Injured soldier advances to physical therapy

Pfc. Daniel Tingle, injured four weeks ago in a mortar attack in Iraq, has been released from an Army hospital in Texas and is undergoing physical therapy.

Tingle, 21, and his wife Megan are staying at a guest house near Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston so he can continue daily physical therapy as doctors work to save his left foot.

The 2004 Douglas High School graduate underwent surgery Jan. 16. Doctors took part of his hip bone and fused it to the bone left in his shattered foot. They also used skin grafts from his foot and calf.

His mother, Tina Luce, said Friday doctors were optimistic about the outcome.

"Everything looks pretty good except the top layer of skin. There's a small questionable area, but the doctors said they weren't worried about it."

She said the affected area would be debrided and another skin graft applied if necessary.

"Daniel is doing great," Luce said. "He's bounded back on his own and is so determined."

Luce, a nurse, said her son is on medical hold at the base until further notice.

"He is just so happy to be out of the hospital," she said.

She said Tingle and his wife are learning how to change the bandage because it is so critical to keep the wound free from infection.

"Doctors are more on the optimistic side than anything else. What they were saying is you have a chance up to a year where things can go south, but right now it looks good as long as he follows protocol," she said.

In a telephone interview prior to the surgery, Tingle said he was optimistic.

"I've got my hopes high," he said. "I want to get better and I want to do what I signed up for. It took me four years to get into the Army and I really don't want this to stop me in any way. I am trying to pick myself up and continue on like a soldier would."

He said he recalls every detail of his Jan. 6 attack that caused his injury.

"I was awake for the whole thing. I remember being in the truck when the first round hit and everybody scattered. I remember me sitting in the truck for a few minutes looking for a bunker. I remember running and hearing the whistle of the mortar round and seeing and hearing the shrapnel. It wasn't a great experience," he said.

Tingle said he misses his unit.

"It tears me apart not to be there, Part of me wants to get back, but I can't be all heroic. None of us over there are being heroic. We're doing what we're told to do."

He'd prefer to stay in the service, but said he has to consider his family.

"I've got my wife and family to think about," Tingle said. "I am not basing all my decisions on what I want."

He's also interested in pursing a law enforcement career.

"My family is divided between law enforcement and medical. I would never make it as a doctor or a nurse, and I think being a police officer is the next best thing," he said.

For now, Tingle said he wants to concentrate on his recovery.

"Many soldiers have worse things than what was done to me," he said. "There are people here who have no legs or arms or are burned and are still going on. I am very lucky."

Tingle gets around on crutches and in a wheelchair because he's not allowed to put any weight on his left foot.

"They don't want him to do anything that might dislodge the graft," Luce said.

"He's lost a lot of weight and his muscle tone is wasted a little bit, but they are working to build that back up," she said.

Luce said she is impressed with how the family has been treated at the medical center.

"They don't just look at the degree of the injury," she said. "They look at the soldier."

She has made two trips to San Antonio since her son was injured.

"I was getting my baggage and a soldier came up to me who had a bilateral prosthesis," she said. "He said, "I was the first amputee here in 2003 from the war in Iraq. Here's my card and I will be happy to talk to your son.' He was so pleasant, that's the type of people you meet here."

Luce said her son and daughter-in-law were grateful to be receiving so many greetings from Carson Valley including a big box of baked goods from the Blue Star Moms.

"That should put some weight back on him," she said.