IRAQ WAR: WOUNDED MARINE SAYS A MIRACLE SAVED HIM.Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer SUN VALLEY - Twice declared dead by medics after a sniper's bullet struck his head in Baghdad, Marine Reserve Sgt. Jesus Vidana never expected to be able recount his brief tour of duty in Iraq. But thanks to CNN CNN or Cable News Network Subsidiary company of Turner Broadcasting Systems. It was created by Ted Turner in 1980 to present 24-hour live news broadcasts, using satellites to transmit reports from news bureaus around the world. medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta - who was also a neurosurgeon neurosurgeon a physician who specializes in neurosurgery. neurosurgeon A surgeon specialized in managing diseases of the brain, spine and peripheral nerves Meat & potatoes diseases Brain tumors, spinal cord disease Salary $245K + 15% bonus. covering the war and the only one who knew how to treat his near-fatal head wound - Vidana, 26, is alive and well with his family in Sun Valley. ``I think it's a miracle It's a Miracle was a television show that aired on PAX-TV (now Independent Television) between September 6, 1998 and September 1, 2004.[1] Initially hosted by Richard Thomas[2], and later by Roma Downey, [3] . I shouldn't be alive I Shouldn't Be Alive is a documentary broadcasted on the Discovery Channel that tells the stories of normal people in incredible circumstances. The subjects of the show narrate their life-threatening experiences while actors re-enact their experiences. ,'' Vidana said. ``If Dr. Gupta wasn't there, there would have not been anyone else (to help me).'' On April 8, 2003, the day before Saddam Hussein's bronze statue was toppled in Baghdad, Vidana's unit was patrolling the city while helicopter gunships crisscrossed criss·cross v. criss·crossed, criss·cross·ing, criss·cross·es v.tr. 1. To mark with crossing lines. 2. overhead and machine gun rounds echoed throughout the city. ``It was all so surreal,'' said the Van Nuys High School Van Nuys High School (VNHS) established in 1914, is a high school in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, California, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2. graduate, recalling the day that changed his life. ``It was my first day in Baghdad and really it was just a job to do.'' Vidana was standing behind a cinder cin·der n. 1. a. A burned or partly burned substance, such as coal, that is not reduced to ashes but is incapable of further combustion. b. A partly charred substance that can burn further but without flame. block wall, his adrenaline fighting off the exhaustion from a day of ducking bullets and lugging ammunition, radio equipment, food and water. A radio operator, Vidana was barking orders relayed from his commander when a bullet pierced his helmet. His colleagues scrambled to revive him, but one medic declared him dead minutes later. Hours later, on a flight back to a field hospital, another medic examined Vidana and listed him as a casualty. By the time he arrived at the hospital 13 hours after being shot, medics checked him again, and detected a faint heartbeat. But there was no doctor on staff qualified to care for him. Gupta, who was covering Navy medics for CNN, quickly examined the wound and said he could help. With few supplies on hand, Gupta improvised, grabbing a drill bit to remove a blood clot blood clot n. A semisolid, gelatinous mass of coagulated blood that consists of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a fibrin network. in Vidana's head. The crude operation saved Vidana's life. The two men now correspond occasionally, with Vidana updating the doctor/journalist on his progress. Vidana remembers awaking from a two-day coma in a Spanish hospital, surprised to see his parents sitting at his bedside. ``It gives you a new outlook on life. I wasn't even expecting to go to war,'' explained Vidana, a student at University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission when his reserve unit was called into service. Through a steady physical therapy regime, Vidana has regained the ability to walk, shower and dress himself. But he still suffers from short- term memory loss and bouts of depression caused by a chemical imbalance from the wound. There are also the daily reminders of his injuries: his Purple Heart, the honorable discharge from the Marines and the quarter-size scar in the back of his head. But Vidana is working hard to put his life back in order. He is studying to get a license to practice occupational therapy and getting lots of support from his parents and family. ``I knew if God saved him, it was for a reason. He didn't want to keep him in a bed,'' said Vidana's mother, Maria. Today, Vidana said, he is taking life one day at a time One Day at a Time is a long-running American situation comedy that portrayed a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters (Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli) and their building superintendent (Pat Harrington, Jr.). . Rachel Uranga, (818) 713-3741 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Marine Reserve Sgt. Jesus Vidana shows the hole in his helmet where the bullet penetrated that nearly took his life. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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