Shot in an ambush, alumnus bandages up and fights on

by Sarah Caldwell – TheRedandBlack.com

1st Lt. Bobby Woods, a 2008 graduate with a double degree in psychology and criminal justice, was on patrol with his platoon outside of Kandahar, Afghanistan when the group was ambushed.

Alumnus Bobby Woods, left, with his brother.   

“He pulled out his own bandage and wrapped up his head,” said Lt. Col. John Fickel, a professor of military science. “He led the rest of the platoon as they defeated the ambush, and then conducted the medevac.”

But Woods did not evacuate with the other wounded men.

“He led back the rest of the platoon to base before he got medical treatment,” Fickel said.

The ambush happened on Aug. 7, and Woods’ mother learned about it the following day.

Nadine Woods was on her way home from vacationing in upstate Michigan when she said she received the worst call of her life.

Her son had been seriously wounded in combat.

He been had shot in the head — by a sniper. The bullet entered his skull two inches above his left eye socket, where it fragmented and shattered the bone behind his forehead.

“The next four hours were the most miserable four hours of my life,” Nadine said. “I  didn’t know if he was alive or not, or if he’d make it.”

After painful hours of no contact, Nadine heard word from relatives in the region that Bobby was stable and at the Bagram Air Base.

Shortly after hearing that news, the Woods family received official word from the Army about Bobby’s condition.

“After that first four hours, I’ve really been OK,” she said. “The tougher side of me took over and said ‘well if he’s OK, he’s a fighter. He’s going to be all right.’”

After removing the bullet from his skull, doctors believed Bobby’s left eye suffered a detached retina, and they said it was imperative for him to get back to the United States to save his eye, Nadine said.

Bobby’s retina was not detached in his eye, but after leaving Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan he was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

At Landstuhl, doctors continued to watch him by using internal monitors to record his cranial pressure.

Officials held a plane from its scheduled departure for two and a half hours so Bobby could make the flight from Landstuhl to Washington, D.C., where he is now in recovery at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

On Aug. 12 — five days after he was shot — Bobby underwent eight hours of brain surgery.

After removing a portion of his skull, his brain has the room it needs to swell, Nadine said. Keeping the bone from his skull, doctors plan on using it to grow more bone for when Bobby goes through plastic surgery six months from now.

“Right now he’s got a scar, a huge scar that runs from one ear all the way across his head to the other ear,” Nadine said. “He got up [Monday], for the first time — walked around a little bit. He’s made an amazing physical recovery.”

Adam McDonald, a past roommate of Bobby’s and Sigma Nu fraternity brother, receives constant updates on Bobby’s condition.

“Ninety-four percent of all head wounds from war are fatal,” McDonald said. “Those who do survive come back with a 6-year-old level, brain-wise.”

McDonald said doctors believe Bobby will suffer a slight speech impediment and have limited sight in his left eye, if any sight at all.

Bobby’s 25th birthday was spent recovering from his major surgery, McDonald said.

Sigma Nu Fraternity President Buck Dixon, a senior political science major from Monroe, has known Bobby four years, and he said Bobby is the one who brought him to the organization.

“He’s always been an example,” Dixon said. “Bobby is an extremely strong individual. Service is in his blood — he certainly puts everyone else above himself. That’s really illustrated by the fact that rather than going off to the workforce and making tons of money, he chose to serve our country and fight.”

Dixon said Bobby would never be the type of person who would accept sympathy for something like this.

“He had a job to do, and he knew the risk of that job,” Dixon said. “He was strong enough and strong-willed enough to do it. If he makes a full recovery, he’ll be chomping at the bit to get back over there and finish the job.”

Dixon said the University ROTC cadets are planning a trip to see Bobby once he’s ready to receive visitors. Fickel confirmed the plans.

“This is the first time that I’ve personally known someone who has been in combat and has been wounded,” Dixon said. “It certainly changed my entire outlook on the entire situation when it’s made that personal. I’ve never heard an ill word spoken about him — he’s doing something right now that most of us aren’t willing to do.”

Despite the trauma, Nadine remains optimistic for her son.

“He’s very determined, and I think that’s why he’s going to get through this,” she said. “He’s an Airborne Ranger, which is the toughest training that the Army has, but he’s really just a people person. I never realized how many people he knew until this happened, he’s had so many friends fly here already — he’s the kind of person that really shows concern for other people, and they really show concern for him.”