The First 96 Hours

On Saturday morning, June 19, 2010, Captain Kyle Deem was shot in his legs while piloting a medivac helicopter in Southern Afghanistan. Gunfire tore through the chin bubble of the helicopter and exploded in his right leg. Frag and shrapnel ripped through the calf of his left leg. His right leg was hit in the artery and a PJ on board put a tourniquet on him while they were in flight, which saved his life. Kyle recalls feeling like someone punched his leg very hard and then his entire nervous system felt like it was on fire; his face was burning up.

At 11:45am I had a message from Elsie Deem, Kyle's mom. She seemed a bit cold in her message and I was worried about why she was calling me. I called back and spoke to Bill, Kyle's father. He asked me if I was sitting down. "Kyle has been shot in both his legs," Bill said. I felt sick. Tears streamed down my face and I hardly remember the rest. We just cried together on the phone. It was pouring rain outside and I sat in my car in the parking lot at work. Bill relayed all of the information he had at that point and I tried to absorb the reality of the news I was hearing. I had a hard time moving, my body felt like dead weight. I feared the worst. I never knew what this would feel like, but it was more suffocating and heavy than I imagined.

Those next hours were some of the most stomach-turning hours of my life. I have never felt so sick to my core. I have never cried for so long. My body shook with fear and sadness.

Kyle called me from Afghanistan at 6:45am on Sunday. I was so grateful to hear his voice, and so scared. "I'm fighting to keep these legs Kristen," he told me. And I just cried silently on the phone. He then called me from Germany the following morning. I was still sick, hadn't slept and was extremely worried about Kyle. To hear his voice and to know he was out of Afghanistan brought me more comfort than I thought it would. He was scheduled to be in the United States within 48 hours. And I would meet him in DC with his parents.

Those are the moments I recall from the first few days of Kyle's injury. There will be many more memories to share, but for now, this is the very beginning of documenting Kyle's return home and the start to his healing process after being shot in the war. Kyle is an amazing man with determination and spirit - I hope to share this remarkable story of healing and recovery with you with this blog throughout the months ahead. I hope it accurately represents what we all have gone through and helps document all that Kyle endures and works for each and every day. Thank you for all of your love and support - it has made such a wonderful difference in our lives.


Elsie at the bedside with Kyle on his first night back in the United Sates, Tuesday, June 22, 2010. He was in the ICU at Bethesda Naval National Medical Center.