm going to cut it short right here so there might be something to write about later today. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Another exciting day at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
Today has been lazy but somehow it seemed to have flown by. I guess that's a good thing. Last night we were invited to another dinner honoring the injured Marines. We have become good friends with the other Marines here on the fifth floor. We have sort of created a family environment around here because most of the Marines and their families "graduated" from ICU and moved up to the fifth floor around the same time. Aaron has become a huge motivator to other guys, especially to those who have lost limbs.
On Thursday, we were visited by Representative Gene Taylor from Mississippi. Not only did he bring Aaron a big bucket of shrimp, he also brought Aaron the opportunity to intern for him in Washington D.C. while he is finishing his rehab at Walter Reed. Aaron will receive college credit for this and hands on experience, which can only be extremely beneficial to his future career in politics. Shrimp is good, internship -- priceless.
Today has involved lots of Xbox, several trips to McDonalds, naps and plans to order pizza and watch Napolean Dynamite tonight, probably quoting every word of it the whole way through because we are Rices and we do that kind of thing a lot.
I am pretty anxious about the skin graft on Monday, but Aaron is ready. After this procedure, he is on a straight path to complete recovery and will be ready in no time to throw that new leg on and get back to Mississippi. When exactly that will be, we don't know. What I do know is that no matter where Aaron is in his rehab process, we will be in Corinth, Miss., on June 4 for my roommate Megan's wedding. Don't worry Megan, I would not miss it for the world. Supposedly there is an engagement bug in my old apartment because every girl who has ever lived there has either gotten engaged or married not too long after moving in.
Going back to the Rice boys, Ryan has definitely provided us entertainment since he arrived. No matter how long he and Aaron are separated, they pick up right where they left off. Just to keep you all updated on Ryan, he is leaving here Monday evening and on Tuesday morning he is flying out of New Orleans to Camp Geiger, North Carolina for MCT (Marine Combat Training). MCT is three weeks of intense training out in the field. Marines love it. From there, he will report to 29 Palms, California for six weeks of training in Field Communication School. Hopefully by August we will all be back in Starkville, Mississippi together.
Please continue to pray for Aaron's strength and patience. We all know there is nothing stopping him, but we have been told to expect some frustrating times. For now, I will leave you with some wise words from Aaron. "I know this was in God's plan, so who am I to ask 'why me?' There is a reason for all of this and I'm not going to let it stop me from doing what I want to do."
Kelly.

A note from Haley: Kelly has been great about keeping you all updated by emailing me while I am in Arizona. I have then been posting her updates whenever I have time and Internet access. The Internet access part has been sketchy ... Phoenix, Arizona sounds like a technologically with it place, but you'd be surprised. Anyway, just to give you all some warning, Dan and I will be traveling back to Albuquerque tomorrow and unless I can post something before we leave for the airport around 11 a.m., then there won't be anything to read until Sunday evening. Thanks for your patience, and thanks again to Kelly. I'm going to give her her own byline on the site: Kelly Rice, Bethesda Correspondent. Goodnight, y'all.

Haley here. Sorry for the break in posts. Dan and I got into town last night and I haven't heard from Kelly since then. I am hoping to talk to her soon. I am pretty sure that today has been very busy, because Aaron was scheduled to have his skin graft done sometime today. Until we have more information, please pray for that. As Kelly told y'all, it is supposed to be a very painful thing to have done, and it means that Aaron really really can not get out of bed for several days because the graft has to be treated very carefully so that it will work. Please pray that Aaron's pain will be as minimal as possible and that this procedure will be succesful. We'd like to just go through this the one time and have it over with.
On a less important note, our trip was great, but today I am home sick with what I have been told is some strange variant of strep throat. This is nasty stuff, y'all, so while you're praying for Aaron, pray for me. I don't really have time to be sick. I keep telling Dan this like he's going to be able to snap his fingers and make me not sick anymore. I do, at least, have prescription drugs now, so I am preparing to crash in a haze of Kleenex and Gatorade and hope to feel better in a couple of days.
More on Aaron soon.

Well, the good news is that Aaron is out of surgery and he's not in a lot of pain. The bad news is that he didn't have his skin graft done today after all. Aaron needed to be under general anesthesia anyway because the doctors were doing another "washout," where dead tissue is removed from his wounds, but once they finished with that, they decided that they want to wait a few more days before going ahead with the graft. It's OK, because we want them to do it right when they do it, but it adds a couple more days on to the whole process. Right now, it's looking like the graft may be done on Wednesday, so pray that Aaron will continue to heal up and be ready for it then.
Aaron told me that Ryan left Bethesda today, which is sad news for Aaron. But Aaron said they had a great visit, and I think it was really good for Aaron to have Ryan there at least part of the time he's stuck in bed. Aaron and Ryan can do some serious talking, and after such a long separation, I'm sure they had a lot to cath up on. I told Kelly I thought she should slip out during one of their Marine discussions and take herself shopping or get a massage, but I don't know if she followed my advice.
Pray for Ryan, who is probably in the air now on a flight home to Jackson. He's got to get back down to Hattiesburg, pack up, and then leave very early in the morning to catch his flight for Marine Combat Training in North Carolina. Pray that he won't be too tired, because MCT is supposed to be very physically demanding, although Aaron assured me it's also "a lot of fun." I think Aaron and I may have widely divergent ideas of what constitutes "fun," but that is why I am not a Marine.
I think that's it for tonight. Thanks, y'all.

Mom and Dad sent me a CD with their photos from the trip to Parris Island. I thought y'all might enjoy seeing some of them.

Here we have the Rice Men, Ryan, Daddy and Aaron. Dad wanted the boys to salute him. I don't think any agreement was reached on that issue, but they did agree to all smile for a photo together. Or at least as much as manly men ever smile.

Here is a photo of Ryan (right) and Micah Brooks (left). Micah is a friend of ours from church, and he and Ryan ended up in the same group of recruits at basic training. It was fun to see the Brooks family at Parris Island for all the festivities, and I know they are very proud of Micah.

This photo is of Mom and I hugging Ryan right after he the graduation ceremonies were dismissed. We were in the second row of seats, and since there were various military dignitaries seated in the front row, we didn't think it would be appropriate to just hop over the chairs.

Other miscellaneous photos include Kelly and Aaron at the airport on their way to Parris Island:

Kelly and the big strong Marines. Kelly, myself, Hannah and Audrey are fond of telling people that we have two Marines in the family. It's kind of like having your own security detail if you ever need it.

This is Aaron with his former drill instructor Staff Seargeant Cuellar. Aaron was really pleased to visit with him and be asked to speak to his current group of recruits.

Anyway, just thought those might be fun for all of you to see.

Again, I apologize that this update comes so late in the day. I went back to work today for the first time since the Strep Throat-Like Debacle, but I am still kind of a weenie because of having been sick and being on antibiotics, so I'm embarrassed to say that I then came home and took a two-hour nap before I got around to calling Aaron.
Aaron did not have his skin graft today. It looks like he will have that done on Friday. His doctors did change the very elaborate dressing that is involved in these types of wounds and said that everything looks like he will be in good shape to have the graft done on Friday. Please pray that he will be ready for it then and that it will go well.
In the meantime, Aaron had another exciting day of bedrest. He is behaving himself very well, so please pray that his patience will continue. When I called, Aaron and Kelly were watching their wedding video, because today is the five-month anniversary of their wedding. Cheers to that, and to many more anniversaries to come. Also, in a few weeks, Mom and Dad will celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary, so we will continue to post the Rice Family Anniversary Updates as they arrive. I'll see if I can dig up some nice photos of Mom and Dad in 1970s attire. Maybe some bell-bottoms or something. They will love me for that.
I'm not sure if anyone has heard from Ryan yet, but I know that he is very busy, so please just pray that he will get the rest he needs and be safe.
I think that's all for tonight. In a slightly off-beat note, Kelly and Aaron mentioned that they have developed an addiction to gummy candies. You know, Gummi Bears, Gummi Worms, things along those lines. So I wouldn't advise you to clean out Wal-Mart's candy aisle or anything, but if you're sending them something anyway, feel free to send them gummy candy. We want them to keep their sugar levels up while they're sitting around in the hospital.
I think that's all for tonight. Again, thank you all so much for your faithfulness in checking this site and praying for us.

Just a short note on Aaron tonight. As far as we know, Aaron's skin graft surgery is still on for tomorrow. Please pray that Aaron and Kelly will get a good night's sleep tonight and that tomorrow the surgery will happen and go well. The sooner this is over, the sooner Aaron can heal up and get on to learning to walk. But this is going to be a challenge in and of itself, and we really need your prayers for Aaron. At this point, I'm not sure what time Aaron's skin graft surgery will take place, but I'll post whatever I know as I know it tomorrow.
Tonight, I wanted to give you all an update on Mom and her health concerns. Dad reminded me a few days ago that I kind of left all of you hanging about that. I apologize. Just to recap, before Aaron was hurt, Mom was having some trouble shaking a respiratory infection/cough type thing. She had been on a lot of different medications without really improving and was having asthma-like attacks that made it hard for her to breathe at all. She had just been referred to a specialist when Aaron was hurt, so she was not able to go to her appointment. Her general practitioner in Hattiesburg had told her that he thought she had developed a temporary stress-related form of asthma, and he gave her a few medications to help her during her time in Maryland. She had a tough time in Maryland and had at least one night when she couldn't sleep because of coughing, but she started improving a little towards the end.
Right after Mom went back home to Hattiesburg two weeks ago, she was able to see a pulmonary specialist who agreed with the general practitioner's opinion. He said that Mom likely developed stress-triggered asthma in recent months as a complication of her original respiratory illness and ... well, you know, all the STRESS. He said she seemed to have been treated very well by her general practitioner and that he expects her condition will improve on its own now that things are somewhat calmer. ("Calm" is kind of a relative term for us right now, but I guess that's just to be expected.) He plans to see her again in a few weeks just to make sure she is still improving, but Mom said she can tell she is doing much better since she's been back home, and we're very thankful to God for that. Mom also asked me to thank all of you for praying for her so faithfully. Please pray that she will continue to improve. Each of us has had different needs during this whole thing, and it's been so encouraging to see how you've all been willing to pray for those things and help us in any way you can. It's really just overwhelming how God has blessed us through your love and prayers. Thank you.
Again, please pray for Aaron's surgery tomorrow, and you'll hear from me tomorrow.

I just heard from Mom, and she said that Aaron's surgery was at 10 a.m. this morning, and it went very well. Aaron was heavily drugged up when Mom spoke to him, but he told her that his surgeons had told him afterwards that the grafting process went very well and they believe he'll be on his way soon if it heals without any complications. He was in some pain in spite of the medication, so pray that it will subside and that the next couple of days won't be too bad for him. Thank you all for your prayers today. I hope this is the last time they'll have to put Aaron under completely because that's always a little scary, but even if it isn't, I'm glad this is behind him. Again, pray that his pain won't be too severe and that he will heal quickly and without complication. I probably won't talk to Aaron tonight, but I hope to sometime tomorrow.
In other news, Kelly's dear friend, Nikki, is visiting Aaron and Kelly this weekend, which I am sure is a great encouragement for Kelly. Pray that they'll have some good time together and that they won't keep each other up all night talking. Somehow I think there will be a lot of talking done, but that's not a bad thing.
Have a nice Friday night, y'all. I'm off to take care of my husband, who has come down with the same nasty sickness that I had earlier this week. Pray for Dan and that he will have mercy on me even though I gave this to him. He has become very paranoid and is constantly accusing me of leaning over him in his sleep and breathing my germs on him intentionally. I think he's kidding, but you never know.
Goodnight.

There are several reasons I haven't written a lot about Aaron this weekend, but the main one is that Aaron has been catching up on his sleep in a big way. According to Kelly, and Mom, who talked to Aaron on Saturday, Aaron slept something like nine hours today and a long time on Saturday, too. That's good for several reasons, not least the fact that if he's sleeping, he's not wasting away from boredom while he's on bedrest. It's not really surprising that he's slept so much given that he's been under general anesthesia three times in the last week or so, and that takes a toll on your body. It's also encouraging that he's been able to sleep a lot, because it means he's not in too much pain to sleep. Low levels of boredom and pain are answers to prayers.
I had a nice talk with Kelly today shortly after her friend Nikki left to go back home to Mississippi. It sounds like she and Kelly had a really good time together, and while Aaron slept, Kelly was able to get out and have some good girl time, much needed I'm sure. Spending a month in a hospital filled with Marines could get to be a bit of a testosterone overload.
Kelly also had good news to report, which is that Aaron's doctors say if Aaron continues to heal well, he will be able to check out of Bethesda on Wednesday and move on to Walter Reed. Aaron is going to be admitted to Walter Reed as an inpatient, which isn't fun in that it means he has to stay in a hospital room, but there is hope that he won't have to stay inpatient the whole time. Please pray that Aaron's skin graft will keep healing like it should and that he can check out of Bethesda soon. Please also pray that Aaron can become an outpatient as soon as possible. As much as that would make Aaron happy, I think it would also be really comforting to Kelly to have him with her on the outside of the hospital. Right now, she kind of orbits between his hospital room and her hotel room, and I'm sure that's getting old. Kelly is amazingly upbeat about it, but I know I wouldn't like staying in a hotel without Dan for so long.
Kelly and I also had a long talk about how much we both miss home food. One of the reasons that both Kelly and Dan have fit so well into the Rice family is that they both share one of my family's greatest passions: the love of good food. For those of you who haven't had the privilege of having Sunday lunch at my parents' house in Mississippi, my Dad makes the finest slow-cooked on the grill turkey dinner you could ever imagine in your wildest dreams, not to mention gumbo, shrimp curry, steaks and pork chops to die for. And my Mom makes potato salad that I pester her for every time I go home, and turnip greens, and corn bread that I dream about out here in the land of tortillas. And the sweet tea. Oh, the sweet tea. My point is that anywhere else in the country, there is no amount of money you could pay anyone to fix you that good a meal. They just aren't capable. I've known this for several years, but Kelly's recent exile to Maryland has opened her eyes to this truth as well. So we had a long chat about all the things we're going to eat next time we get home. I think we were both a little homesick by the time we got done talking. Homesick and hungry. I don't know what it says about me and Kelly as people that we can work ourselves into a state of absolute weepiness talking about food, but I think it's nice that we have this in common. Everyone should be so lucky.
I think that's it for tonight. Whenever Aaron wakes up, I'm planning to talk to him, and I'll pass on whatever I learn then. Thanks.

I'm starting to feel like I'm repeating myself here, but I talked to Aaron yesterday and he said he's been sleeping a lot. I believe him because he sounded tired even then. In fact, it's really funny when you talk to him because he does this thing where he starts to gets sleepy, but he thinks he can make himself stay awake and talk to you if he just tries hard enough. When you know Aaron, you know how much he likes to talk, so it's not all that surprising that he persists in spite of heavy narcotics. He did it one night on the trip to Parris Island and made us all laugh. We were talking, and he was really tired, and his eyes were closing and closing a little more every second, but he kept wanting to talk, so he would start saying something and then he would trail off and just never finish his sentence. Eventually, after one of these unfinished sentences, he jerked back awake and told us he he been dreaming about containers of artificial coffee creamer in the brief seconds he'd been asleep. I don't know if it was quite that bad when I was talking to him yesterday, but I could kind of picture him fighting to stay awake during our conversation. So there isn't really a lot to report except that it sounds like he's still doing well and should be cleared to be discharged from Bethesda some time in the next couple of days. He has a check-up scheduled for Wednesday, and at that time his doctors might clear him to leave Bethesda, but it would still probably take a couple of days to get all the paperwork cleared and for him to actually leave. In the meantime, Aaron is still having lots of visitors from a church in the area and an occasional visit from strangers with relatives in the hospital who tell Aaron that they have come to meet the "famous Lance Corporal Rice." I think all his nurses have just fallen in love with him and brag on him all over the hospital, because he's become a minor celebrity there. Aaron loves it, but we're going to get suspicious of the medical staff's motives if they start claiming some new reason he can't leave Bethesda in the next week or so.
I hope to talk to a more alert Aaron sometime today, and when I do, I'll let y'all know. Keep praying for Aaron and Kelly.

I found this on a friend's blog and thought it was pretty funny. I'm not sure how I scored ten percent Yankee. A lot of people out here tell me that I don't sound very Southern to them. I'm convinced this is because they firmly believe everyone from the South talks like Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias. That is a great movie, but the accents are way overdone and it and a lot of other movies have created bizarre expectations for what a Southern person is "supposed" to sound like. Since I moved away, I also have noticed that my accent tends to come and go. There really is no distinct accent in the Southwest, so anything different stands out, and occasionally someone will ask me where I'm from. When I tell them, they always ask me to say "y'all," and they ask me if it's hot there, and I say "Yes, and it's humid,too." And thus ends the accent conversation. But it always makes me wonder. I never really made a conscious effort to not have an accent and sometimes I worry that I just misplaced it, like you do your keys. But then I'll get really excited or angry about something, or I'll talk to my family on the phone, or I'll tell Dan that I am "fixing" to do something, and then I know that you can leave home, but you can never really "lose" it. That's oddly comforting.

Sorry for the lack of updates on Aaron. Yesterday was kind of odd in that Aaron got moved to another room, and so he was hard to find. In fact, I never talked to him or Kelly yesterday, but I did hear from Mom, who clued me in to the room change. Apparently, a severely injured Marine needed Aaron's room because it was close to the nurse's station, so Aaron has moved down the hall a bit and again has a roomate. In theory, Aaron shouldn't be there for much longer. Mom said when she talked to Aaron and Kelly they told her that Aaron's evaluation to see how how he is healing up and decide if he can be checked out of Bethesda will be tomorrow, Friday. Please pray about this. If Aaron is healed up enough and his doctors think he has made enough progress, there's the possibility that Aaron could be admitted to Walter Reed as an outpatient. That would be really nice for Aaron and Kelly because then Aaron wouldn't have to stay in a hospital room and he could just go to the hospital for his appointments.
Aside from that, there's not much to report. As a matter of housekeeping, I would say that if you're planning to send Aaron and Kelly something in the mail, you might want to hang on to it for a few days since their address is probably about to change again, and your mail might not reach them before they leave Bethesda. As always, new addresses will be posted as soon as they're available.
We love y'all. Thanks for your prayers.

I spoke to Aaron this morning shortly after he got some very good news: He's been discharged from Bethesda! When I spoke to him he was doing all the paperwork and such that is required and expected to be out within a couple of hours. In even better news, he is being admitted to Walter Reed as an outpatient, which means he doesn't have to stay in a hospital room. He and Kelly can stay together at the Bethesda Naval Lodge, a hotel-type place. So, for the time being Aaron and Kelly's address will still be as follows:

Lcpl Aaron Rice (or Mrs. Kelly Rice)
Bethesda Navy Lodge
Bldg #52
8901 Wisconsin Ave. Rm. 107
Bethesda, MD 20889

Praise God with us for Aaron's progress to this point and his being allowed to leave the hospital room environment. Aside from medical issues, I think having to stay in bed for the last three weeks straight has been the most challenging part of all this for Aaron so far. I don't think the idea of learning to walk with a prosthetic even bothers Aaron at all, but the sitting around waiting to heal was really tough. He sounded very excited to be moving out of Bethesda, even though we're thankful for the care he's received there. Next week, Aaron should be havinig his first appointments at Walter Reed. Please pray that he and Kelly can have a nice relaxing weekend and get settled into their new environment in the meantime.
Thank you all so much. More soon.