If you have not been keeping up with the blog I recommend that you read these stories before this one. 1)“Take the First Step” 2)“Emotional Healing” 3)“Deciding to Overcome” Read. Enjoy (hopefully). Share. Comment.

Besides my occasional visits from Fred the Elf, I had many other interesting things happen to me while I was at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). At one point I had to have my stomach dressing changed, allowing me to see inside of my stomach. Normally, this would have freaked me out (and been quite painful), but a healthy dose of Morphine made this a fun experience. There was also the problem of going to the bathroom, and I do not mean urinating. I went to the bathroom for the last time on September 24; I was shot on September 25 and finally went to the bathroom again about two weeks later on October 7. After having two weeks of waste build up inside me, I was practically euphoric when it all came out. When I finally relieved myself, it was one of the most relieving experiences of my life, no pun intended.

My wife and I were also faced with a big dilemma while I was at BAMC. My wife Kim is one the smartest and driven persons I know and also fanatically loyal to me. She gave up a lot of things in life to be with me. To make “us” work, she followed me around the country only to have me be gone the majority of the time.

Lying in the hospital bed at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas I realized that this situation could go one of two ways; good or bad. I was terrified of becoming a cliché, a statistic, a guy who everyone said, “that Kevin Flike, he had everything in life going for him until he got shot.” I had seen other wounded soldiers and heard all of the stories; I knew what “bad” meant. I could become addicted to my pain meds, I could not do my physical therapy, I could feel sorry for myself, I could ruin my wife’s life, I could become the statistic/cliché that I so desperately did not want to become. I also knew what “good” meant. I could do my physical therapy, get off of my pain meds quickly, become a better person/husband/brother/son by overcoming all of the obstacles placed in front of me and inspire people in the process. This was the easiest choice I have ever made in my life. This was going to turn out good, no matter what happened, no matter how many obstacles had to be overcome, no matter what, this situation was going to turn out good. However, as soon as I made this decision, my resolve was tested.

Within two days of being at BAMC, the physical therapist wanted me to walk with the assistance of a walker. Our goal was to walk to the room’s door and back (a total of 20 feet). Keep in mind that the only physical activity that I had performed in a week’s time frame was sitting up in bed in Germany.

This is part 4 of “I Thought I Was Going to Die.” This is the final part in this four part series. If you have not read Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3 I encourage you to read them before you read Part 4.

On my first deployment, the thought of dying or being severely wounded never crossed my mind. I wanted to be in combat situations and never thought of the consequences. The 10-hour firefight that occurred two weeks before I came home from my first deployment put things in perspective for me. In between deployments and during my second deployment, I became keenly aware of the possible consequences of combat. There are some things in life that you just know are going to happen, you don’t know when or how they are going to happen, you just know that they are going to happen. When I went on my second Afghanistan deployment, I knew something was going to happen to me. I did not know how, when or what, but I knew something was going to happen.

In between deployments, one of my best friends was severely wounded in Afghanistan. He suffered shrapnel wounds from two grenades and was shot once. By the grace of God he survived these injuries and was back in the states within a week of being injured. My wife and I were the first people to see him when he arrived back in the states.

(This is a photo of me being carried off the battlefield and to the MEDEVAC. The Author of this article is the soldier located the furthest to the left.  In the rear, with a baseball cap on, is one of the interpreters.)

Everyone has a different perspective on the battlefield.  The way I view something may be completely different from how another person views it.  After I was wounded one of my favorite things was to have my teammates talk about the day from their perspective.  This account is from “Tiberious”, one of the medics on my team.

On 25 September 2011, our Team entered a long valley in Northwest Afghanistan to conduct a clearing operation with our Afghan counterparts. Just before the sun came up elements of our group came under intense enemy fire. On this mission I had been assigned to escort the Command group and the support personnel that accompanied them. From my vantage point I heard explosions and gunfire along with the radio chatter that comes with troops in contact. I scurried back and forth along my line of troops making sure there was security covering the areas we had already been to. I did not want the bad guys to come up behind us through the maze of twisty roads and trails that zigzagged through the village.

A few hours into the running gun battle we took our first casualty of the day. I heard over the radio that an Afghan Commando had been wounded.

Taking a break during a 72 hour operation.

When I sat down to write Part 3 of “I Thought I Was Going to Die” a couple of weeks ago, a couple of pages quickly turned into 20 once again. I decided to break up Part 3 (I know that I said that this was a three part series, but I am going to have break it up into 4 parts). Part 3 talks specifically about the day that I was shot. Next week in Part 4, I will talk more about what I was thinking when I was shot and how it differed from the first time “I Thought I Was Going To Die.” I encourage you to read Part 1  and then Part 2  before you read Part 3.

In northern Afghanistan during the summer time it rarely rains, creating a very dusty environment. No matter how many times you clean your room or equipment, it is perpetually dusty. Most of the time, the dusty conditions are just a nuisance, but sometimes they are dangerous. Landing a helicopter is one of these situations. When we landed on the morning that I was shot, the helicopter rotor blades kicked up dust and created a condition that is called a “brown out.” During a brown out, visibility is limited to a few feet in front of your face and if you are not wearing goggles, you will not be able to see at all.