June 5th Dinner:

The East Coast Purple Heart Family Support group served suppers at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda on June 5th. California Tortilla delivered tray after tray of giant burritos, salads, chips and salsa. Volunteers brought sodas, bottled water, desserts and fruit. Girl Scouts from St. Mary’s County, Maryland, sent donations of Girl Scout cookies, and the women of Trinity Lutheran Church in Lexington Park, Maryland, collected games, coloring books and crayons for young family members of the wounded warriors.

MarineParents.com member Beth from California greeted PHFS volunteers. She and her husband had just arrived at Bethesda to be with her son Cody who was wounded in Afghanistan. Cody’s wounds are very serious and he is in a lot of pain. Beth said she has been so grateful for the support she has received from Marine Parents. She said that from boot camp to deployment to caring for a wounded warrior, Marine Parents has been there for her to answer questions and provide encouragement.

Family members came to the 5th floor conference room to get meals for themselves and their wounded warriors. Corpsmen and nurses also came in to ask if they could take meals to their patients.

Volunteers Mary Jane and Amy went to the 7th floor to check on patients there and bring trays of food to them. Many of these patients are suffering from traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder. Mary Jane had a poignant first-hand experience with a patient that she shared with us:

"Amy and I delivered meals to the patients and staff in the TBI ward. After leaving the food in the day room where most of them were, we were walking back down the hall when I heard someone say, "Ma'am!" We turned around and saw a young man in a wheelchair who had backed himself out into the hall. I recognized him as a Marine I had seen twice before.

The first time I met him I brought some comfort dogs from Veterans Moving Forward (VMF,) and he stayed hunched over in his wheelchair, not speaking at all. Comfort dog Edwin walked over to him and lay on the floor next to the young man's wheelchair. Slowly he became interested in Edwin and started leaning down on one side until he could touch him. A couple of weeks later, another volunteer from VMF reported to me that this time, the young man had said Edwin's name and asked Wendy (the volunteer) hers. This was surprising because one of the 7th floor staff said that the wounded warrior never talked!

Yesterday after calling out "Ma'am!" he smiled at us and I started talking to him. As I walked back over to him, he slowly raised his fist to me in what I realized was a request for a fist bump. We bumped fists, and he smiled and said thank you. Then he did the same with volunteer Amy. It is so touching to see these wonderful young people making such visible progress, and this is part of why organizing these dinners is so rewarding!"

We had several families from the ICU ward come up for supper. Many have had their wounded warrior in the Intensive Care Unit for several weeks. One mother told us that she only leaves to go down to the hospital cafeteria for meals. Since the cafeteria is closed on weekends, she is very dependent on the meals provided by service organizations. She expressed her gratitude for the suppers Purple Heart Family Support provides.

Volunteers Joe and Bob took meals over to Mercy Hall. Long term recuperating wounded warriors enjoyed burritos as they watched TV in the barrack’s lounge.

Mindful that Bethesda also ministers to veterans of other wars, PHFS provided suppers for a grandson to take to his grandfather as well as for a lovely wife of a 43-year Air Force veteran. When inquiries were made about her husband’s health, she smiled sadly and said, “He will be leaving us soon.” She then thanked the volunteers profusely for the tray of food she was taking back to her husband’s room so they might have a private dinner together.

- Reported by Peggy Densford

June 12th Dinner:

On Sunday, June 12th the Marine Parents Purple Heart Family Support volunteers at Bethesda Naval Hospital served another successful dinner. The 130 burritos, salad, chips and cookies were greatly appreciated by wounded warriors, families and staff. Volunteers included Susan Kristol and Mary Ann and Paul Schilling.

In addition to the main serving site on the hospital’s fifth floor, a dozen dinners were taken to the PSTD ward, eight dinners went to the section housing brain injury patients, 15 dinners were given to families keeping watch in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and the outpatient center Mercy Hall received 10 dinners.

According to Susan,

“Everyone was very grateful and said things like, ‘We didn't know what we were going to do about dinner.’ One woman staying at the Navy Lodge whose son just moved to the 5th floor from the ICU asked if she could bring burritos back to her parents who were staying at the lodge with them. The medical staff on the ICU floor was very appreciative of our program and helped me locate the families there to bring them up to our serving room. The medical staff on the 5th floor East cheered because they love our food. They told me in jest to keep it a secret from 5th floor West so there would be more burritos for them.”

Several special guests joined our regular volunteers on Sunday. Joyce and Curt Orrell, who serve weekly Purple Heart Family Support and Blue Star Mothers dinners at Balboa Hospital in San Diego, were with us making connections with patients and families, including at Mercy Hall. When Joyce met a young man in the brain injury section, she spent time with him and ended up giving him her “official hugger” button. He was thrilled and said he wished he could go to the corner of the street and wear it so all the pretty girls would notice.

We were also joined by Karen Jeffries and her group Veterans Moving Forward. They brought two service dogs with them: A standard black poodle named Hershey and a Golden Retriever puppy called Nathan. As always these dogs were very popular with the patients and their families.

We were also joined by an organization called Our Military Kids. This is a Virginia-based group providing grants nationwide for participation in camps, sports, arts lessons, and tutoring. For more information on this organization that serves the children of wounded warriors, visit www.OurMilitaryKids.org.

- Reported by Mary Ann Schilling