By the Grace of God, Still a Marine
My son, Marine Lance Corporal John McClellan is living proof that prayer really does work and that God is still in the miracle working business.
http://www.marineparents.com/usmc/downloads/bythegraceofgod.pdf
Please note that this is a link to a .pdf file.
by Connie McClellan
While serving as a machine gunner in Afghanistan in 2005, at the age of 19, John was shot twice in the same arm, in the same week. The injuries that he sustained were viewed as miraculously minor. The first, an AK-47 bullet, ricocheted off a rock and imbedded in his rightwrist. Within three days, John was back in the turret. Three days later, he earned his second purple heart when he was shot a second time, again by an enemy AK-47 bullet that penetrated the front of his right arm and exited out the back, and again… didn’t hit, didn’t hurt, anything. Within two weeks, he was back inthe turret again. In the Stars & Stripes publication for Wednesday, October 27, 2006, John’s picture was on the front page with the headline, “Marine Shot Twice, Same Week,Same Arm, Answers to … Lucky.”
On September 11, 2006, John was deployed to Haditha, Iraq. Fifteen days later, on September 26th, while on patrol, he was shot in the head by a sniper. The bullet penetrated just in front of his left ear and exited the back of the lower left side of his head. My husband, Carl, and I re-ceived the “every parent’s worst nightmare” phone call at 12:15 AM CST on September 27th. The phone call revealed that John was in a hospital in Balad, Iraq, where he had just endured five hours of surgery in which bone fragments and brain tissue were removed. We were told, “If he survives the brain swelling, he will never be the same, and will probably be a vegetable.” Immediately after the phone call, I sent an email to my 80 plus email addressees telling them what had happened and leading them in prayer, asking God for the desperately needed miracle for John. That afternoon a candlelight vigil, with 120 plus people was held on our front lawn. Twenty-four hours later, the doctors called back to tell us that John's condition had done "180". Even though he was unconcscious, he was responding favorably to every test given to him.
On September 28th, John was flown to the military hospictal in Landstuhl, Germany and on the 29th, he arrived at the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, MD. Carl, my stepdaughter, Jan McClellan Bowman and I arrived at the NNMC September 30th. The neurosurgeon at NNMC, Dr. Rocco Armonda, told us 99 out of 100 people with this type of injury do not survive, and that the bullet missed John's carotid artery by a thickness of two sheets of paper. John was in the ICU for seven days after which he was transferred to the 5th floor, surgery floor, where he remained until October 25th.
While at the NNMC, John McClellan was presented his third purple heart by General Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps.
On October 25, 2006, John and I were flown to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, FL, where John endured three and one-half weeks of intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy. John's left facial nerve was severed, so the left side of his face had no activity, which gave him a very "saggy" appearance. In addtion, the facial nerve controls the closing of the eye-lid, so a gold weight was inserted in his eyelid to assist it in closing. When an EMG was permfored at the VA Hospital in Tampa, the doctor's prognosis for the recovery of the facial nerve was very poor. He indicated that "if the nerve every recovers, it will probably take years".
On November 21, 2006, John and I returned home to Columbia, MO, where we were greeted by Carl and approximately 150 friends, family and well-wishers. The next week, John began occupational, speech and physical therapy at Rusk Rehabilitation Center in Columbia, MO.
Since his return in November, John's face has totally restored, the gold weight has been removed (and added as a charm to John's neckalce) as it is no longer needed. In February, 2006 John had another EMG test at the VA Hospital in Columbia, MO. After the test was concluded the doctor explained that the activity of John's left facial nerve was an "8", and that anything less than "10" is a very poor prognosis. At that point, I looked at the doctor and exclaimed, "I don't really care! Look at him!". By that time, John's face was three-fourths restored.
The miracles that God has done in this situation are many. Follwing is a list of the most dramatic. Each one of these miracles was a major concern at some point. One by one, God answered the prayers of the thousands of people praying for John.
1.) Lived. (His buds in Iraq prayed for him when they put him on the helicopter.)
2.) Can See. (Originally there was a fear that he would be blind.)
3.) Can Hear. (Left ear is deaf, but right ear is perfect.)
4.) Can Talk, (Sometimes brain injuries can cause a problem talking, so this was a serious concern.)
5.) Can Talk with Both Vocal Chords. (For 1 1/2 months, he only had one functional vocal chord, so he had the "Marlon Brando, Godfather" thing going on.)
6.) Can Swallow. (For one day, after removing the breathing tube, he
couldn't swallow.)
7.) No Headaches or Pain of Any Kind. (For two months, this was a problem.)
8.) No Dizziness. (For over a month he was extremely dizzy.)
9.) Laughs a Lot. (It took 1 1/2 months for him to get his "joy" back. Now it's 100% restored...and then some.)
10.) Left Hand and Left Side Work Again. (This was a problem that was 100% restored around February of 2007.)
11.) Can Walk. (He had to totally relearn to walk.)
12.) Not Retarded.
13.) Left Dimple Restored. (His left dimple was lost with the loss of the facial nerve.)
14.) Left Eyebrow Movement Restored. (This was also lost with the loss of the facial nerve.)
15.) Eyelid Closes.
16.) Forehead Wrinkles Restored. (This was lost with the left facial nerve.)
17.) Full Smile. (With the loss of the left facial nerve, his smile was only half.)
18.) Can Read.
19.) Can Write.
20.) No Cranioplasty Needed. (In March, 2007, we returned to NNMC for cranioplasty, but the muscle had grown over the brain sufficiently to protect it, so the surgery was cancelled.)
Here are the only things for which we continue to believe in God:
1.) Short Term Memory Loss.
2.) Deaf in Left Ear.
3.) Balance Not Perfect.
4.) No Seizures. (On 4/6/07, John experienced his first seizure; he is currently on anti-seizure medication and is doing fine.)
LCpl. John McClellan's story is one story of hope, not only for our soldiers, but for every living, human being. I truly, sincerely believe that God is there for us every step of the way, but prayer is critical for inviting God's intervention.