PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles native whose arms and legs were shattered in an explosion in Afghanistan is recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Pfc. Jeremiah Wright, 22, a member of the Port Angeles High School Class of 2009, was wounded Aug. 26 while acting as a roof gunner on a Humvee when an improvised explosive device detonated under the vehicle, said Dave Sands of Sequim, who said he is engaged to Wright’s mother.
“He’s alive, and that’s the main thing,” Sands said.
Wright is the son of Morris Wright and Lisa Bokamper, both of Port Angeles.
The soldier’s mother and other family members have gone to Texas to be with him, Sands said.
Brooke Army Medical Center said Thursday that Wright is in stable condition in an intermediate care unit.
His fiancee, Ashley Ferguson, 24, of Port Angeles, flew Saturday to San Antonio to be with him.
“He’s happy because his family is here,” Ferguson said.
She said both of his arms and both legs were broken, some in multiple places, including compound fractures.
Wright underwent a five-hour surgery Wednesday morning.
“He’s doing a lot better,” Ferguson said. “They’re going to start physical therapy with him. They are going to push him as hard as they can.”
Ferguson said she has been told that Wright is expected to return to duty, possibly with a change in jobs, and finish his four-year enlistment.
He has been awarded the Purple Heart, she said.
The couple were planning a wedding in June 2014, but Ferguson said she wasn’t sure of that date at this point, due to Wright’s injuries.
“It’s up to him,” she said.
Wright is a member of the 35th Engineer Brigade, based in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, before his deployment.
His family has requested no phone calls.
Cards and other well-wishes can be sent to Pfc. Jeremiah Wright, c/o Brooke Army Medical Center, 2 East, Room 201, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, San Antonio, TX 78234.
Brooke Army Medical Center does not allow perishables or latex balloons in the wards, but cards, flowers, cookies and mylar balloons are permitted to be sent to soldiers’ rooms, according to a hospital spokesman.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
