spurschick
01-22-2006, 10:09 AM
Sig Christenson
Express-News Military Writer
Web Posted: 01/22/2006 12:00 AM CST
Sgt. Octavio Sanchez and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich were engaged in a spirited conversation Saturday, but they weren't chatting about slam-dunks and three-point shots.
It would be hard to talk about that at Brooke Army Medical Center's fourth-floor burn unit, where some of the most seriously injured GIs fight to survive after being flown home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"He was asking about my hands," said Sanchez, 25, of Rialto, Calif., who was badly injured by a roadside bomb last summer in Iraq.
"How far along have I come with my hands? Will I get the function back in my hands? How my family is doing."
The family is well. His children, Jacob, 7, Octavio, 5, and Jaslyn, 2, were playing basketball in BAMC's fourth-floor occupational therapy room. It was the right time for a pick-up game as Popovich and Spurs players Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen spent 90 minutes at the hospital, which has cared for more than 2,340 troops since the invasion of Afghanistan.
The goodwill tour lifted spirits among burn victims and amputees alike. Cameras flashed as the Spurs trio autographed basketballs and San Antonio Express-News sections, one with a full-page color photo of Bowen in action.
The sense of awkwardness that sometimes comes in such moments was absent, perhaps because the Spurs were better listeners than talkers this day.
"I've done lots of appearances, none like this," said point guard Parker.
"They've made a sacrifice for us, to protect us and our families," said Bowen, a small forward. "I think more than anything else there's a profound appreciation for them."
One soldier told Popovich he would soon "go back to the sandbox," a reference to Iraq, and conceded he wasn't eager to make the return trip.
The NBA's 2003 Coach of the Year, an Air Force Academy graduate, patted him on the back. He thanked the soldiers and told them that their heroics overshadow basketball.
The troops here, as always, were respectful and humble, thrilled to stand in the shadow of larger-than-life sports stars.
The champion Spurs, in turn, seemed in awe of these men, each of whom has his own horrific war story to tell.
Petty Officer Derek McGinnis, 28, of Fremont, Calif., lost his left leg above the knee when a suicide bomber hit his ambulance Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah.
Now medically retired, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Neuman lost his left arm when several rocket-propelled grenades struck his armored personnel carrier in Fallujah on Veterans Day 2004.
Army Sgt. Joseph Fowler sat in a gurney, blankets wrapped over his body from chest to toe. His head, nose, lips and face are badly burned, his eyelids clamped open. Parker talked with him as Fowler's wife, Leslie, 29, stood at his side.
A roadside bomb hit Fowler's armored Humvee on Dec. 29 in Baghdad. He marked his 27th birthday in BAMC's intensive care burn unit and lives for the day he can see his 4-month-old son, Shane, for the first time.
"I'm feeling pretty great," Fowler said, his voice a soft, hoarse whisper. "It's wonderful what (the Spurs) are doing."
"It really does mean a lot to the guys, especially the guys who are still in-patients," said Neuman, 34, of San Antonio and originally from Newport, R.I.
A somber Popovich, Parker and Bowen left the hospital after making a final stop to visit with some of the worst of BAMC's burn victims.
Asked if he had a minute to talk, Popovich said no.
"This isn't something," he said, "that you can put into words."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA012206.01B.Spurs_BAMC.34f5026.html
Express-News Military Writer
Web Posted: 01/22/2006 12:00 AM CST
Sgt. Octavio Sanchez and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich were engaged in a spirited conversation Saturday, but they weren't chatting about slam-dunks and three-point shots.
It would be hard to talk about that at Brooke Army Medical Center's fourth-floor burn unit, where some of the most seriously injured GIs fight to survive after being flown home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"He was asking about my hands," said Sanchez, 25, of Rialto, Calif., who was badly injured by a roadside bomb last summer in Iraq.
"How far along have I come with my hands? Will I get the function back in my hands? How my family is doing."
The family is well. His children, Jacob, 7, Octavio, 5, and Jaslyn, 2, were playing basketball in BAMC's fourth-floor occupational therapy room. It was the right time for a pick-up game as Popovich and Spurs players Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen spent 90 minutes at the hospital, which has cared for more than 2,340 troops since the invasion of Afghanistan.
The goodwill tour lifted spirits among burn victims and amputees alike. Cameras flashed as the Spurs trio autographed basketballs and San Antonio Express-News sections, one with a full-page color photo of Bowen in action.
The sense of awkwardness that sometimes comes in such moments was absent, perhaps because the Spurs were better listeners than talkers this day.
"I've done lots of appearances, none like this," said point guard Parker.
"They've made a sacrifice for us, to protect us and our families," said Bowen, a small forward. "I think more than anything else there's a profound appreciation for them."
One soldier told Popovich he would soon "go back to the sandbox," a reference to Iraq, and conceded he wasn't eager to make the return trip.
The NBA's 2003 Coach of the Year, an Air Force Academy graduate, patted him on the back. He thanked the soldiers and told them that their heroics overshadow basketball.
The troops here, as always, were respectful and humble, thrilled to stand in the shadow of larger-than-life sports stars.
The champion Spurs, in turn, seemed in awe of these men, each of whom has his own horrific war story to tell.
Petty Officer Derek McGinnis, 28, of Fremont, Calif., lost his left leg above the knee when a suicide bomber hit his ambulance Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah.
Now medically retired, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Neuman lost his left arm when several rocket-propelled grenades struck his armored personnel carrier in Fallujah on Veterans Day 2004.
Army Sgt. Joseph Fowler sat in a gurney, blankets wrapped over his body from chest to toe. His head, nose, lips and face are badly burned, his eyelids clamped open. Parker talked with him as Fowler's wife, Leslie, 29, stood at his side.
A roadside bomb hit Fowler's armored Humvee on Dec. 29 in Baghdad. He marked his 27th birthday in BAMC's intensive care burn unit and lives for the day he can see his 4-month-old son, Shane, for the first time.
"I'm feeling pretty great," Fowler said, his voice a soft, hoarse whisper. "It's wonderful what (the Spurs) are doing."
"It really does mean a lot to the guys, especially the guys who are still in-patients," said Neuman, 34, of San Antonio and originally from Newport, R.I.
A somber Popovich, Parker and Bowen left the hospital after making a final stop to visit with some of the worst of BAMC's burn victims.
Asked if he had a minute to talk, Popovich said no.
"This isn't something," he said, "that you can put into words."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA012206.01B.Spurs_BAMC.34f5026.html