Healing hands

Image courtesy: Elaine Wilson

Even though it's been six years since Maj. Ed Pulido drove over an improvised explosive device in Iraq, it feels like yesterday.

"I've had dreams about it all the time," Pulido said. "The night sweats and terrors -- it was that moment right there when I put the air bag aside and saw the blood."

A powerful article by Elaine Wilson chronicles Maj. Pulido's difficult ordeal, including the emotional decision to amputate his leg, which had been shattered and burned by a terrorist's roadside bomb. While the retired soldier will never forget the infections, multiple surgeries, or depression that followed his injury, something his mother, wife and young daughter did in the hospital will always stand out.

"I was in my deathbed, and they were taking time to visit other service members and families," he said. "My little girl still has that gift of giving."

Instead of giving up, Pulido began sharing his story with other wounded troops and became active with The Folds Of Honor Foundation. Please read more about this wounded warrior here.

Sadly, stories like Pulido's are often missed by a national press more interested in Lindsay Lohan or drumming up controversy about the conflicts for the sake of ratings. CNN, where I worked until December 2009, is one of several networks to make serious mistakes covering Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet the cable news outlet, and particularly Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, should be applauded for a new series of reports on what wounded troops in Afghanistan are experiencing after their injuries.

The courage of volunteer warriors like Spc. James Dennis and the compassion of caregivers like Capt. Katherine Gardener displayed in the below report are exactly what the American people need to see. As despicable organizations like WikiLeaks continue to smear the U.S. military, any fair-minded person who watches Starr's reports will immediately recognize the unparalleled collective brilliance of our men and women in uniform. Good job, CNN. This is what journalism is supposed to be about.