This week's synopsis

Hey friends! It's been about a week since my last blog, but here is this weeks' deal. I made quite some improvements all things considered: I used only one forearm crutch; of course with the assistance of my pt, Becky. The good thing is I was able to do this for about 200ft. I also, did very well in the double bars, holding up myself, walking by myself, and all Becky had to do was to ever so lightly touch me btu really she was just making sure of my safety. Even BEcky said, this waspossibly the best double bar walk she has ever seen me do.  I am also doing well with the "calm your mind" excersises, she has me do. A combo of pilates and yoga, haha, who would have thought I would ever do the "fu-fu/girlie" stuff!!
Oh well, you gotta start somewhere.
On Wednesday, we had an appointment with the Internal Medicine doc at Womack. Good news, NO I DID NOT BREAK DOWN INTO PIECES - so my Post Traumatic Womack Syndrome seems to have somewhat subsided! He is a likeable doc and seems to be open minded. He was surprised about my muscle strength and ability to retain/gain it. You see, the MS situation is not out of the picture for military docs yet but I am just not fitting the "typical" mold for it. Needless to say, I am kind of a head sratcher  patient for them. Also, my MRI was not what I hoped for, however, it baffles the docs as well because my lesions seem to "move" from one side to the other meaning from the back to the front, left to right, etc.  It doesn't appear necessarily that I have more but I certainly do have a lot of them, the radiologist said too many to count. Great.... Anyway, the radiologist did NOT refer to it as MS which is good news considering that my diagnosis of Neuro Lyme is controversial. The IM doc considers to have me checked for some chemicals because I had exposure in Iraq plus some of my former team members seem to have issues as well, some symptoms are alike some very different. Of course the TBI portion is still in the mix and according to the doc, he was very honest by stating, they just don't know enough about it yet. So I continue being the odd ball but I also know I am only one of many odd cases these days.
All in all, I have to keep my mind and spirit strong and focus on my physical gains rather then my losses or brain imaging. This is really tough to do but I have to because otherwise this situation will hurt me even more and backfire.

Keep looking for blogs and God bless all of you

Aquatic Therapy

So today, I did it again...I swam 20 length, i.e. 10 laps! Which is awesome because less then a year ago I couldn't swim at all! So this was a good day for me. I am cashed right now but hey I worked hard today ;0)
More tomorrow when I get to go back to see my "old" physical therapist again who is the best in all of Fayetteville, very excited to be back in her hands!

Hello followers!

Who am I anyway? Let me introduce myself....

My name is Darren Baldwin. I’m 35 years old and a Green Beret Major in the U.S. Army, currently on medical recovery at Ft. Bragg, N.C. I suffer from mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and central nervous system Lyme disease (also called neurological Lyme disease), the outcomes of two roadside bombings I experienced while serving in Iraq in 2005.

Though I am unable to serve my country actively right now, I like to think I have served it with honor in the past. I received a Purple Heart medal in August 2010 for my combat-related injuries. I also feel blessed to hold multiple combat medals and several other service awards.

My medical saga and the dramatic life transformations that my wife Bianca and I have experienced as a result of it are the subject of this blog. But this is not intended just to talk about me! As I share our daily journey with our blog readers, I hope you will find something to encourage, inspire and help you or a loved one.

But first, I will share a bit about my past life to bring you up to speed.

The Urge to Serve

I grew up in Worthington, Ohio, and graduated from Worthington Kilbourne High School in 1993. I graduated from West Point U.S. Military Academy in 1998 and from U.S. Special Forces Qualification School in 2003. In the interim between West Point graduation and becoming a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, I was stationed in Giessen, Germany, and there I met my beautiful wife Bianca.

I served in Kosovo in support of Task Force Falcon in 2000 and did three tours of duty in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I endured my traumatic brain injuries in 2005 while on my second tour in Iraq. At first I had only occasional TBI symptoms such as nausea and dizziness and some other odd things I had never felt before. Because I hadn’t yet been diagnosed with TBI, I returned to Iraq for a third tour of duty in January 2006.

Five months later I was invited to return to the States to serve as aide de camp to the U.S. Army Special Forces commanding general at Ft. Bragg. During my year of service there, I traveled to many countries, meeting and working with many great personnel. After completing the aide-de-camp duty, I served as a commander of a very specialized group whom I shall not name.

Somewhere along the way, the traumatic brain injury I had received in 2005 gave host to neurological Lyme disease, which had apparently been latent in my body. But before Lyme was confirmed, I was diagnosed with possible development of Multiple Sclerosis although the initial opinion was indeed some kind of brain infection or even hidden cancer somewhere in my body.

Unless treated early, Lyme disease leads to very serious complications. So by 2008, the TBI and Lyme had so deteriorated my functioning that I had difficulty with walking independently, doing everyday living functions and maintaining work responsibilities.

A Life on Hold

Since 2009, my arms, legs and vocal chords tremor so badly that I can’t write, walk without aid,  easily grasp objects, neatly feed myself or clearly speak. Even with a Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment, my fight to recovery has become a daily routine. It appears that 10 years from now my life will not look like I had envisioned it when I was a young Green Beret officer on track for a promising military career!

What I do know is that Bianca and I feel great compassion for what other wounded warriors and their families’ experience, and we want to share our experiences, our encouragement, and whatever we’ve learned in our battle for recovery that may be helpful to others.

We hope you’ll check back with us for frequent updates!

On August 4th at Fort Bragg, NC, Major Baldwin was awarded the Purple Heart for his combat service in The Global War on Terrorism, Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He remains active duty on medical recovery at Ft Bragg, North Carolina. Major Baldwin grew up in central Ohio with Worthington being his childhood home. This hometown ceremony is to honor one of our Country's wounded warriors.

In honoring his military service and ultimate sacrifice, the Green Beret Foundation was hosted on September 11th at 1:00pm at the Worthington Christian Church located at 8145 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio. The Green Beret Foundation provides unconventional resources to facilitate the special needs of our wounded, and provide unique support to the Special Forces community in order to strengthen readiness and uphold Green Beret traditions and values.

While the ceremony is to commemorate Major Baldwin's award, it is also meant to build awareness of the Green Beret Foundation's support for wounded warriors and acknowledge the national day of service of all our Armed Forces. We hope you can show your support by attending the commemorative ceremony and making a donation to the Green Beret Foundation in Major Baldwin's honor. Thank you.

Click here to view the Certificate of Commendation on behalf of the people of the State of Ohio.