Road to Recovery: A broadcaster's story Published Sept. 17, 2010 By Senior Airman Stephanie Rubi Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Master Sgt. Jeramie Brown, an Air Force broadcast journalist with the 99th Air Base Wing, considers himself a normal guy, but the last three years of his life have been anything but normal. In June 2007, Sergeant Brown was tasked to deploy to Southwest Asia with the United States Air Forces Central Command. One month into his deployment while on assignment at a forward operating base, he was videotaping a news story on the joint terminal attack controllers. Three days after completing the story, Sergeant Brown and six other Armed Forces News team members were on standby waiting for a flight to Bagdad, Iraq, when a mortar landed 10 feet in front of him. In an attempt to take cover, Sergeant Brown tried kicking his legs up to reach for his flak vest. When his legs failed to move he realized something was wrong. "I'm hit," he yelled. Master Sgt. (ret) Jim Varhegyi, along with an Army medical technician, came to his aid immediately. They were able to provide Sergeant Brown with three tourniquets to control the bleeding until further help arrived and Sergeant Brown was medically evacuated and rushed into surgery. In September 2007, Sergeant Brown was awarded the Purple Heart for his sustained injuries during the attack. After a three-month stay at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and 15 months on crutches, he was able to walk without assistance. In May, the metal plate used to replace the missing bone caused an infection in his tibia. He required surgery to remove the hardware and fight the infection. Finally, his last surgery was performed to place a bone graft in a golf ball-sized hole where the metal plate used to be. Nineteen surgeries and three years later, Sergeant Brown is still on the road to recovery. Back on crutches and going through physical therapy once again, Sergeant Brown hopes to be back on his feet by next summer. "We're working on range of motion and providing electric stimulation," said Senior Airman Joseph Suarez, a physical therapy journeyman with the 99th Medical Operation Squadron. "Electric stimulation is a treatment used to expedite the healing process. When combined with a wide range of exercises, Sergeant Brown, in time, will be able to place weight on his leg." "Because I'm on crutches and I can't put any weight on my leg, I can't carry a camera... I can't carry the other equipment that I use either, but I can still do everything else that is associated with my job," Sergeant Brown said. "I can still supervise and review other people's products; I can still teach and mentor. At no point of this experience has giving up been an option." Sergeant Brown's road to recovery has provided him with a renewed appreciation for life and the ability to walk--a lesson he won't soon forget.
