Last spring my brother's wife's nephew suffered terrible wounds in Iraq. An IED took both of his legs, an arm, and his hearing. Ever since, he has been in Walter Reed hospital trying to get his life back together. He's an outstanding young man with a great attitude, as can be seen in this NBC News segment on him which aired on last night's newscast:
His name is Sgt. Luis Rosa-Valentin, and as you can imagine he will have a lot of expenses even after the assistance the military is providing. My sister (who is 60!) is training for a marathon which is a fund raiser for wounded soldiers and Marines. I copied the following from a letter she sent out and thought that some Viewpoint readers might like to help:
Luis is the proud father of a small daughter. His mother, who is a school teacher, had to leave work in order to be with Luis at Walter Reed while he recovered. Because his parents live within a 50 mile radius of Walter Reed, they are not eligible for the stipend available to immediate family members who travel to see their loved ones in the hospital. His parents' home, where he is currently staying on the weekends, must be renovated to accommodate a wheelchair. There will be months of rehab and expenses that the family will take on that the government will not cover.
For this reason, I have started a benefit fund for Luis and his parents at Fulton Bank and am asking all those who supported me in the past, as I prepared for and ran the marathon, to dig deep and agree to sponsor me one more time, as I run in honor of Luis.
As usual, the race is a 26.2 mile course. It will be run on Sunday, October 26th. You can show your support with a pledge per mile, or a flat sum donation, in care of the Luis Rosa-Valentin Benefit Fund at any Fulton Bank. You can take it directly to any branch, or mail it to Fulton Bank, 1 Market Square, Manheim, PA 17545. Direct your contribution to the attention of Cherie Melhorn.
I have never met Luis, but have learned a good deal about him as I planned this fund raiser during the past few weeks (You can learn more about him by accessing this web site). In addition to being a devoted father, he was dedicated to the military that he loved, and proud to serve his country. Barely out of high school when he joined the army, he knew that this was all he had ever wanted to do as a career. In spite of his injuries, he has no regrets about his decision, and says he would do it all over again if he could. His attitude is so positive, saying that he is very happy to be alive. He feels he has a whole lot of life ahead and he plans to live it. His Aunt Nora (my brother's wife) recently told us that his motto is "Know God. No fear." Luis has sacrificed so much for us, I am proud to run this race on his behalf.
Luis has an amazingly positive outlook on his future, and it's just remarkable that our country produces so many young men like him.
RLC