Dan Cnossen

September 2010

2010-09-21T12:29:00.005-04:00

It is with much joy, pride, and sentiment that I sit down to write for one last time about my brother’s recent triumphs, one year after he was injured in combat. I know that so many of you have been following this website so faithfully, and I am beyond humbled by that. I had absolutely no idea that this story would gather such interest from so many people, and I am so thankful that we were able to share this part of our lives – all our ups and downs - with the people who have held us up through this challenging year. Dan, our mother, and I wouldn’t be where we are today without all the love and support we’ve received from you, in all the different ways that you have given it to us.

And although it’s been a year now, Dan is still not finished with surgery. I think his OR record is up in the thirties now - just a few more to go and then he will be kissing that place goodbye! And I will be saying farewell to the waiting room couch and all my favorite vending machine snacks. Last week he had operation #1 in a series of steps to fix the internal damage he suffered from the blast. His surgeon was very pleased with the results, so we are hopeful that when all is said and done around November, the Inner Dan will be as good as new. Fingers crossed everybody - the next few months might get a little rough.

But enough of that.....

Feast your eyes on this!

Now if that isn’t the coolest thing you’ve ever seen, I don’t know what is. It started with a really fast walk, and progressed to a run-walk tied to a harness, then to a lap around the gym without the harness, then to 400 meters around a high school track, and now this weekend he is running the Navy Five Miler in Washington D.C. This is the product of months of blood, sweat, tears, intense physical therapy, self-discipline and determination, and thousands upon thousands of calories burned and consumed a day (yep folks, one year later, still eating everything in sight). Meticulous skin and wound care is a huge part of his daily routine now. It is a constant battle to protect his legs from getting beaten to shreds inside their prosthetic sockets, but he loves running so much that it’s a battle he’s willing to fight.

And as for me, I stay behind the scenes these days. I am still living in Bethesda in our apartment with Dan, and I continue to help him out with little day-to-day things as a sister/roommate, but he is basically as independent as ever before. Although I’m already a Registered Nurse, I have recently gone back to school to become certified as a Wound/Ostomy RN. If I can use what I have seen with my brother to help the other Dan’s of the World with their colostomies and various wounds from combat, then I can’t imagine any better line of work.

One last thing about the other Dan’s of the World….there are a lot of them out there. The numbers of injured men and women at Walter Reed and other military hospitals are astonishing right now. We need to turn every single story into the same kind of success story that we have seen with Dan. And sadly not everybody has the resources and support that we have been so fortunate to have. If anybody is still looking for an additional way to give back to these men and women, there are organizations out there that are fighting every day to give them what they deserve. Please visit www.phoenixpatriotfoundation.org , a project born this year out of a desire to make things right.

And although this is the last post on his website, this won’t be the last time you’ll see him. It doesn’t even have to be said how bright his future is, and how much we are going to continue to be inspired by his story. Dan has no solid plans for the future quite yet – he is just going one day at a time – but I know that wherever he ends up taking himself and the rest of his life will make these triumphs of the past year seem like just a small fraction of what he’s capable of.

On behalf of my family – thank you.

Leslie

Dan on TV

2010-09-06T10:43:00.003-04:00

Watch Dan do the coin toss for Navy at today's game vs. Maryland.

4PM EST on ESPN.

Dan in the news

2010-07-21T15:36:00.000-04:00

http://cjonline.com/news/local/2010-07-05/cnossen_defying_odds

KNEES!

2010-03-08T22:16:00.008-05:00

I am proud and excited to report that Dan is back to his original height and walking all over the place, with bending knees and all! No more stubbies, no more peg-leg walking. He is doing SUCH an amazing job at getting this C-leg thing down - when he walks, he actually makes prosthetic legs seem like real ones. He's been up on them for about two weeks now, and is blowing everyone at Walter Reed away with his progress. And how deserving - today is the 6-month anniversary of stepping on that pressure plate in Afghanistan.

When I last wrote on here (last month - my apologies once again, just know that no news is generally good news!), Dan was about to go into surgery. He came out of it fine, but it was a very tough one to recover fully and quickly from. They had to cut a piece of his large intestine out, and sew the remaining ends back together. He was discharged home five days later, eating and tolerating food very well, but with an abdominal incision the size of Kansas that the doctors left open. They do this often in GI surgery, to avoid suturing up a potential infection under the skin. The day after discharge from Walter Reed, Washington DC became hell. HELL! Snowed in for five days with an open abdomen - it wasn't fun and it was downright scary as hell but we pulled through. We had one day of reprieve, where I was able to luge my car down the road to the hospital to get much-needed medical supplies for Dan, and then boom! More snow. Trapped inside our apartment for another three days. I can look back on it all and laugh now, but it wasn't funny at the time. The only thing that was funny was how badly I shamed my brother in Scrabble. Needless to say, once all the snow let up, we were both practically sprinting out the door to get back to human life at Walter Reed. And I am also happy to report that a little over a month later, that huge incision is almost all the way closed!

Soon after all this happened, the C-legs came from Austria. And they are cool. Since they are legs with knees powered by a computer, they are pretty complex. A person couldn't just put them on and start walking. They require a lot of instruction by both the prosthetist and the physical therapist who are working with Dan. They also have to be adjusted by way of a bluetooth chip and a laptop (I'm serious) to get the knees just right for Dan's body weight. It was actually pretty funny - he stood up in them for the first time, got the feel for the way his actual legs fit in the sockets, and a basic understanding of the mechanism of the knee, and just started walking. Between parallel bars, of course - but still he picked up on it very quickly, like he'd been doing it for years. For the first few days of walking training, he stayed between the parallel bars just for the extra support while he got a very thorough understanding of how the knees work and feel. He then moved outside the parallel bars to an indoor track, strapped to a harness in case he fell, and walking with two canes. His physical therapist is incredible - he has such immense knowledge of prosthetic rehab, he is challeging and motivating, and is overall just a great fit for Dan. At this point Dan is walking, without the harness, wherever he feels like going! And as I said before, he is walking very well. The other day he learned how to go up and down stairs, and today he learned how to go up and down inclines. He knows how to stand up from a chair, and even stand up from the ground if he falls. The training center at Walter Reed is so great, but it's not the real world, and in the real world there are stairs and ramps and grass and any subtle changes in the level of the ground can send him biting the dust. So a major goal of physical therapy is to teach him how tackle all these issues that might come up. And let me tell you, somebody getting up from the ground on double prosthetics is a sight to see. NOT as easy as you would think!

And what we have come to learn all too well over all these months, is that it's always a rollercoaster of ups and downs. There are still surgeries in Dan's future, and they are not going to be easy ones unfortunately. His urethra is still severed, part of his colon is not there, and he's got crazy bone growth on the end of his left leg that makes putting that leg in a socket pretty painful. All three of these issues are going to require surgical intervention, and at this point, we're not sure when these are all going to happen. We're starting to get the ball rolling on the urethra and GI reconstruction - doing exploratory procedures and tests to figure out a game plan. If you asked him, I know my brother would tell you that losing his legs has been nothing compared to the struggles he's faced with these internal injuries. It's so easy to put on prosthetics and show the world how you've triumphed over amputations - but this internal stuff is far more devastating and something that he basically just has to deal with inwardly. I'm in awe every day of his strength.

And one more thing before I have to call it a night....to all of you, all over this country, who have donated your prayers, your money, your time, your words of encouragement, and your hope to our family...thank you so much. Each one of you is loved forever for this. The past six months have taught us, more than anything, how incredible we all are as human beings.

God bless you all!

Leslie

January

2010-01-30T10:47:00.012-05:00

Hey everyone - thank you all so much for your patience and understanding during my recent absence from these updates. January 2010 has been the busiest month of my entire life! And undoubtedly one of the best. Now, where to start....

Dan has been up on the stubby legs for quite a while now, and is doing remarkably well walking on them. He's made all the progress that he can on the stubbies and is actually ready for his C-legs, which are the legs with computerized knees that he will use to walk every day, but wouldn't you know....we are waiting for the parts to come in. So in the meantime, we decided to get crazy and just travel all over the place. Some travel has been for therapy purposes, and some has just been for fun (but we can still use the excuse "therapy", right?).

We started 2010 off with a trip to New York City to watch the ball drop in Times Square. We went with a group of guys from Walter Reed and had the best time. The NYPD were our hosts for the night - giving us police escorts all over the city - absolutely amazing. I don't think I ever want to ride around that city any other way ever again. We had our own roped-off section underneath the ball, and even a restaurant on 42nd street that opened its doors to us so we'd have a place to stay warm (and not to mention eat - this is Dan we're talking about) while we waited for midnight. When the ball finally dropped, it was pretty indescribable. Thanks to Wounded Warrior Project and the NYPD for making such an unforgettable experience possible for us. As a Christmas present to me, Dan arranged for us to stay an extra two nights in the city so I could see all my friends. Best Christmas present ever.

Then it was back to the grind at Walter Reed for a few days - physical and occupational therapy, doctors appointments, pharmacy lines (my specialty), and getting all the medical supplies we'd need for the next few weeks of traveling.

And just as soon as we got back from New York, we were off to Orlando. Now, I thought we were supposed to be in Orlando. But it was 30 degrees and snowy the whole time so I'm still refusing to believe that that's actually where we were. Dan competed in the Disney Half-Marathon on a hand cycle - his first race since his injury! The Disney Marathon is pretty special to him....it was actually the first marathon he ever did, when he was a freshman in college. That rollercoaster picture is from the day before the race, when Dan and I got to play around Disney World all afternoon. All we did was ride the rollercoasters over and over again like 7 year-olds. Which is silly now that I think about it because there were only two rollercoasters. That day was 4 months from the day he was injured. The marathon was the next day, and we all met in the hotel at 3:15am (A.M!!!) to head over to the starting line. It was so cold I had to hop around constantly just to keep warm. It was hard for the guys on the hand-bikes because once you're in the bike, you can't really do much to keep moving and stay warm. Dan did so well, despite the cold, and crossed the finish line in a little over an hour. He was in quite a bit of pain and completely frozen, but considering the fact that he hadn't trained at all, he was in great shape! After the race, we went back to the hotel and I watched him consume the largest breakfast of all time.

We came back from Orlando to two very busy days at the hospital. We were invited to dinner at the White House with the President and Mrs. Obama, along with all the combatant commanders and their wives. Dan and I were so fortunate to get to sit with the First Lady for dinner, and lovely doesn't even come close to adequately describing her, but it's the best I can do. For those who are interested, check this out:

And just as soon as we got back from Florida, two days later we went to Florida again! This time to Miami, where the weather was MUCH more to my liking. Walter Reed sent a group of about ten amputees and other combat-injured men down for a Soldier Ride with Wounded Warrior Project. This organization did such a fantastic job putting this ride together - all the employees and volunteers deserve round after round of thanks and praise for all their hard work. It was a three-day bike ride starting in Miami and ending in Key West, and it was a blast. I rode along with the group, and it was very special to me to get to be alongside my brother and the rest of the guys. The applause and cheers of gratitude from the people that would line the streets as the guys rode by would put chills down your spine. The highlight of the trip was riding on the 7-mile bridge over the ocean, it was breathtaking. I wish I had pictures, but I haven't mastered the art of one-handed bicycling yet.

When we came back from this Florida trip - a very hard trip to come back from! - we were back to the hospital again for another two days of therapy before jetting off again, this time to Chicago. A group of very generous people in the Chicago area hosted Dan and I, along with several other injured SEALs and Marines, in a resort for a weekend of R&R. We met some great people and had the best time.

Somewhere in between all these trips, if you can believe this, we had to move apartments. I about died. You wouldn't believe how much stuff you accumulate in four months when a family member is injured. But we survived the chaos of the move and love our new place! The address here is:

5801 Nicholson Lane Apt. 201

N. Bethesda, MD 20852

Now, please bear with me here as things get a little more serious. We were supposed to head to Aspen this weekend with a group from Walter Reed so Dan could learn to ski, but unfortunately things took a turn for the worse a few days ago. The day we got back from Chicago, Dan woke up in the middle of the night vomiting. He had been feeling fine all day, and doing so great for the past month, that we thought it must have been something he ate, or the stomach flu, or something temporary like that. The vomiting continued the following day, and just didn't stop. Every time he would put anything into his stomach, even water, it would come right back up. I soon realized that this wasn't just a bug, and that something had to be wrong with his GI system. He's had these problems in the past, where his intestines just go to sleep because due to the effects of narcotics or anesthesia, or because they're just irritated. But those problems always come on gradually, not all of a sudden out of nowhere like this one. He has a complicated GI tract now, with so much surgery and a colostomy, that it's very possible that something could be mechanically wrong with his intestines. Dan has been hospitalized enough times for GI problems that a deep fear of going back has settled into him. So, understandably, he refused to let me take him in to get checked out. After a few days of not being able to keep anything down and worsening dehydration, he finally caved and let me drive him to the hospital. We spent all day yesterday in the ER at Walter Reed, where he was put through a series of tests to determine what and where the problem was. Long story short, Dan has a mechanical bowel obstruction somewhere near his ostomy, but the doctors can't pinpoint exactly where it is and what to do about it. He is going in for surgery tonight, to either repair the ostomy if they are able, or to get a new one altogether.

It is very frustrating for us to go through such an incredible few weeks of progress, only to land in the hospital again with a surgery looming overhead. But we know that once this bump in the road has passed, an even more incredible phase is in his future. Please say a quick prayer as you read this - my brother is going to need it tonight and over the next few days as he recovers and moves toward achieving what he so deserves. His C-legs are ready for him, we just have to get him back in fighting shape so he can knock our socks off once again with his progress.

Thank you all, more to come.

Leslie

Can you ride a roller coaster on the 4-month anniversary of stepping on an IED?

2010-01-08T19:18:00.001-05:00

Yes you can.

Five Feet of Accomplishments

2009-12-20T16:27:00.005-05:00

When I last wrote anything on this website, we were in a pretty tough spot. Dan was in the hospital again and feeling miserable. Since then he has improved so much every day that I can hardly keep up with him, let alone find time to update everyone on his progress. Thank you for your patience during the drought. Today we are barricaded into our apartment by a foot of snow, and so with nothing to do and nowhere to go, all of a sudden I have some time on my hands!

So many people commented on the photo of Dan climbing the rock wall. How amazing was that! We busted him outta the hospital that morning, and after 5 days of laying in the hospital bed, he decided that climbing a rock wall sans legs would be a nice accomplishment. It took him three tries - one of which caused me to almost pee my pants and pray that the floor underneath was cushy enough if the harness didn't hold - and on the third try he made it to the top! Dan has a fantastic occupational therapist who consistently pushes him outside of the box, allowing him to accomplish things that don't quite seem feasible.

Soon after the adventures in rock climbing, Dan's stubby legs became ready for use! When he went verticle for the first time, it was a pretty cool moment. Although I'll be honest, we both had to laugh a little because he was so short. We actually laughed a lot. With the stubbies on, Dan's about 4'8''. But his balance is perfect - due most likely to all the core strength he's developed over the past few months in physical therapy. We thought he would have more of a hip flexor contracture from sitting in the wheelchair for so many weeks, causing him to inadvertently bend forward at the hip when standing, but it was very minimal. He does so many good hip flexor stretches in PT, and also can sleep on his stomach now to stretch out, so his hips are in very good condition for standing up straight. He took some great first steps between parallel bars, while his prosthetist made the necessary adjustments to his sockets. When he first fitted Dan for sockets, Dan was seated in his wheelchair. Once he's standing, however, the fit changes a little inside the socket due to the shift in pressure direction. So the prosthetist re-measures everything while Dan's standing and makes better-fitting sockets from there. Dan's now on his second pair of stubby legs and is standing at about 5 feet tall. He's progressed from walking between parallel bars, to walking with a walker, to walking with two canes, to walking with one cane, to walking short distances with no cane at all! Of course these legs don't have knees, so all he's really working on right now is balance and getting the feel of the sockets. Knees will come in a month or so. Every day he walks a little further than the day before. We have to be very careful and almost obsessive about checking his skin after he takes his legs off. The H.O. growing on his left leg is really getting insane, and is about to pop through his skin graft. It is a bony pressure ulcer that is pressing up from the inside, and the additional pressure that comes with putting the leg in a socket is really going to cause some problems once the bone ulcerates through the graft. There really isn't anything we can do about it except take meticulous care of the area. The plan is to eventually cut the H.O. out surgically, but we have to wait about 6 months for the growth to run its course before that can happen.

In other exciting news - the debilitating bladder spasms, in combination with the severe intestinal malfunction - are no more! The second go-around at the hospital took care of these problems for what we hope is the rest of Dan's life. He is back to eating like a king and digesting beautifully. The bladder spasms that left him in tears multiple times a day have completely disappeared.

So we are in a pretty big "up phase" right now, and really enjoying it. Dan's doing better now than he ever has since his injury, and after all the recent setbacks, he's finally making all the progress and the accomplishments that he so deserves.

Dan, our mother, and I wish you all the very best over the holidays. The support that we continue to receive amazes us, and we could not imagine what our lives would be like without such exceptional friends surrounding us. Happy Holidays, and God bless you all.

One small step for Dan....

2009-12-11T09:33:00.001-05:00

Out of the hospital and.........

2009-12-09T20:43:00.003-05:00

Dan was discharged from the hospital Tuesday morning. On Tuesday afternoon.......

Goodbye ex-fix, hello nothing-by-mouth

2009-12-03T22:39:00.003-05:00

What was supposed to be a very exciting week for Dan turned pretty quickly around - and he's now right in the middle of one of those setback periods that everybody always tells us are sure to come. As always though, Dan will come out of this one stronger and better than ever.

We got our week off to a really great start. He had an appointment with his head trauma surgeon at NNMC on Monday, and she was thrilled with how all of his wounds look now. I should say, how the areas where his wounds WERE look now. The skin graft that takes up most of his left inner thigh - took 100% and actually feels like real skin now. The area where the blast took some of his right thigh - healed completely. The tailbone and butt area which used to be just a huge gaping hole - healed completely. It really is amazing. One thing his doctor was definitely not pleased about, however, is his GI tract. He was admitted back into NNMC about two weeks ago with some intestines that decided to quit. After a few days there, some bowel rest, and some new medication he seemed to be on the right track back to the Dan that we all know could eat twelve Thanksgiving meals in one day.

After his appointment with his trauma surgeon, we headed to Walter Reed for another appointment with John, his prosthetist. John is actually an amputee himself. He did an initial plaster casting of Dan's residual limbs (I don't know why I'm even trying to be politically correct here - Dan gets such a kick out of calling them stumps). We got a lot of questions answered about what this process will be like - getting up on short legs and standing for the first time, then advancing to legs with knees, etc. Dan could have been up on prosthetics several weeks ago, but the external fixator on his pelvis prevented him from bearing weight on his legs. So he was in a little bit of a dead area for most of November as far as physical therapy is concerned - but this has given him plenty of time to really work on his core strength and balance, which he will definitely need once he goes vertical.

That was Monday. Tuesday it was back to the am PT/pm OT routine, and that evening is when Dan started throwing up. Ever since he was discharged from NNMC two weeks ago his GI issues were definitely improved from the point where they caused him to be hospitalized, but he just hadn't quite gotten back to full digestive speed since then. Every day his stomach would get little bigger, and he'd be able to eat a little less. After he wasn't able to keep his dinner down on Tuesday, and then again on Wednesday, we knew it was time to do something about it. Wednesday was a circus - we were running all over the place back and forth between Walter Reed and NNMC to get him ready for the surgery he was scheduled to have the next day. Yes, surgery - Dec. 3 has been the much-anticipated external fixator removal date, and damned if Dan was going to let a little barfing stop that from happening!

But he was so sick this morning - I took him to the hospital at 4:45 am for surgery and he had been throwing up all night. His stomach was the size of a beach ball. He even asked me to push his wheelchair for him, which is something he absolutely refuses to let anyone do, ever. Once we got to the procedure unit, we asked immediately that he be seen by the team monitoring his GI issues before any orthopedic people even touched him. After much discussion between the general surgery, orthopedics, and anesthesia teams everybody ultimately decided to go ahead with the ex-fix removal, and then admit Dan after surgery back on 5-East for several days to solve this problem.

So on the plus side, the hated ex-fix is off! On the minus, Dan is back in the hospital with a tube down his nose and is understandably frustrated. They are running a bunch of tests right now to figure out what the underlying cause is here. We don't know if it's a small bowel obstruction, an accumulation of narcotics with side effects that slow intestinal motility, or something else entirely. Although he's frustrated about being an inpatient again, he understands that this is a necessary step in getting him back to normal and he's handling it like a champ. He was supposed to have another appointment with John the prosthetist tomorrow to actually get some sockets put on, but we'll have to postpone that, which is okay.

I suppose we had to expect setbacks like this - but it's very difficult to grasp the fact that Dan can have both of his legs amputated and pelvis fractured, and these injuries will not cause nearly the challenges and frustrations that Dan's bowels and bladder have caused him. I look at him in complete amazement every day as he deals with these difficult and very painful complications - of course he complains, how can he not? But does he let it get him down? No way. He just wants to get better and get on so he can get back to learning how to walk.

Please keep him in your thoughts over these next few days. This will pass - after all, this is Dan we're talking about.

Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend!

From Alice

2009-12-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, our mom had to fly back home to Kansas on Sunday. It will be tough adjusting to life without her here. She will never accept the credit, but she worked so hard and did so much for the both of us over these past months. Dan couldn't have made all the amazing progress he's made, and I just couldn't have functioned without her here. Dan can handle all the recovery stuff - we've seen him fly off the charts in that area. I can handle the hospital stuff. But our mom definitely didn't pass on her cooking/cleaning/organizing genes to her children, so wish us luck! All hell is really gonna break loose now!

Before she left, she wrote a message that she wanted me to share with everyone. I'll try and write more about what's going on with Dan this week (it's a very exciting week for us!) within the next few days. Things just got real busy around here without Alice to pick up the slack! But I promise to update soon.

Love to all,

Leslie

11-26-09

Even though Dan had to be briefly readmitted last week to NNMC (Bethesda Naval) to resolve some infection issues with his bladder and have a catheter replaced, we were able to get a day pass out of the hospital to attend a lovely wedding at the US Naval Academy Chapel on Saturday afternoon, joining the reception/dinner at Loew’s Annapolis Hotel later in the evening. It was a wonderful event, and we were all so glad we were able to attend. Dan reconnected with some SEAL and USNA friends, and everyone was so happy to see him out and about recovering so admirably.

Leslie had a one-day bout with a bug that week but quickly recovered. It was amazing how many people were concerned about her. Mark Conley spent that day at the hospital with Dan while I stayed at the apartment with Les trying to find her something to settle her stomach. Without Les to manage everything for Dan, we struggle! People are always offering to step in to help, though, so we continue to be grateful for the wide network of support we are blessed to have here.

Dan was released from Bethesda this past Sunday, so we were back to the daily Walter Reed routine until today, Thanksgiving Day. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and we hope you have a great day and weekend traveling and being with your families.

A group of us is traveling to Annapolis to enjoy the day at Brian and Biggi Ray’s house. It feels odd not to be spending hours and hours cooking a Thanksgiving meal this year as so many of you are no doubt doing, but it’s a nice break for a change.

Dan continues to enjoy his OT and PT workouts daily at Walter Reed, and Leslie is good about making sure he gets to all his follow-up medical appointments, reorders his supplies, administers his medications and just generally takes very good care of her brother.

I am returning to Kansas on Sunday to resume my previous life there. Jeff has been very understanding and supportive of my absence, as have my good Westar Energy friends. I see it’s time, though, to return to that life and visit here as frequently as possible next year. With today’s communications technologies, we’ll be in close touch daily and if anything arises needing a mom’s presence, I know where to find Daniel and Les! I am so thankful for all the support from NSW Group One, USSOCOM Care Coalition, the many friends who have come forth to offer food, companionship and respite and just the overwhelming caring people have shown our family. This Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful for YOU and our outstanding country of caring, giving people. I’m saying some extra prayers in support of our troops today, and I know many of you will be doing the same.

Blessings to all, and thank you for your interest love and support!

Alice

Thanksgiving Photos

2009-11-28T08:07:00.002-05:00

We were thrilled to join the Ray family for Thanksgiving in Annapolis. Here are some photos.

Excessive Dan Growth

2009-11-14T10:04:00.007-05:00

If we thought the transition from inpatient to outpatient was going to make our lives slow down, we were wrong! This week was a busy one. Apartment life is good though - much, much better for Dan than hospital life. We've turned one of the bedrooms in the apartment into a Dan-friendly environment. All of his medical supplies are stowed way in the dresser, he can get in and out of the bed in a snap, and we even rigged up the bathroom just right so he is able to take showers now! I've never gone 2 days without showering. I can't imagine what 2 months would feel like. Needless to say, shower time is one of the best parts of Dan's day. The other best parts are his PT and OT sessions, of course. We commute back to Walter Reed every day for 2 hours of PT in the morning, and another 2 hours of OT in the afternoon. It's pretty cool to be able to spend so much time in that gym, watching Dan improve every day, and also watching the other guys in their various stages of recovery making such huge strides with their new legs.

He still has some wounds that require nursing care every morning and night, so we took about 5 grocery bags full of medical stuff home with us when he was discharged. I wake him up about an hour before we have to leave every morning to get him all fixed up for the day. I'm considering our early-morning wound care time as good brother-sister bonding time. Except most of the time he just sleeps through it. Then he'll have a big sleep-twitch right as I'm doing something important and it scares the daylights out of me. Earlier in the week we discovered an infection where the pins on his external fixator go into his hip, so he is on antibiotics and a new pin site dressing regimen for a little while to combat the infection. He had an appointment with his orthopedic surgeon the other day regarding the fractured pelvis, and the doctor feels that the external fixator is OK to come off as soon as December 3rd! Hallelujah that will certainly be a day of celebration - it is really becoming a nuisance for Dan as he becomes increasingly more mobile.

He is also facing a new challenge that has developed over the past few weeks: both of his legs have started to develop what's called heterotrophic ossification, or HO. In other words, HO is excessive bone growth at the ends of his legs where they were amputated. Most blast-injured amputees experience this, so we sort-of knew it was coming. When the IED blast hit Dan's legs, bone fragments were deposited in the soft tissue surrounding the area. As a healing mechanism, the bone wants to keep growing - it's the body's way of trying to repair itself. It grows rapidly too....every day we notice changes. We joke around that maybe it will just grow all the way down into some new legs. Unfortunately the bone growth is abnormal - it just goes in all directions. There's no point in surgically cutting it off at this point, because it will just keep growing. The plan as of now is just to let it run its course, and then when it seems to be done growing (usually within 6 months after injury) they'll go in and modify it surgically.

On Veteran's Day, Dan got all gussied up in some khaki shorts and a polo shirt and we went into DC to attend a dinner to benefit CAUSE (Comfort for America's Uniformed Services), which is a fantastic organization that does some really great things for the injured troops and their families. We were lucky enough to sit at the same table with our good friend Kim Dozier from CBS news, and met some other truly amazing people throughout the night. Lt. Jay Redman, a fellow SEAL who was injured in Iraq, gave an awesome speech (Jay, it is always such a pleasure to see you - you never disappoint!). I want to especially thank Jennifer Griffin from Fox News for her fantastic job as emcee, and her other fantastic job battling Stage 3 breast cancer. Jennifer, your mention of Dan in your speech meant so much to us. You are truly an amazing woman. And he is serious about working out sometime soon! For anybody who wants some extra inspiration, check out Jennifer's story: http://jengriffinblog.blogspot.com/. We also had the pleasure of meeting General Petraeus, who expressed genuine interest in Dan and his recovery.

Next week we have more appointments to look forward to: one with his plastic surgeon at NNMC to evaluate his skin graft, and another with his prosthetist at Walter Reed for an initial fitting of his prosthetics.

We hope everyone is having a great weekend!

2009-11-08T21:23:00.002-05:00

Hangin out at home

Dan the Man

2009-11-07T09:49:00.001-05:00

Dan had a good trial overnight pass at our apartment at Grosvenor Place last Saturday night, Halloween night. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with good friends at a local Italian restaurant after Dan had scoped out the apartment in his wheelchair. After dinner, we returned to the apartment, where he slept overnight in a regular double bed. We had to get him back to Walter Reed the next morning by 10 a.m., and all went well. He likes the apartment and its beautiful surroundings. He looks forward to being able to explore the many nearby trails and be out in nature again.

This week has been spent getting ready for Dan moving to outpatient status. This means making sure the apartment is safe for him to live in, and Oren, our trusty OT expert, visited to ensure all is in order before Dan moves in. We are confident we’ll all make this important transition just as smoothly as each previous change. Many people surround us with love, support, and offers to help with every little thing.

Many friends and Team guys continue to visit Dan, and all are impressed with how buff he’s looking after several days of PT and OT workouts and huge portions of delicious food from the Walter Reed cafeteria.

Two members of Dan’s platoon serving in Afghanistan arrived Nov. 3 at Bethesda NNMC following injuries, and Dan was able to greet them as they arrived, also meeting their family members. He was very anxious to get up to date on recent happenings, as well as to lend his support as a fellow patient. The camaraderie and mutual respect shown as they encountered each other was heartwarming and touching. We are happy to report the guys are doing very well, and we’re glad their family members can be with them as they recuperate.

We also enjoyed meeting President Obama Friday afternoon as he visited the wounded troops at Walter Reed. He is an energetic, charismatic man with a very engaging presence and smile. All the preparation for his visit was quite interesting! As he was leaving, he noticed the heavy copy of War and Peace on Dan’s bedside table, lifted it to look at it and laughed at my joke that lifting the book and putting it down again is another form of PT for Dan.

That night, another milestone occurred: Dan was discharged from Ward 57 and is now officially an outpatient! He’s living at our Grosvenor Place apartment now and looks forward to more independence and freedom of movement, mainly MORE PT and OT! Leslie and I are gearing up to meet all his needs, especially figuring out how to keep him well fed! As he keeps reminding us, excellent nutrition is key to the body’s healing and well-being. He has definite ideas on just the right things to eat and drink.

The fact that Dan has progressed this far this quickly is truly a testament to the power of prayer, the tremendous support from USSOCOM Care Coalition and NSW Group One, visits/cards/phone calls from admirals, wives and family/friends, thoughtful and caring fund-raising efforts, and the ability for Leslie to be here to care for his medical needs and shuttle him back and forth to his rehab and medical appointments. We are so grateful to everyone for your continuing support and love and look forward to being able to enjoy the upcoming holidays as a reunited family with the most awesome friends imaginable. God bless all of you!

Alice

Walter Reed

2009-10-29T19:32:00.003-04:00

We successfully made the big move on Tuesday. So far, we love it at Walter Reed. Dan gets plenty of sleep at night, wakes up in the morning and heads to the gym for a few hours. Then he eats lunch, and heads back to the gym for an afternoon workout. His sole mission there is to work out, and he's definitely not wasting any time. His PTs and OTs there are designing a wide variety of exercises for him to do. Every day we watch him get better and better at his endurance and strength. He's even doing push-ups! They have every kind of therapy for these guys that you can think of: wheelchair basketball, horseback riding, hunting, kayaking, skiing - you name it, they'll make it happen. It's all in place to give the wounded guys as normal and fulfilling a life as possible - Dan will be a busy guy.

While Dan is still an inpatient, his doctors are recognizing his increasing ability to be outside of the hospital. They're writing him an overnight pass to come home to our apartment Saturday night! We're anticipating that he can be transitioned to outpatient status very soon. After being inside the hospital walls for 7 weeks, you can imagine how excited he will be for this.

Unfortunately, Dan's progress will be somewhat limited as far as getting up on prosthetics until December when they will re-evaluate his pelvic injury. He can't bear any weight until the pelvis is fully healed. But you can expect him to work as hard as he can on every other aspect of rehab possible until that time comes. He'll start on really short legs (we fondly call them nubbies/stubbies) until he gets the walking thing down. Then he'll advance from there - basic prosthetics and walking, to running, to obtaining the most advanced prosthetics available. And then who knows where he'll take it from there!

A word about what it's like at Walter Reed: everywhere you go in that hospital, you will see young guys with missing legs and missing arms, with brain injuries, and with other traumas that the wars have left them with. It's especially powerful to see them all in the gym, working as hard as they can to overcome their new challenges. You would be so inspired just to see how they greet one another in the hallways, with a deep understanding and level of respect, and a cheerful smile and nod all at the same time. Everyone in that hospital goes out of their way to acknowledge these guys and help them throughout their day. It's so cool.

Dan's smiling more than ever now, and we're counting our blessings more and more each day. We've met so many awesome people through this, and again, everyone's support has meant so much.

Dan's Family

Breaking free!

2009-10-25T22:17:00.001-04:00

These are pictures of the three of us...out to eat at a restaurant! The doctors let us take Dan out for the night. He did so well in his wheelchair, out of the hospital for several hours - they let us go out again the next night! Two nights in a row, as a family, back in the outside world, has made this the best weekend ever.

Man on the Move

2009-10-21T19:41:00.003-04:00

The moment we've all been waiting for: Dan's almost outta here. He's transferring to Walter Reed Military Advancement Training Center on Tuesday! He's made all the progress at NNMC that he can, and now it's on to the next phase.

To summarize all the amazing steps he's taken over the past week:

His skin graft to the left thigh took 100% - no complications!

He's completely weaned off his IV pain medications. His pain is well-controlled at this point, which is a huge relief to everybody.

He's thoroughly enjoying all the pleasures that food has to offer. He went from not being able to eat at all to eating everything in sight. You name it, it's going in his mouth. We can hardly keep up with his requests for exotic things like papayas, mangoes, and avocadoes. I'm blaming his other family in Fiji for that one. (Your calendar is hanging in his room, by the way - it's beautiful).

They took x-rays of his pelvis last night and per report from the orthopedic surgeons, his pelvis is looking great. He's still wearing the external fixator and will need to for a while longer, but he's healing as well as can be expected given the severity of the fracture.

He absolutely LOVES physical therapy (who would've guessed?) and does it for several hours each day. He can transfer almost all by himself from his bed to a wheelchair now. I came to the hospital this morning and he was workin up a sweat on an upper-body cardio machine. Then he wheeled all over the hospital after that, up steep ramps, and down even steeper ones (freaking my mom out big-time with his velocity). We've been having lunch outside as a family for the past few days and sometimes I have to pinch myself because I can't believe we're actually doing this.

He's slowly starting to get his attention span back. He hasn't been able to watch TV or read books because, due to the effects of narcotics, he can't really focus on them for very long. But now he's starting to watch some TV, and is definitely getting his love of reading back. He's got an issue of the Economist (Ecommunist?) and an edition of War and Peace (complete with character summary) on his bedside table. I think he just wants them there to show off and impress people.

I know the Team guys will appreciate this one. For about 3 weeks now, Dan has refused to shave.

To Erin, Marty, Maryann, Lori, Niko, and EVERYBODY who participated/donated/supported/came to the Aquathlon in Dan's honor in La Jolla last weekend - thank you. We've heard nothing but the best. We are so lucky that Dan has friends like you guys. You've done a truly awesome thing.

To all our dear friends back home in Kansas, for putting together and participating in Dan's Ride for Freedom this weekend - thank you. The support from all our family and friends at home (and even people that we don't know) means the world. We are taken aback every day by people's kindness, and this is no exception.

Wish us luck as we are about to make this new transition to Walter Reed. While we're excited for this new phase and all the progress Dan's about to make, we are sad to leave NNMC. This has been our home and this staff has been our family since Sept. 11.

Stay tuned - I think Dan's about to do even more unbelievable things.

Introducing you to DAN

2009-10-14T21:43:00.005-04:00

"I've been thinking about all the things I'm going to do when I get my new legs. I've decided I'm just going to mess with people. I'm going to wear pants and shoes so nobody can tell that I've got prosthetics...and then I'm going to get them in all different lengths. One day, I'm gonna be 7 feet tall. The next day, I'm gonna show up and be 5'2". I'm trying to decide how tall I want to be, and I think 5 foot would be best because I'll have a lower center of gravity and will be way faster than anybody else. But then other days I'll want to be gigantic."

This is what my brother said to me the other day and I don't think I've laughed harder in my life. I will be SO happy if he actually makes that happen!

He had his final surgery yesterday (keep your fingers crossed!)....to put a skin graft on his left leg. They took skin from his right leg, the part that wasn't wounded during the blast, and attached it to the open wound on his left leg. The wound there was so large that he didn't have enough tissue to close on its own, so they had to borrow some from the other leg. He's in quite a bit of pain after this procedure - the donor leg feels like it has a nasty sunburn, and the receiving leg has shooting pain from his hip, down through his femur, to the end of his leg. His doctors are working hard to adjust his pain medication to give him adequate comfort at this time.

So now that this surgery is behind him, every wound that needed surgical closing is taken care of. Now he just has to focus on healing and regaining function in both his hands, and healing the pelvis before rehab can begin. He's still got the external fixator on, like metal scaffolding holding his pelvis together, and will probably have to have it until Christmas, when the ligaments and bone have grown back together. Then it's onward and upward to walking, running, and whatever else Dan's future has in store for him.

Another funny story I wanted to share with people - I wasn't in the room for this, but Dan's best friend Marty and his wife Erin, and his other best friend Niko told me afterwards - the other day, Dan had to get a couple units of blood transfused because his blood counts were a little low. As the blood was going into his body from the bag hanging on the IV pole, Dan started doing bicep curls with his resistance bands tied to the bed. He wanted to "introduce the new blood to what it's like to be inside Dan."

With all the changes that are going on, it's a good thing that humor is still there.

I hope everybody is having a great week - thank you again, and a hundred times over, for all the support, generosity, and kindness that you continue to show us.

Leslie

2009-10-13T15:28:00.001-04:00

We had a good, relaxing weekend with Daniel at NNMC, and thanks to everyone for respecting and understanding the need for limited visitation, and coordinating through Leslie.

Friday, Daniel underwent a long surgery correcting his right broken hand. He experienced substantial pain after the procedure, which involved re-breaking the bone and setting pins in, but the medical team quickly got it under control. We’re starting to talk to a physical medicine and rehab doctor and social worker who will introduce us to rehab at Walter Reed, and this transition may occur, if all continues to go well, in the next several weeks.

In other news… Daniel is back to eating WELL! He especially enjoys breakfast, followed by snack-time of avocadoes, apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, papaya, etc. He’s been sleeping a lot better, and everyone is remarking how good he looks again. His coloring is back and his face is filling out well. Keeping up with daily PT in his bed, some muscle curve is reappearing in his arms! His spirits are excellent now that surgeries are diminishing and pain is not such an issue.

In looking at the glass half full, I see how many blessings are filling our lives now that we’ve been catapulted into this new, unexpected terrain. Daniel, Leslie and I are spending more time together that we ever have been able to since they became adults. We have been adopted and are forming fantastic, strong friendships with people who love Dan whom we possibly never would have met otherwise. Leslie and I are thoroughly enjoying the comfy, convenient apartment Special Ops Forces have provided while we are here to support Dan’s rehabilitation, and last but not least, we are feeling at home here in beautiful Bethesda, where people are all very friendly and welcoming to us!

Thanks to everyone who has sent cards and well wishes. For some reason the NNMC post office held some mail for a couple weeks, then all of a sudden a huge box of mail appeared in Dan’s room, so we’ve just gotten through reading each card as of last night. We are overwhelmed with your love, support, care and concern – so inspiring and hopeful! We are learning many things from what you say, and some recurring themes stand out:

· Ask not “why” this has happened, but “what” can we learn from it to make life better and fulfill God’s purpose?
· So many families mention their loved ones’ military service and are so proud of their accomplishments serving our wonderful country and protecting our hard-won freedoms.
· Strength comes from community and prayer, staying close to God’s word.
· Tragedy is part of life, and people can overcome devastating illnesses and injuries with hope, support and prayer – they can go on to accomplish amazing things.

Thank you for giving us hope, courage and guidance on how to keep moving forward positively. We feel the warmth and power of your prayers and wishes for Dan’s healing and progress.

Praying for blessings, health and loving family relationships for all of you,

Thanks and love,

Dan’s Family

Fresh Air

2009-10-09T09:20:00.004-04:00

Thursday: After a month of being inside a hospital room, just as the walls were starting to close in, Dan made it outside!! Instead of the regular old range-of-motion exercises that he does every day for 2 hours, his PTs/OTs got creative and took him for an adventure. They got him out of his bed and into a horizontal-type wheelchair. This is the first time he’s made it out of bed so far, except to an OR table. We had no idea they were going to do that! We were in the waiting room talking to visitors when I saw his three physical therapists coming down the hall with an IV pole. I jumped off the couch and ran out of the room to find him hanging out in the hallway in his chair, with a Notre Dame t-shirt and shorts on (courtesy of the PT Dept.). It was awesome to see him! It took a team of three therapists, my mom, and myself to maneuver him in and out of elevators and doors with an IV pole and a his one remaining wound-vac, but we were successful. We got him to an outside courtyard, with trees and everything. He was so happy to be outside in the fresh air after a month of being inside NNMC, he teared up big-time. Whenever he does that he sets off a chain reaction and everybody cries. This was a huge milestone. Dan had been getting a little restless after a month in his hospital room. After a few minutes of quietly looking up at the sky and trees, he declared that he’d like to do this every day from now on. I hope we can make it happen! He has been working hard on what exercises he is able to do in his hospital bed every day and lets NOTHING interrupt PT sessions with Laura and her team. OT Kristen is a super addition to the team as is nutritionist Amy Jo, who is always smiling. Social worker Debbie is always there to address any need we may have as well. We've got some seriously great people on our side.

Thanks to everyone for your respect and understanding as far as limiting visits. This allows us to spend more quiet time with Dan in his room, just being there to ensure he gets enough sleep, nutrition and family support. His broken hand will be fixed today in surgery by a hand specialist. The team is also going to check out the remaining open wound on his thigh, one of the last ones left. Skin grafting should begin next week for that.

To JR: Navy SEAL shot in Iraq, thank you, thank you, thank you for your inspiring visit yesterday. You have endured so many difficulties from your war injuries, yet you are stronger than ever in so many aspects and so passionate about encouraging others, like Dan, who are just beginning this process. We admire the new and exciting work you are undertaking, coordinating services with benevolent organizations interested in supporting these guys into the far future. Our thanks to Adm. Mullen for his forward-looking vision in this regard!

We want to thank NNMC Casualty Affairs staff Brian O’Keefe, Damon Underwood, Todd Hazlett and Katie Campbell. They are simply the best at what they do. This small staff accomplishes so much each day. We see them roving around talking to patients, families and visitors and attending to their needs, in addition to escorting VIP visitors, hosting USO celebrity guests who wish to lend support to the troops and efficiently carrying out many other duties behind the scenes. Your dedication and PR skills are awesome! Do you guys sleep?

We send our heartfelt thanks to all Dan’s wonderful friends for your love, caring and support. You are the best! Truly, we feel part of a very large new family who’s adopted us.

Erin, Maryann and Lori – you have worked so hard on the Oct. 17 Aquathlon in La Jolla to benefit Dan – we stand in awe of your energy and organizational skills. Thank you so very much for what you are doing!

To the guys fighting for us in Afghanistan and other places – and your families -- you are in our prayers and thoughts every minute of every day. Thank you. We will be talking to you soon!

Love and blessings to all,

Dan’s Family

Photo of Dan

2009-10-08T10:24:00.004-04:00

This photo was taken last week when Dan received his Purple Heart and Bronze Star for Valor.

2009-10-07T09:47:00.001-04:00

Jogging on the beautiful nature trail across from our temporary apartment this morning, I happened to think of two words our wonderful friend Wally Graves, resiliency program manager with Naval Special Warfare Group ONE, has said a lot in our time together recently: “engage” and “resiliency.”

Wally says, “I’m going to engage with…” when he means he’s going to talk to someone and get something done, which he does zillions of times each day for us and other families he supports.
He is also passionate about resiliency…that’s what he does now after being a medic with the Navy SEALs for more than 15 years, recently retired. He finds ways to help people be resilient, rest, recuperate and return to optimal mental/physical/spiritual/emotional health after injury, illness or tough deployments. Family members are key to the process. In our case, he and his partner Susan Letterman, and counterpart “Mack” with the USSOCOM Care Coalition, as well as Kathy Maguire, Care Coalition volunteer liaison (and always cheerful provider of home-baked goodies)…all touch base with us constantly, providing encouragement, all kinds of support and hope. Words cannot express how grateful we are for this kind of extended family! Kathy’s husband VADM Joe Maguire also has visited several times, taking time from his busy schedule to chat and offer his support. These dear people engage with us constantly and are helping us be resilient as Daniel continues to go through surgeries twice a week, starts his liquid diet regimen and PT from his hospital bed and slowly begins the amazing process of mending and healing. This takes huge amounts of energy, as you can imagine.

We discovered a gap in our communication recently and want to apologize for not getting the word out sufficiently that visitors need to be limited right now to family and close friends. The doctors tell us Dan has had way too many visitors, and for his healing to continue on course, we need to advise everyone to please go through Leslie, or e-mail supportcnossen@gmail.com, or call Casualty Affairs, NNMC, 301.319.6805, to inquire about visiting. We know everyone will understand the need to keep Dan’s health first and foremost, and while everyone wants to see him to say hi and cheer him on, Leslie and I will get word to him that you’ve called or e-mailed your well wishes, and when he’s further down the road to health, he will welcome more visits!

Just another word about the tremendous medical care he’s receiving…magnificent team of topnotch physicians – so many, it would be impossible to start naming them. We gave credit earlier to Lt. Kelly Bowman, Dan’s lead ICU nurse and dear friend, but so many other nurses and corpsmen in the ICU also stood out in their care of him while he was in their busy unit…we appreciate all of you so much. Now the nurses and corpsmen on 5-E are dedicating long hours to bringing him back to health…in addition to wonderful PTs, OTs, psychologists, social workers, nutritionists, chaplains and Br. Dave and other support staff. We are so fortunate to be here!

After today’s surgery, just about all internal wounds are stitched up and healed – how amazing is that! Such quick progress! The nose-to-gastric tube was removed today and Daniel is cleared to have liquids in small volumes…whew. Thigh open wound is healing and skin grafts may be begun next week. Front of pelvis ligaments will gradually heal and rehab/PT can progress even further. We anxiously await the day we can wheel Dan up to the NNMC rooftop for a breath of fresh air for the first time since Sept. 11! He looked so good today my mother’s concerns about “gauntness” and “skeletal thinness” are allayed. He is on the road to recovery!

We so appreciate everyone’s cards, gifts, phone calls – sorry we can’t personally respond to each and every one right now. Just know, in so many ways, through your prayers and thoughts for Dan and his family, you are engaging us and adding to our resiliency immeasurably!!

Jeanine Heinisch at Westar Energy has kept us informed of the recent fundraisers on Daniel’s behalf – thank you, all, for your overwhelming generosity. What awesome co-workers I am fortunate to be blessed with! I look forward to returning to Westar early November.
Also, I would like to thank Soldiers Angels for their many cards, quilts, blankets and warm well wishes for Daniel – you are our heroes – also Hero Miles for enabling the Cnossen families to visit Daniel when he first reached consciousness and was able to greet his family. Thank you!
Kimberly Dozier, thanks for your uplifting visit today, and Mary Jo/Jon/Lauren…we enjoyed your visit very much. Thanks for the neat display from NASA co-workers, also!

One last word of thanks to my terrific daughter, Leslie, who continues to bowl me over with her stamina, maturity beyond her years and talent in today’s information age. She keeps up with it all, communicating steadfastly with hundreds of people daily, never tiring, staying late into the wee hours of the night just talking quietly with her brother. Jeff, my husband, continues to inspire me daily with his care and concern (and keeping the home fires burning). Close friends from across the country as well as here: Brian and Biggi, Donny and Tina, Rob and Cara, Mark L., Anthony D., Nick S., Marty T., Craig R., Robin A., Darren B., Kristen D., niece Rachel from Baltimore, Nick H., Beverly/Dan/Ben Z., Justin D., Maryann, and Command Master Chief James, Laif, Brian S. and John G. due soon from overseas – thanks for all you do! Cmdr. Keith Davids, you have been incredible to keep thinking of our well-being, and I’m looking forward to meeting Yvette today at NNMC!

Also thanks, Chief Jon Cummings, for all your constant offers to help/provide anything we need! Daniel had fun yesterday afternoon looking through the big sack of gum you left for him to chew.

Love and peace to you all. Also, if you can add to your prayers a big thank you to all the medical teams so tirelessly serving our injured troops, we’d appreciate that, too. Thank you!

Alice

Wait for it....Wait for it...

2009-10-06T15:47:00.001-04:00

Just a quick reminder:

There have been several unannounced visitors over the last few weeks. While Dan and family appreciate all the support and interest, it is important to coordinate visits, because they can be stressful for Dan. If you are interested in visiting, please contact Leslie first. The best way to reach her is via:

supportcnossen@gmail.com

Thanks so much for understanding. There will be many months ahead when Dan will want all the visits he can get, but that time has not yet come. Please consider holding off your visit for the time being.

Weekend Tales

2009-10-04T19:44:00.003-04:00

Dan has enjoyed a couple of days with his physical therapists. Last Thursday, he actually sat straight up in bed, assisted by his PTs, about 5 minutes...very proud of his prowess! He also touched the foot of his bed with his hands...another amazing feat. His bed looks like a mini-gym with a trapeze, poles every which way, rubber bands he uses to flex his forearms, etc. PTs are actually starting to plan for his future prostheses.

He had a short re-entry into ICU after last Friday's routine wound-washing surgery...a heart arrythmia was the cause; however, luckily, it was short-lived and he's back in the surgical ward again. Many visitors have come to wish him well: SEAL buddies, California Cnossen/Turnipseed family, DC-area friends, Admiral Maguire and Kathy -- always welcome faces that buoy his spirits.

Recently, he was given the green light to slowly sip liquids. He loved today's beef broth!

Definitely, the recent highlight of the week was a visit by Kevin Bacon, his brother Mike and his wife, Betsy, all from New York City. So kind of them to cheer our spirits, sign autographs, give us a CD of Kevin/Mike's band and have a group photo. We have received so many cards and well wishes, it took me two hours just to open the cards last night, let alone read them! So many wonderful people have sent care packages, books, quilts, afghans, cards with lovely messages, gift cards and cash -- God bless you for your generosity and caring! My compulsive thank-you-note nature feels guilty about not getting thank you notes out to everyone - give me time!

My one concern, as a mom, is that my usually muscular, ruddy, healthy-looking son is getting almost skeletally thin, wan, pale...it's been a month since he's eaten and been outside in the sun. People tell me to be patient...it will get better..."the tincture of time." Please keep your prayers coming strong for Dan's wounds to continue to heal and that he get nourishment and strength with each day.

Leslie and I and Dan's extended family thank you and continue to draw strength and great encouragement from your prayers, phone calls, cards and just plain American caring!
I would just ask that you also continue to pray for all our wounded troops and those continuing to risk their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq and other areas our soldiers are serving so selflessly and with such courage. We see many of the "walking wounded" in the Wounded Warrior floor at the National Naval Medical Center and continue to marvel at their heroism and service to our great country. Let's also pray for our wonderful doctors and nurses and allied health professionals' wisdom in treating our wounded ones...they are the best angels of mercy we know, besides all of you. God bless each and every one of you ... we are so grateful for your love and support!Thank you!!

Alice, Les and Family

Bronze Star

2009-10-01T23:49:00.004-04:00

Day Two of physical therapy - with the help of the therapists in getting him up, Dan sat upright all on his own in bed today! He even touched the footboard of the bed. PT is the highlight of his day, and he's so excited about continuing to progress. God bless physical therapists. His right leg is even ready to be prepared and fitted for an initial prosthetic device. The left thigh still has a huge open wound that will need several more weeks before it can be closed with a skin graft, so prosthetic preparation will come later for that leg.

The NG tube, aka the Devil, is annoying to both Dan and his nurses, but is improving his stomach distention day by day. This is a tube that goes through his nose into his stomach and is hooked up to suction to remove fluids from his GI tract. This decompresses and rests his bowels until they are ready to start working again. A big concern right now is his inability to eat or drink anything - he really needs good nutrition in order to heal adequately, and without proper bowel function, there's no way he can get any food in by mouth and the normal route. Last night they re-started him on IV nutrition, so at least he's getting something now.

This week Dan has benefited (and so have we!) from some very influential visitors. Oliver North stopped by yesterday and really made an impression on all of us. A brilliant, personable, and very supportive man. This morning Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, paid Dan a visit, which he enjoyed so much. This afternoon the Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, came by to present Dan with a Purple Heart, as well as a Bronze Star with Valor. We, as well as Dan, are appreciative beyond words. (And to Admiral Maguire and Mark Lippert: THANK YOU too!) Here's the citation that came along with the Bronze Star, as written by Ed Winters, Rear Admiral, USN Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command:

For heroic achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy as DELTA Platoon Commander, Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Trident, in direct support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM from 7 September to 8 September 2009. Lieutenant Cnossen was an element leader during a cordon and search mission in the Malmand Basin, Ghorak district, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Lieutenant Cnossen was leading a security element to seize a hilltop to be used as a command and control position overlooking the Malmand Bazaar, a cluster of shops where insurgents were known to store Improvised Explosive Devices. While establishing this position, he stepped on a Pressure Plate Explosive Device emplaced by enemy forces, inflicting life-threatening injuries. The blast uncovered a series of other Improvised Explosive Devices chained together to form a minefield blanketing the hilltop. Overcoming tremendous physical pain, he remained calm and selflessly assisted his team in extricating themselves from an active minefield, ensuring that no other injuries occurred. Lieutenant Cnossen's stoic behavior and positive demeanor while enduring a severe injury were truly heroic and contributed significantly to his teammates' ability to safely navigate out of extreme danger. By his extraordinary guidance, zealous initiative and total dedication to duty, Lieutenant Cnossen reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Another huge thank you goes to our new friend Spanky! He is a Marine gunnery sergeant, wounded in Iraq a few years ago. He is a single above-the-knee amputee and he brought, along with 3 of his bionic legs, an insanely positive attitude and a good reason for Dan to look forward to what's ahead. He reinforced that Dan's attitude and mind will take him to unimaginable heights in the near future. Seeing what a man like that can make of his life after such a devastating injury is truly inspiration to all of us. Spanky, my mom would like you to know, again, that she "really likes you."

Tomorrow is another day in surgery - a pretty simple one this time, just some cleaning out of the wounds that are still open.

We continue to stand in awe of the doctors, nurses, and support staff at NNMC; it is an awesome place. Unfortunately there are more guys like Dan, and with even more devastating injuries, that are being flown to Bethesda from OIF/OEF on an increasing basis. Please, PLEASE keep them, as well as the men and women that are still over there, in your thoughts and prayers. God bless them and their families. Nobody can do ANY of this alone, and the support system that we are all able to provide is invaluable. We should all be so proud and grateful that we as Americans care for each other so much.

Thank you,

Dan's family

Post-Op

2009-09-29T20:41:00.003-04:00

Hello everybody!

I just arrived at the hospital, right as Dan was about to get a bath - so I decided to gracefully exit and let them do their thing, and now I'm in the waiting room and can update everyone real quick.

He had a marathon surgery today...he was the first case of the day, which means he goes to the OR between 7 and 8am. He didn't come back to his room until about 4:30. As of now, his right leg is completely closed, the amputation as well as the inner thigh wound, and they are done with it. They successfully closed the left leg today, at the amputated end, and set a special dressing on the left inner thigh in preparation for a skin graft that's to come in a few weeks. They also had to adjust the screw they placed in his pelvis last week, and now they have it right where they want it. They were supposed to fix his broken right hand today, but were unable to do anything because the bones had already fixated rock-solid. They'll have to consult a hand specialist to figure out a plan for fixing it. Now he has two days in a row of rest (yes!) and another surgery scheduled for Friday to do more washing out of all the wounds that are still open.

I know my mom wrote about some bumps in the road that Dan's been experiencing lately - I was with him most of last night and it was definitely rough. All the pain, vomiting, lack of sleep, hiccupping (he'll hiccup for 30 minutes straight!), inability to position himself how he wants, and the very painful restriction on eating and drinking that he's had to go through would make me want to cry and punch everyone in the face. But he's not that way, at all. Through all of this he's remained calm, polite, and gracious. I'm so proud of him.

I haven't seen him at all today, because he's been in the OR, but 5 minutes ago when I arrived here and popped my head in I saw a huge smile on his face, and he told me he couldn't wait to tell me all about his day.

That's all for now, wish us luck tonight!

Leslie

Dan's Path

2009-09-28T23:48:00.006-04:00

One thing stands out in my mind as this intense experience unfolds: life will at some point test us. To be able to meet the challenge when it presents itself, one needs to prepare all one’s life for that supreme testing moment. We need to live each day with courage, integrity, honesty and respect for each human being we ever encounter. It occurs to me that Daniel Cnossen has done this every day of his 29 years on this earth. He is a good son, fine student, always followed his goals, lives with laser focus and integrity. He finely honed his muscles and built physical strength and endurance, becoming his life’s dream: a Navy SEAL. He also exercised his mind, reading voraciously and learning about world affairs, adventure traveling, making lifelong friends along the way. He faced his dad’s death while a plebe at USNA with courage and tenacity, hoping and wishing he could be home to support mom and sis but knowing his duty was to continue his education. He undertook the extreme challenges of becoming a SEAL always moving forward, never quitting. He deployed often and looked forward to the next challenge: platoon command. He had a foreboding feeling about this next deployment, which he showed to only a very close few family and friends.

The extreme challenge arrived Sept. 8. He had prepared all his life for this moment and chose to meet it head on and survive – truly a miracle. Rarely does a person survive the wounds he suffered. He survived because he didn’t want his mom to have lost a husband, mom, dad and son within 10 years. He kept going through incredible pain. The medics who saved his life, the surgeons in Bagram and Landstuhl who stabilized him for transport to National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, the excellent medical teams who have cared for him daily since his arrival here – all have converged to bring him to his destiny today: to embark upon many new adventures and turn over a new leaf in his life: healing, recovery, rehabilitation, reconnection with family and fellow wounded warriors, perhaps serving as an inspiration to many as he starts this long, arduous journey toward renewed health and joyful living.

Many here at NNMC have warned us: three steps forward, one step back, then three steps forward again. It’s a Marathon, not a sprint. This weekend, Daniel had a few steps backward. After four surgeries in five days last week, he badly needed rest. Thank you to all for respecting his weekend respite. You have continued to let his sister and me know you care by logging onto the Web site, calling and leaving messages, sending cards and well wishes galore. We so appreciate your prayers, care and concern! As we get through a little period of setback where Daniel’s bowels are resting, he again can’t eat or drink. He is always fighting nausea and vomiting. He's back to the OR tomorrow again, for more amputation revision and preparation for skin grafting. The pin they placed in his pelvis also has to be adjusted, as well as surgical repair of a broken right hand (his left hand is also broken). On the bright side, he no longer has a fever and his wounds are healing beautifully. His surgeries have been reduced to twice a week, and he is on the surgical ward where things are a little more private and restful. He continues to thank everyone for caring for him and expresses his gratitude for everyone’s prayers and well wishes. He is anxious to mend and begin communicating with all of you on his own. We need to be patient and will rejoice when that day comes soon.

I’m going to take a big risk and name some names. These are the people for whom Leslie and I and our family are so grateful. I know I will overlook some, and for that, I truly apologize. I feel the need, though, to thank people for your truly amazing support at this point. I can’t send thank you notes, as that would be overwhelming, so this is my humble attempt to thank you for keeping us buoyed up through this tremendously challenging and difficult time in our lives. Without you, we would be lost. Our sincere and heartfelt thanks to:

LT Kelly Bowman, ICU nurse and friend who will forever be in our hearts and family.

Westar co-workers and friends – you are truly angels of mercy. Daniel said yesterday, “It’s so nice of your company to let you be off this long,” and Leslie said, “Mom, you work with such WONDERFUL people at Westar!”

Pastor Judy, Shawnee Heights United Methodist Church, and Fr. Jerry, St. Matthew Catholic Church and entire church and parish for prayers and prayer blanket. Chaplain Wes Modder, part of the initial contingent who came to our Topeka home to comfort and pray with us. A very inspirational man!

CMDR Keith Davids, Daniel's commanding officer, SEAL Team ONE, who initially called me with the news while I was at lunch Sept. 8 with Leila...you handled giving me the news in a very caring and professional manner, and my family appreciates how you kept calling every day to see how we were doing, up to the day you deployed, and still you offered us your cell phone to call you if we need anything.

Topekans, Stormont-Vail friends, Shawnee Heights High School community, neighbors and family friends, Shawnee County Coroner's Office friends, Topeka Police Dept. A special thanks to Leslie’s high school friends and their parents – you guys are the BEST!

Cnossen families, England sisters, Nina-Gracie-Maria-Marilyn-Jeanine-Janelle-Leila-Karla-Gina-Laura-Public Affairs (Westar)-Jeffrey Energy Center coworkers and the always generous and supportive Environmental department for all the transitions and changes Jeff has been through –you’ve been there for us! Sharon and Deborah, my faithful friends, and Jill-Connie-Nancy -- thank you for your calls/messages/support!

SEALs, USNA, DC families and friends, San Diego buddies, Virginia Beach supporters: you’re the best! Thanks for adopting us and taking time from your busy lives to stop by to visit us and ask how Daniel is doing.

Kristen Dreier, longtime SHHS friend – you are faithful!

Maryann: world class triathlete from San Diego and a fellow nurturer: we are grateful for you flying here to be supportive this week.

Kimberly Dozier, CBS news correspondent and author of Breathing the Fire: thank you for adopting us and introducing Leslie to your friends. Your tips about what Daniel can expect in coming months have been invaluable.

Kathy Maguire, USSOCOM Care Coalition volunteer liaison, your cookies, and you, are marvelous and great comfort to us!

Tommy and Kandon Landers and mom Candace – thank you for your lovely notes/artwork now displayed in Daniel’s room. Jeff’s support and love through all this has been incredible!

For all your visits and words of support and praise for Dan - thank you so much:
Admiral Eric Olson
Vice Admiral Joseph Maguire
Vice Admiral Joseph D. Kernan
Vice Admiral Bob Harward
RDML Edward G. Winters
Capt. Alexander Krongard
CDR Tom Chaby
Bryan Yarbro
RDML Losey and “JOHNIEEEE”

Medical team at NNMC: Drs. Perdue, Fleming, Malone, Greer, urological and orthopedic teams, residents, pain specialists –best in the world!

Chaplains, Dr. Sabin and other behavioral medicine specialists, nutritionists, PTs, OTs, nurses and corpsmen

Wally Graves and Susan Letterman, Naval Special Warfare Group 1 family support – our backbone and absolute joys to have around

MSgt Christian “Mack” MacKenzie, USSOCOM Care Coalition liaison - always cheerful, helpful, and tells the best stories!

Command Master Chief Kevin James, SEAL Team One - you are a legend!

Chief Glenn Hansen – you were with Daniel in those crucial initial days and nights and got him safely to us! God bless you for that.

Nick Hill from Team SEVEN coming back from deployment - thank you for your support.

Team SEVEN who signed the flag hanging in Daniel’s room.

Chief Jon Cummings…with broken neck and back, you still wanted to “run with Dan!” Thanks for being there for us!

Mark Lippert and Brian Gugliatti – true caring friends on Capitol Hill.

Matt Flavin - ditto. Your calls mean a lot to us.

Jon Iadonisi, your friendship and fine mind are inspirational.

Admiral Nathan and Chief O’Keefe – you run a great place here at NNMC!

Crofoot family – Mike and Carol, Tiko and Koro – Daniel is part of your family, and we love you.

The Kulczycki family - what great 1st grade artwork and notes! Thanks, Garrett, for sending those pictures to Leslie.

Pam and Rob Ketter who visited us during Rob’s USNA 30th reunion Sept. 26 – uplifting! Thank you!

Debbie Lee, mom of first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq: Marc Alan Lee. Your dedication to the troops is awesome!

Friends for life: Anthony Donahue, Niko Sidiropoulos, Marty and Erin Timmons, Sean Macintosh, Rob and Cara Bocek and Margaret/Robert; Ben Zuber and Dan/Beverly; Darren and John Bounds; Donny and Tina Muller; Brian and Biggi Ray; Sean Dudley, David Farias; so many more…I’ve lost count…but you know who you are and how we appreciate you!

As my longtime friend Billie Hall said recently in a phone conversation with me, there’s a whole village following Daniel’s progress and praying for him. We can’t thank you enough. God bless you all and God bless our leaders and country. Please keep the prayers coming for them and the tough decisions they face.

I close with this piece from Guardian Quest’s teaching on warriorship (thanks to Westar for sending its employees to this awe-inspiring course):

Warrior’s Dream

A lot of what we do is to protect ourselves. We get locked into our roles, and then we are not as effective as we can be, because we are holding onto people and things that are stifling us…
Letting go of what we are aware no longer serves us now and walking into the unknown is taking the next step as a warrior.
It’s about being out front … moving beyond limits.
There is an innate desire in all creatures to grow.
Yet in any type of growth and change, something has to end for something new to begin!

Peace and love to our village!

Alice

All things work to the good

2009-09-24T18:03:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone -- this is the first time I've had a chance to write on Dan's blog. I've been up to my eyeballs meeting folks, getting updates from the medical team on Dan's progress, getting settled in our temporary apartment with Les, spending time with other families in the ICU Waiting Room, responding to questions and signing consent forms, spending time at Dan's side soothing/massaging/visualizing to help with the pain (he loves having his temples rubbed and thinking of Fiji where his friend Tiko's family hosted him for his Christmas vacation last December), meeting his friends, USNA classmates, families of friends/classmates, people flying in from everywhere. Unfortunately, until the risk of infection is not a concern, he's had to put the kabosh on all visitors. This will continue while he's in the ICU. He may be moving to 5-East soon, and then he'll feel much better, but establishing a routine will be very important, with limited visiting hours, so he can focus on healing, recovering, getting acquainted with his wounded warrior brothers, meeting the dynamic and hard-working Care Coalition members who have yet to personally meet him while they've been working behind the scenes taking care of our many needs, and starting a PT regimen. Structure rocks!

I have so many people I want to thank, I don't know where to begin. England, Landers and Cnossen families for all their support, neighbors and friends who brought food to the farm to feed the SEAL team who initially spent time with us, SEAL teammates and USNA classmates and family members, admirals and their caring wives, Care Coalition team, National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda) staff, Westar co-workers who have sent countless prayers/cards/gifts/blessings (Jeff just told me today that Jeffrey Energy Center has Dan's pictures posted all around the plant and is doing a major chili feed fundraiser! How awesome is that!), in addition to numerous co-workers already easing my transition back to work in October. Countless blog comments and reminiscences of Dan left me speechless and very emotional. SHHS teachers and classmates cheering him on after all these years. Schoolkids making artwork and sending cards of love and thanks for service to country - these are going to decorate his 5-East room for sure, as well as the apartment! Churches all over the country that established prayer chains. Prayer blankets and specially made quilts to wrap Dan in love and care for his recovery and healing. Donations to help with unknown needs; clam chowder from Boston and even a bamboo plant to brighten our living space! Phonecalls galore and friends of friends who live in the area who've offered to take us out to eat, spend time, shop, get us out for some respite...and numerous folks who've flown all the way from the West Coast to check on their wounded brother and his family. Wounded warriors who have written and offered to act as mentors as Dan begins his long road to recovery and independence. The Navy that has repeatedly stressed they will stick with Dan the rest of his life, supporting him and giving him options once he knows the direction his life will take as he turns this new leaf. I have a tremendous respect for the military and their care for those who have sacrificed and served. They truly leave no one behind! The medical team at Nationa Naval Medical Center at Bethesda -- an awesome team of the world's best physicians and nurses and allied health professionals who spend a substantial amount of their precious time asking if we have needs, questions, how can they ease our transition into this vast, unknown new world. We stand in awe of them and their expertise treating the types of wounds they're seeing more and more in this dangerous world.

Let me indulge my Proud Mom streak just a bit now. We couldn't be helping Dan's recovery like this without Leslie's decision to devote her life to being with her brother, serving as not only his sister but his companion and care advocate. Many decisions will need to be made, and her help with these decisions will be invaluable to Daniel. She'll be great company for him as well, and her upbeat tone about everything life deals us is a treat to behold, keeping him in good spirits. He depends on her nursing knowledge and just plain common sense. She's a wonder on this blog and all the modern communications technology so necessary to keep on top of everything going on and coordinating what needs to be done on an hourly basis, it seems. God bless our children!

I also want to thank my husband Jeff for taking care of our home and farm while I'm here in Bethesda. His support means the world to me.

Daniel is in good spirits as long as he gets rest (and now, food and WATER! and other beverages he so loves, like coconut water and smoothies, not to mention his favorite papayas, kiwi, bananas, grapes, etc.). He has been so sleep deprived, and surgeries every other day take their toll. So, we do appreciate everyone's understanding of his need for privacy, rest, following doctors and nurses' orders and just plain healing over time. It's amazing how his body is healing itself in so many ways. We especially appreciate the special fancy air bed ICU ordered for his body, which just isn't used to spending so many hours flat in bed. The doctors are still working on pain management, and getting Dan off his epidural. He's had a consistent fever the entire time he's been here, and the epidural is the suspected source of the infection, so they're slowly weaning him off it. He's currently in surgery right now to stabilize the back side of the pelvis with surgical pins. Plastic surgery has been consulting on his inner thigh wounds - one leg should close and heal on its own, but the other will require skin grafts. Tomorrow he will go back to the OR again for more wound cleaning - this will be 3 surgeries in 3 days.

Well, dear friends, I hope I haven't left anyone out. We have been overwhelmed with your love, caring, concern, prayers and support. I KNOW all your prayers have been instrumental in Daniel's survival and now miraculous inner wound healing...they are making the difference in his very amazing recovery! God bless you all, and God bless our beautiful, wonderful country! We are so grateful to you and to the men and women guiding and protecting us. Thank you!

Alice

Hungry?

2009-09-22T14:37:00.005-04:00

After receiving word from the nurses that Dan had passed his swallow test, I rushed to the hospital this morning with a grocery bag full of coconut water, gatorade, and smoothies - thinking that to start off he'd be on a liquid diet only, and all my presents were gonna send him over the moon. I was so excited to give it all to him, and I burst into the room holding my grocery bag proudly, and he was sitting there already eating ice cream, with a tray of spaghetti and meatballs on the table about to get eaten. Not only had they cleared him for swallowing liquids, they took his tube out of his stomach and put him on a regular diet...so now he can drink and eat anything he wants! My presents lost a little bit of their flare after that. But he was still appreciative.

A menu for his next meal was sitting on the table, and his nurse was helping him to make selections for what he'd like tonight. He had her select the following for him - and this is not a joke:

Cottage cheese, American cheese, fresh fruit plate, fresh vegetable plate, cheeseburger, turkey sandwich, roast beef sandwich, grilled cheese sandwich, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chicken strips, pizza, pie, ice cream, and vanilla wafers.

Whether all of that is actually going to make it onto his tray tonight is another story. But at least he gave it a shot.

Surgery yesterday went really well - they revised the amputation on the right leg, so he now has bilateral above-the-knee amputations. Always looking at the positive, Dan pointed out that he'd rather have both of his legs the same length anyways. The doctors are still trying to find the best way to control his pain, because he can't be on such heavy-hitting pain medications when he leaves the ICU. So they are trying some new options right now to see what will be most effective for him when he moves to the 5th Floor.

Unfortunately I have to leave Bethesda for a couple of days to take care of some stuff back in New York, so I am leaving my mom in charge of updating everyone on Dan's progress. I know she is excited to put her thoughts on here.

Thank you again for the continued support.

Leslie

I Could Drink Gallons of Water Right Now

2009-09-21T08:06:00.007-04:00

Monday Morning:

With the help of a borrowed ipod and some Enya (I tell him that there's no shame in this), Daniel FINALLY got some rest this weekend...and he definitely feels the difference. He's perky and cracking jokes all the time. That IED certainly didn't take away his sense of humor. He's had a constant fever since he arrived in Bethesda, but no fever over the weekend, which is great.

We just saw him off to the OR this morning - more wound cleaning and a possible revision of the right amputation.

Above everything else, Dan's number one complaint is not being able to drink anything. They gave him a swallow test last week, which he wasn't able to pass (I think it's the first time he's failed anything in his life). He's not allowed to swallow any liquids right now. He's so funny - doesn't want to break any rules or get anybody in trouble. He "accidentally" swallowed some water the other day, and wondered if he should tell on himself. They're giving him another test this afternoon after surgery - if he passes, he can start drinking! He's staying well-hydrated through IV fluids, but his mouth and throat are so dry that he can hardly talk. The only thing that's giving him any comfort right now is taking sips of water and spitting it back out. He sometimes has difficulty with dexterity and holding things, because his left arm and hand are in a cast and he's hooked up to so much tubing. His good friend Rob put his engineering degree to use and rigged up a special cup and straw that Dan is able to use all by himself. We also brush his teeth about 16 times a day. Yesterday was a day entirely devoted to mental and physical preparation for this Swallow Test. Everybody say some prayers - this is a huge deal.

He is receiving so many cards and gifts every day and we can't thank you enough - they really lift his spirits. A special thank you to all of my mom's Westar friends...that was an outrageous envelope you guys sent! SHHS classmates' cards were also very much appreciated. Many of Dan's SEAL friends and their parents have also reached out to us, and we are so grateful for the support.

There are several other guys here in the ICU, like Dan, from all branches of the military, who have been injured in combat or have experienced recent illness. The camaraderie that we have established with their families during all these long hours in the waiting room is hard to describe, but very special to us. Please include these guys and their families in your prayers.

We cannot say enough about the Special Operations community - we love them all so much, because all they do is help us (and hug us a lot). We now have a car and an apartment near the hospital. Our new address is, and will be for a long time:

10301 Grosvenor Place Apt. 1610
N. Bethesda, MD 20852

I also want to apologize for not getting these updates out more frequently - my mom and I have humbly conceded to the fact that we can't figure out the workings of troubleshooting Internet connections - but thanks to our amazing helpers from Special Ops and the NSW Care Coalition, we're up and running now.

We've heard that people are praying for Dan all over the country and world - and you cannot imagine how powerful this is to us and to him. These prayers are helping improve his health and his spirit every day. Whether you support this war or not, please continue to support and pray for the men and women who are involved.

Dan has the best family and friends in the world - Thank you!!

To All Who Enter Here

2009-09-19T01:26:00.001-04:00

Dan went back to the OR this morning for another surgery – he actually looks forward to his surgeries because he says they give him a good opportunity to sleep. The orthopedic surgeons successfully revised the amputation on his left leg, shortening it to just above the knee so that they could fully close the skin over the bone. His right leg is still amputated at the knee for now, but will get revised next week. He has extensive open wounds to both inner thighs – one thigh may be able to heal on its own, but the other will require skin grafting. The surgeons put a special type of dressing on that thigh today, to assist with the graft when the time comes. His pelvis is fractured in a pretty critical way – both sides are normally connected, but the blast was so powerful that in his case both pelvic bones are now separated. It’s currently stabilized by an external fixator – which looks sort of like metal scaffolding on the outside of his body. He needs pins surgically placed in the pelvis to hold the two bones together, one in front and one in back. His surgeons are planning on placing one pin to the back side of his pelvis as soon as next week. The front side pin will come later.

A major goal for the medical team right now is to figure out how to manage Dan’s pain. They’re making adjustments every day to try to find the right control. Right now he has an epidural block, as well as a continuous IV narcotic drip. He actually said today that he feels like his “toes are moving” – his nurse Kelly explained that the nerve pathways from the legs to the brain are still active, and were most likely stimulated by today’s surgery. They started Dan on a special medicine for nerve pain, which seemed to help.

Everyone should know how great he looks. He looks exactly the same as he did when you last saw him. He has a small cut on his face from shrapnel, but other than that, he’s still as handsome as it gets. His female doctors swoon. Nurses get giggly and smiley. The new Dan is a womanizer. He’s going to kill me.

He really is the best patient ever, as several nurses have told us. He remembers all the nurses’ and doctors’ names, first and last. All he asks of the staff is to help him brush his teeth. He can’t eat or drink anything yet, but he dreams of the day he can take a sip of water. For some reason he craves coconut water. I think he deserves beer. They are anticipating that by Monday he will be able to drink clear liquids. Right now he’s getting his nutrition mainly IV, but a little bit is through a feeding tube. For a guy that normally eats 3 subway sandwiches at one time, this really bites.

Saturday and Sunday will be good days for Dan – no scheduled surgeries until Monday. His goal is to rest, relax, and maybe work on some upper body strength in bed as best he can. He continues to amaze us every day. Your prayers are working and your support is greatly appreciated by me, our mom, and Dan himself.

To close, I just want to say a little bit about a letter Dan received today, from another wounded SEAL. He was shot in the face multiple times in Iraq in 2007. He was hospitalized in the same ICU as Dan, and posted the following on the door outside his room:

“ATTENTION: To all who enter here; if you are coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere. The wounds I received, I got in a job I love, doing it for people I love, supporting the freedom of a country I deeply love. I am incredibly tough and will make a full recovery. What is full? That is the absolute utmost physically my body has the ability to recover. Then I will push that about 20% further through sheer mental tenacity. This room you are about to enter is a room of fun, optimism, and intense rapid regrowth. If you are not prepared for that, go elsewhere.”

Thank you to everyone, have a great weekend, and God bless.

How about another ice chip?

2009-09-17T18:00:00.004-04:00

After a 7-hour surgery yesterday to clean and debride the wounds on the lower half of Dan's body, he spent the rest of the afternoon resting and catching up on sleep. The surgeons gave us a very good report from the OR - all of his wounds look very good from their standpoint. Very clean, with no infection. He is going back to surgery tomorrow, for more wound cleaning and a possible revision of his amputation. One leg may require revision to above-the-knee to better fit his prosthesis. He will eventually need pins placed surgically to fix his fractured pelvis, but this can't happen until his open wounds in the area are fully healed. He can't begin any sort of orthopedic rehab with his legs until the pelvis is healed. We don't know how long this will take, but we are all hopeful that no complications will arise and Dan will progress as expected.

Moving on to the subject of how to make a SEAL in the ICU happy:

Ice chips - raging success
Ear plugs
Old Spice deodorant
Ice packs
Toothbrush
Anything cold
His nurse Kelly
Arm exercises

He's a simple man, really. And the best patient ever. He is always so polite to the nursing staff and the doctors - they all cried when he spoke for the first time Tuesday. I wish everybody on earth could spend 5 minutes in a hospital room with this guy. His stories are hilarious and his attitude is always inspiring.

The day he first woke up was so exhausting for him. Everybody wanted to see him and hear how funny he was, understandably. He felt so happy and was pretty impressed with the turnout. Today has been designated as Dan's Sabbath Day - only rest, no visitors. He really needs this right now because he's so exhausted from visitors, surgery, sleep deprivation, and 10 years of being a badass.

Thank you to all who have sent such heartfelt and inspiring messages. We are printing them off and reading them to him a few at a time, eventually all your messages will reach him.

With all our love and gratitude,

Dan's family

Update from Rob and Dan's ICU address

2009-09-16T12:13:00.002-04:00

This is from one of Dan's closest friends:

Family & Friends,

Just wanted to send you all a quick update on Dan...He is doing great and everyday is getting better and better. Yesterday, the ICU took Dan off the ventilator and to everyone's surprise he started talking. Dan remembers pretty much everything in detail, and his spirits are as high as ever. He understands his injuries and is anxious to start his rehab as soon as possible. He was even cracking jokes about the number of pullups he'll be able to knock out.... and how fast he'll be swimming with bionic fin attachments. He will be undergoing a surgical wash out today and will continue his surgical debridement/reconstructive surgeries every other day for sometime, hopefully to be out of the ICU in two weeks or less. He has the verybest surgeons... the White House medical team in fact. He wanted me to pass along to each of you that he loves you all and looks forward to seeing you all soon. Out of respect for Dan's family, and the necessity for Dan to get as much rest as he can while in the ICU, he wanted me to pass along that unless you are family or very close and immediate friend to please wait to visit until he is out of the ICU in 1-2 weeks. So far the support has been tremendous and the NSW community has taken great care of Dan and his family. Please feel free to send cards or notes of support to Dan and the family. As Dan begins the road to complete recovery, please continue to keep his Mother Alice and his Sister Leslie in your thoughts and prayers as well as the men in Dan's platoon as they begin their deployment. A few of us in the D.C. area will continue to be with Dan multiple times a week and I will be sending out a weekly SITREPs for you all. Please feel free to send me contact info of anyone else that wishes to be on the Distro list to track his progress.

Best Regards,

Rob

Dan's Address in the ICU:

NNMC
LT Dan Cnossen
ICU - Bed 4
8901 Wisconsin Ave
Bethesda, MD 20880

Motor Mouth

2009-09-15T19:01:00.006-04:00

Just as a little background...Dan stepped on an IED pressure plate while leading his platoon in operation in Afghanistan on September 8th. He received immediate care in theater and was flown to Germany, then to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda on the 11th. His immediate family, as well as several close friends from his SEAL team were at the hospital upon his arrival. His condition was very critical at that time but he has knocked everybody's socks off since then with his progress.

Until today Dan has been ventilated as well as sedated, as he was unable to breathe on his own. He has undergone several surgeries, and will continue to have several more in the coming months. At this point, he has had both legs amputated at the knee. He may need to have these amputations revised later on in the week in order to better fit his prosthetics in the future. He has an open book pelvic fracture, as well as extensive deep tissue and internal wounds to the lower half of his body. From the waist up, everything else is great! No brain damage, no paralysis, no torso or facial injuries.

Today I received a text message from Dan's nurse first thing in the morning telling me to come right away. When I got to the hospital Dan was off the breathing tube, awake, alert, and talking!! He actually won't stop talking. He remembers everything in theater, including the blast injury and being carried to the helicopter. He is aware of the extent of his injuries and has a remarkable attitude. He is so positive and looking forward to the future. Dan is surrounded by friends and family and can't stop telling everyone how lucky he feels. He's especially excited to get his new bionic legs soon so he can run faster than anyone.

We love Dan so much, and are so proud of him. It's been a very emotional day for everyone - we really feel that everybody's prayers have made the difference here. Miracles are happening every day in this ICU and Dan so appreciates everyone's love and support. He is having another surgery tomorrow to wash out all his tissue wounds - there is a huge risk of infection with blast injuries like this, so everyone please keep the prayers coming.

Thank you all for your continued love and support.

We Need Photos of Dan!

2009-09-15T17:00:00.003-04:00

Please send any photos you have of Dan to:

supportcnossen@gmail.com

We are creating a site for him.

Please include a written story about how you know Dan, and some memorable times together!

Dan Wakes Up!

2009-09-15T16:46:00.000-04:00

We have started this blog as an alternative to other sites that don't allow great use of pictures, etc. Please sign up to follow this blog, and please leave comments for Dan! We will get them to him everyday.

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Today was a truly monumental day for all of Dan's family and friends. This morning Dan's pain management was switched mainly to an epidural, thus allowing him to come off the respirator. His sedation was lightened, and he came awake like a light bulb.

Dan was in incredibly good spirits. He remembers all of what happened in theater and some of the last few days. He is thankful to have the tube out of his throat and be able to talk. And talk he did!

He quickly tried to take charge of shuffling all the family and friends through. We all had fun in the waiting room comparing stories about what he had said. Apparently the medicine he is on is a bit of a truth serum! Nothing was left unsaid. He is overwhelmed by all the support around him.

He is going in for another surgery tomorrow, so please say a prayer for him. The road to recovery is still many miles ahead, but today was very uplifting for everyone.

-Brian