Cross Blog

Category: Service to the Armed Forces

A war wound

Monday, August 16, 2010

This account is written by Felecia Chavez, a Red Cross worker currently in Afghanistan.

A week ago Friday found me on the other side of our health care system here in Afghanistan. After thinking that I had a really bad case of food poisoning and hours of unbearable pain my co-worker drove me to the Emergency Room here on Bagram. After some tests and a lot of probing and poking a surgeon was called in. He read the CT Scan and a few minutes later I was quickly rolled into the operating room where it was determined that my appendix needed to come out immediately. I truly did not see that one coming and I think I was in shock. The surgeon, anesthiologist, and the operating room nurses were absolutely the best. Two hours later found me in the Intensive Care Ward in a room with 8 soldiers that had gotten hurt during the night in a pretty intense fire fight. (Beds and space are pretty much limited here).

Even though I was given space with curtains surrounding me I knew that these men had given their all and I felt very special being surrounded by them. Lying in that bed we could look at one another and they would give me the thumbs up sign and I would give them a wave. At one time I had to get up and this young soldier looked at me and his eyes got really big and he whispered “Oh my God ma’am they shot you in the stomach?” (my incision had bled so that I had blood on my gown) I told him “No, it was just my appendix, nothing major.” He said with all sincerety “It doesn’t matter ma’am it’s still a war wound.” When I came back to our room five soldiers including the one I had been talking to had been taken to be medevac’d to Lanstuhl, Germany.

I cannot say enough about the quality of care and a genuine feeling of tenderness that was shown me while here at Craig Joint Theater Hospital and there is no place in the world I would have rather been then right here to have had any type of surgery.

I was given the choice to be medevac’d back home or recuperate and finish out my tour here in Afghanistan. It would have placed an undue hardship on the rest of my team leaving them with only three people to continue our mission here, so I have chosen to stay. I am getting stronger every day and am back on light duty, my team members Susanne Harlandt, Michael Jowers, and Scott Grother have taken up the slack and have been there for me and I thank them. My husband Keith already knew the answer when he asked if I was coming home as did my children and family. My husband continues to be my rock and someone I can count on whenever needed and my children and family are always there with unconditional support.

Once again I have seen the other side of what some of our soldiers endure and can only marvel at their faith, strength, and committment. To the hospital staff that see some unbelieavable horrors day after day, it takes some very special people to do what they do and I can only thank them for being there and caring.

Services to the Armed Forces – Welcome Home Feb. 9, 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

On Feb. 9, 2010, the Red Cross welcomed home the troops.  This is one of the services the Red Cross provides to the Armed Forces.  We provided hot chocolate, coffee and snacks for the troops and their families to enjoy.  Excitement and joy filled the room when the troops arrived in Charlotte, N.C. 

The Red Cross also provides a service that keeps the American people in touch with their family members serving in the United States military. Wherever United States military troops are located, Red Cross employees and volunteers are there to meet their special needs. The Red Cross provides reporting and communication services through a network, which links members of the military any place in the world with their loved ones back home.  Here is a story of a person that the Red Cross was able to help:

For more information about the services the Red Cross provides for military members and their families, click here.

Giving Impact: A Connection In An Emergency

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

When soldiers go abroad, they can feel lonely and disconnected from their loved ones back at home. Our Help Military Families section of our Holiday Giving catalog is aimed towards providing service members and their families much needed care and connection during tough times.

The St. Louis Area Chapter blog has been highlighting the impact of our catalog gifts as well, and their post from Dec. 9 by Courtney Hinton was especially moving. Here is an excerpt from her post:

Picture if you will, a young soldier, away from home for the first time. His wife has just given birth to their second child - another beautiful boy. While there were no complications during his wife’s delivery, a minor situation, causing a significant breach in the health of this young soldier’s newborn son, was detected just moments after his birth.

Knowing that the American Red Cross provides connections during emergencies to military personnel, the soldier’s mother-in-law phoned her local Red Cross and requested her son-in-law call home immediately. […] While he was glad to learn of his son’s arrival, he was worried about his health, so he spoke with his First Sergeant and discussed the possibility of taking emergency leave. Within 24 hours, the young soldier had been granted leave, and was already off on his journey home to investigate the well-being of his family thanks to the connection made by the Red Cross.

Read the rest of Courtney’s account here

In the rest of her post, Courtney shows how the Red Cross touched this soldier’s life multiple times throughout this difficult period of his family’s life, helping him ensure the wellbeing of his family.

During this holiday season, please consider the impact that you can have on military families through a simple donation from our Online Gift Catalog.

Volunteers brave the cold for veterans

Monday, December 14, 2009

On Saturday, Dec. 5, Red Cross volunteers gathered to collect items to ship to local veterans. 

Many veterans won’t spend the holidays with family, and they have simple needs. Lite 102.9 paired with the Red Cross to collect items like travel-size toiletries, skid-free socks and playing cards.

If you would still like to help, you can bring the blow items to the Red Cross Mooresville Office at 200 Overhill Drive, Suite A:

Please keep the items small use trial or hotel size
Deodorant
Soap
Shampoo
Lotion
Pocket Tissues
Razors
Shaving Cream
Toothbrush
Brush
Washcloth Brush/Comb
Toothpaste
Cards/ Travel Games
Hygiene Products
Non-Skid Socks
Socks
Extra Lotion

Holiday Mail: Sorting Begins

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

We’ve been impressed and thankful for the incredible response from all of you regarding our Holiday Mail for Heroes program! Dec. 7 marked the close of the mail-in period - the mailbox will remain open for cards still trickling in, but cards sent from here on out will not be accepted.

Our work has only begun: now Pitney Bowes workers will screen the cards, then package and distribute them to Red Cross chapters nationwide. The chapters will then sort and deliver the cards to military bases and hospitals, veteran’s hospitals and other locations in the U.S. and abroad throughout the rest of this month.

Club Red and other volunteers from the Greater Carolinas Chapter will be sorting cards next Thursday at our card sorting party. Contact if you’d like to help!

Make a difference this holiday season

Monday, November 30, 2009

Make a difference in the lives of our veterans. 

Many veterans won’t spend the holidays with family, and they have simple needs. Lite 102.9 invites you to Mooresville Town Square Saturday, Dec. 5, where you can bring special items, like travel-size toiletries, skid-free socks and playing cards to help make this season brighter. 

Donations will be delivered with help from American Red Cross volunteers. 

American Red Cross - Mooresville
200 Overhill Dr. Ste A Mooresville, NC 28117
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through Dec. 4

American Red Cross - Statesville
1710-b Davie Ave. Statesville, NC
This site will only be open Thursday 12/03/2009 from noon to 5 p.m.

Mooresville Town Square with Lite 102.9 on 12/5 from 10 a.m. to noon
Located at the intersection of Williamson Road and Brawley School Road in Mooresville. 
www.mooresvilletownsquare.com

Items needed are:

Please keep the items small use trial or hotel size for soaps etc
Deodorant
Soap
Shampoo
Lotion
Pocket Tissues
Razors
Shaving Cream
Toothbrush
Brush
Washcloth Brush/Comb
Toothpaste
Cards/ Travel Games
Hygiene Products
Non-Skid Socks
Socks
Extra Lotion

Sending holiday mail to our heroes

Thursday, November 12, 2009

On Veterans Day, the American Red Cross held its kick-off event for the Holiday Mail for Heroes program in Washington, D.C. Special guest Amy Grant was there to show her support as people lined up to sign cards.

We also wanted to share a video that gives you a peek behind the scenes of our Holiday Mail program. Red Cross volunteers and Pitney Bowes workers will be working hard to sort and deliver the cards that you send in. Every card will be touched by many hands before finally reaching someone on the other end.

It may be difficult to feel the impact of your contribution when you are simply sending cards to a central mailbox, but every card that is received can mean a great deal to its recipient. Taking the time to give thanks to a stranger is one way to start getting into the holiday spirit!

If you also want to contribute more to help out members of our armed forces, please consider giving through our holiday catalog. You can help provide phone cards, deliver important family messages, and even training to cope with stress to a military family.

Let us know if you or someone you know have been personally affected by the Holiday Mail program or any other service to the armed forces that the Red Cross provides. We would love to hear your stories.

Army Wives Lend a Hand..

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Photo caption: Drew Fuller and Terry Serpico took a break from their role on the television show Army Wives to lend a hand to the American Red Cross. Drew and Terry helped the Red Cross feed approximately 5,000 soldiers and their families at the deployment ceremony for the 30th Heavy Combat Brigade of the North Carolina National Guard in Fayetteville, NC. Photo by Claire Sale / American Red Cross

More photos of these two in action

From Red Cross Chat

Believe it or not, these handsome guys are army wives!

Okay, maybe not EXACTLY. But Drew Fuller and Terry Serpico really do star on Lifetime’s Army Wives and they’re nice guys to boot.

Today, the duo took a break from their roles and helped the Red Cross provide food and drinks to approximately 5,000 soldiers and their families at the deployment ceremony for the 30th Heavy Combat Brigade Team of the North Carolina National Guard in Fayetteville, NC.

They were there to help the Red Cross as we fulfill our mission to support our men and women in the Armed Forces and their families.

Learned more about our Services to the Armed Forces.

Red Cross reuintes family during emergency situation

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Can you imagine your baby having life-saving heart surgery, and you are hundreds of miles away? 

This was just the scenario Army Specialist “Rory”* found himself in a few weeks ago while he was deployed to Camp Shelby, Miss., with the local National Guard unit preparing for an overseas tour of duty. Rory and “Natasha’s” baby boy, “Sean,” was born nine months ago with a life-threatening heart condition.  In March, he was transported to Levine’s Children Hospital in Charlotte for surgery.

Sean’s young mother needed desperately to have Rory return home to Wingate, N.C., to help the family through this crisis and to be there with his son.  Within hours of making contact with the Union County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Sean’s commanding officer received the urgent Red Cross message verifying the need for the emergency presence of the soldier back home. Rory returned home immediately, providing an important source of support for baby and Mom.

Baby Sean suffered a stroke one week after the surgery, but the young soldier was able to stay an additional week with his child to see him through the setback. Fortunately, Sean’s outlook is much better now, and he is recovering in the arms of his mother, who expressed her gratitude to the American Red Cross in helping to reunite Sean and his father during this critical time.
(*Names changed to protect our clients’ confidentiality.)

Find out more about our Services to the Armed Forces.