Cpl. Ivan Hernandez needs an hour of physical therapy everyday to help rebuild his strength following injuries suffered during combat in Iraq. CBS 5 Cameraman Joe Rojas gets the shot on video.
Marine Corporal Ivan Hernandez survived two tours of duty in Iraq, three IED explosions and came home to Alum Rock on Friday with two Purple Hearts for injuries suffered in combat.
"I can't even put a sock on because I can't reach down there," Hernandez told me during an interview which aired on CBS 5 tonight, the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war.
"I can't even put a sock on because I can't reach down there," Hernandez told me during an interview which aired on CBS 5 tonight, the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war.
Hernandez,22, was severely injured in a suicide bomb attack in Barwana, Iraq on February 7th. Two Marines, one Iraqi interpreter and two Iraqi policemen were killed in the attack, which happened at a security checkpoint when an insurgent with explosives under his clothing walked up to the crowded area and blew himself up. "I heard the explosion, and I fell to the ground," Hernandez explained in a quiet voice. "I tried to get up, but I couldn't."
The blast left Hernandez with shrapnel wounds on his left shoulder, hand, knee and ankle. Metal debris tore through nerves making it difficult and painful for him to walk, even with crutches. After treatment in Iraq and Germany, Hernandez was transported to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Palo Alto, where he has been undergoing physical therapy.
"It's hard to see myself, not being able to do things," Hernandez said during one of his workouts.
Hernandez has made progress during the past month, and was discharged from the VA last week. He also passed a special driving test given to injured Iraq veterans by the VA to clear them to get behind the wheel again. Hernandez left the hospital with his wife Desiree and their 3 year old daughter Destiny at his side. The couple met when they were both 16 and working part-time at Great America. He is a graduate of Yerba Buena High School, and Desiree graduated from James Lick. The young family lives near Capitol and Alum Rock. "You hear about soldiers who get injured everyday, but you never hear about all the recovery they have to go through. That was really overwhelming," Mrs. Hernandez said.
Many more months of rehab await Corporal Hernandez, who credited his wife and his mother, Maria. "I don't know what I would have done without them," he said. Maria Hernandez told me in Spanish that she prays for her son's recovery, and for peace.
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