Injured Soldiers Recover Together

Two Fort Sill soldiers suffered serious hand injuries during separate training exercises. But the two men are now on the road to recovery thanks to a team of metro doctors.

Monday, July 27th 2009, 5:36 pm

By: News 9


By Jennifer Pierce, NEWS 9

LAWTON, Oklahoma -- Two Fort Sill soldiers suffered serious hand injuries during separate training exercises. But the two men are now on the road to recovery thanks to a team of metro doctors.

The soldiers sustained extensive injuries to their hands on the same day. A team of doctors from the Orthopedic Institute worked quickly to treat the injuries.

Everyday tasks like opening a jar is now rehab for Sergeant Michael Mayfield. His fellow soldier, Corporal Michael Sullivan, is also learning how to work around his injury.

"I definitely went from right-handed to left-handed," Cpl. Michael Sullivan said.

The men met three months ago in an ambulance ride from Fort Sill to Oklahoma City.

"I'm always crackin' jokes so I said, ‘Hey man, high five, dude, we're headed to Oklahoma City,'" Sgt. Michael Mayfield said.

A joke at the time, but both knew the seriousness of the injuries. Sullivan injured his hand in a runaway generator.

"I was holding the intake tube, my hand slipped, went across the generator and hit the fan blade and ate my hand," Sullivan said.

Hours after his accident, Mayfield was injured in a training exercise when a simulator grenade exploded in his hand.

"What he got was the shockwave back and it literally took all of his fingers and thumb and bent them backwards," Dr. Joel Frazier said. "It literally split open his hand."

Dr. Joel Frazier and Dr. Houshang Seradge knew how to treat the men and saved their hands through surgery.

"We were very much prepared for the worst, but also the team was prepared to do what we can," Dr. Houshang Seradge said.

The soldiers are now recovering. Therapy is not always easy, sometimes painful. But the outcome is promising.

"I'm surprised I still have a hand first of all, and second of all what they did, it's working," Mayfield said.

Both soldiers have returned to duty. Mayfield plans to retire in November after over 20 years in the military and Sullivan is still considering his military future.

Both Sergeant Mayfield and Corporal Sullivan still have several more weeks of therapy.

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