Injured soldier's spirits are good despite the pain

After more than a week of worrying, Tina Luce was finally able to see her injured son, Pfc. Daniel Tingle, during an emotional reunion Monday at an Army hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

"I walked into his room, and I don't know," she said in a telephone interview. "I had so many things going through my head. There was a lot of emotion. I can't put it into words.

"He was just happy to see us and got a great big smile on his face."

Luce and her daughter-in-law Megan flew to Texas on Monday after Tingle was transferred from an Army hospital in Germany.

Tingle, 21, a 2004 Douglas High School graduate, was injured Jan. 7 in a mortar attack in Baghdad.

He is undergoing treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston.

Luce said it's still too early to tell whether her son will lose his left foot.

Doctors cleaned his wound and were getting him up and around.

"They just want to make sure the wound is clean," said Luce, a registered nurse.

"The cultures came back negative, so they will proceed with reconstructive-type surgery," she said. "It looks hopeful."

Luce said she hopes to know more on Thursday about Tingle's prognosis.

"He's pretty much resigned himself to the fact that he's not going back (to Iraq) anytime soon," she said.

Luce said her daughter-in-law was overjoyed to see her husband. The couple wed in August before Tingle was deployed.

"They are so cute," Luce said. "We were crossing the street to the hospital and Daniel called on her cell phone and asked her where we were. She told him we got on the wrong plane and ended up in Las Vegas."

Tingle, who is based at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo., is a motor pool driver with the 2nd Brigade Support Battalion. Luce said he was with his truck when his unit was attacked.

Luce said his left ankle was shattered and six bones were broken in his left foot. He also suffered shrapnel wounds in both legs and has undergone several surgeries to repair the damage.

"He's in a lot of pain," she said, "but his spirits are really good."

"Megan and I walk around and see some of the guys here. It's very humbling to see how lucky Daniel was and he realizes that, too."

Luce and Megan Tingle are staying in housing for Army families near the hospital.

"It's like a little apartment," she said. "We've got a refrigerator and a microwave."

Luce said she planned to find some of her son's favorite foods and bring them to the hospital.

"He's too thin," she said. "He looks like he's lost some weight."

DETAILS

Cards may sent to:

Pfc. Daniel Tingle

Brooke Army Medical Center

MCHE-DN-4W

3851 Roger Brooke Dr.

Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234-6200