As an Army major accused of murder recovers in one San Antonio medical facility, in another, across town, a soldier who served the military with honor is having his life pieced back together.
It’s a violent and brutal war that has raged since 2001, American troops fighting against terror in Afghanistan. Two years ago, while working as a vehicle maintenance supervisor supplying troops on the front lines, Army Master Sgt. Todd Nelson was driving down a road outside Kabul when his life changed forever.
“A suicide bomber detonated his vehicle next to us,” Nelson explained.
That attack started a fire that burned 18% of his body, including his face.
“What we’re looking to do is get a sense of normalcy back and to fit into society,” the 36-year-old explained. “Though we may be comfortable with it ourselves, you want the people around you to be as comfortable as possible.”
His doctor at Wilford Hall, Air Force Col. Joe Villalobos, is helping Nelson piece his life back together with a brand new ear. Surgery to insert titanium posts in the bone of his head will provide the base. Wax is being added to a model that will eventually be made of silicone, giving the ear form and function.
“They just want to blend in,” Villalobos stressed. “They want to go to the grocery store, walk into school, and not turn heads.”
Specialists at Wilford Hall have created prosthetics for about 30 wounded warriors over the past couple of years. Not just ears, but all kinds of parts, like noses and eyes.
The details are breathtakingly real. Tiny blood vessels in the eyes. Wrinkles on the nose. 3-D medical images, like CT scans, capture data that’s applied to software.
Villalobos says if you can dream it, you can design it. “It’s a very powerful tool that allows us to do what we do with greater accuracy, efficiency and speed,” he said.
Nelson has endured 42 reconstructive surgeries. But he’s nearing the end of his journey, a journey that started on a road in Afghanistan, and led him to capable healing hands in San Antonio.
“They’ve just done amazing work,” Nelson commented. “It’s incredible.”
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