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SSG. Terry Saffron, USA
The Saffron Family
Hello! I first want to say thank you for such a wonderful program, even if our family is not chosen, I am thankful for your
efforts to support our soldiers as they face one of the greatest challenges of their life, overcoming severe injuries.
We are the Saffron family. On May 5, 2004 an IED blast ripped through my husband vehicle killing his two young soldiers and
wounding him severely. He was not reunited with his family until May 15, 2004. Since that time the long range scope of his
injuries are that he had his lower right mandible removed and he lost most of the muscle tissue in his upper right arm which
includes the bicep, triceps and his deltoid had to be tacked down. He has an 8” bar held with screws permanently in his arm
since there is no muscle to strengthen it and he had over 4 inches of bone shattered and removed then new bone grafted in.
He is still undergoing reconstruction on his jaw (on July he had an all day surgery done at Wilford Hall Medical Center in
San Antonio Texas).
It will be at least another year before they finish giving him teeth on the lower right side again.
During this time, it occurred to me as a long term stay at home mom that I may well become the main bread winner for my family
and I was not prepared for that. I returned to school and graduated from an online program but realized there were many others
in the same situation.
Our wish is for our children more than anything. In the past 3.5 years our children have gone through so much and there has
been nothing for them. There is no support or camp or any other endeavor for the teen children of the severely injured.
In a few weeks our oldest will be 18, he is a senior in high school. We would love to be able to take him and his sisters
away as a family to escape the reality of the surgeries and the issues that have overcome our family.
The whole injury and all that surrounds it seems almost surreal at times in the way it governs our life and theirs and a
chance to go on a family cruise with no cell phones or doctor’s appointments or worries about costs to interrupt it would be
not a just a wish but truly a dream getaway for all of us.
In December 2007, Hope For The Warriors™ sent the Saffron family to Disney World for a full week vacation. Lodging was provided
by Wounded Warriors
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