Jay called me on Halloween and told me that he was going into dangerous territory and that he wanted me to know that he loved me in case he didn’t make it back. It was a scary call. I had to prepare once again for the possibility of becoming a widow. I had become very comfortable with Jay’s deployment because I received a call or an email daily. I had started to think that he’s always safe and his candor during that phone call on Halloween was quite the reality check for me. I came to terms with Jay’s premonition, cried a few tears, and prayed for the best over the next 24 hours. The next morning I received a startling call. Jay called from a hospital in Iraq and told me that he had been injured in an IED attack. It was very scary. He is okay and doing well. He has some shrapnel wounds, but he will make a full recovery very soon. Amazingly enough, I stayed strong while talking to Jay. I didn’t want him to worry about me. I wanted him to focus on his recovery. He has been deployed for two months and has already had his first round of injuries. After making it through the first two months, I started to believe that Jay could make it through this deployment unscathed. I’ve met so many people who never experience the trauma of war, and I was hoping that our family would be one of them. I am thankful Jay walked away from this incident, but I am still scared about what’s to come over the next 10 months.
Yikes, that’s really frightening. I’m glad he’s okay (mostly). It’s so easy to be lulled into a false sense of security because they’re in frequent contact.
My husband is an Army NCO. He’s home right now, but we’ve gone through four deployments together. I was amazed the first time my husband deployed after we met – he left on Sunday, I got an email on Tuesday, and pretty much every day after that until re-deployment. We just have to keep them in our prayers, I guess.
Best wishes to you!