13FEB13

1:46 a.m.

The "Husband" ringtone went off. I was in a deep sleep and it didn't occur to me what the time was. I looked and saw that Scott was actually calling. It wasn't a FT call either. (same tone for both calls and FT) First thought was, "He's really delayed if he's actually CALLING from Germany again"...

When I answered, Scott said, "Hey, sorry to wake you, but I wanted to let you know we just landed at Andrews in DC." Whoa, what?

Apparently they flew out late in the evening in Germany. He didn't even have a chance to let me know they were leaving! 

I slept better after that call than I have in several days, as I'm sure you can imagine!

When 6:30 a.m. came, he texted to say he was taking a shower. After that, he called on FT. He said he was at Ft. Belvoir instead of Walter Reed, and was seeing the retinal specialist at 8:30...then he had other appointments in the afternoon.

I took the kids to school and went on with my daily routine, happier to know he had actually made it to the U.S. finally! Headed to the church to do my volunteer stuff, setting up the orchestra for rehearsal, etc.

He called again around 11 or so. Told me that he had NOT actually seen the retinal specialist, just a regular ophthalmologist who ran the same tests. The retinal specialist "conferred" on the exam, and both came to the same conclusion/diagnosis as before. They told him he would have 3 weeks of convalescence leave and then another follow-up appointment. This left us wondering...WHERE?

I told him to advocate for his healthcare...if he didn't stand up for himself, they would do what was easiest for them.

Later, he called me, after having his appointment with his PCM. Seems that when you're assigned to a WTU, you're THERE...but you do have the option to sign yourself out. Except...no one had ever requested that. Basically, when you're in the WTU, all you do is go to your appointments. You go to formations for accountability, then you're free to do whatever you want till your next appointment! Uh...wow. Scott got the PCM, a retired LTC, to agree that he could go back to full duty, with a profile.  The wheels were turning now. He was being reassigned back to his command at Ft. Campbell!!!  This was the best case scenario. If he was in a WTU, he wouldn't be in command of the 101st. Better for him, and since he can STILL do his daily duties in a  non-war environment, he's good to go.

Talk was of flying him straight to Campbell, but he talked them into letting him rent a car. He's heading HOME!!!! His commander at 101st HHB gave him a week of leave to come home, get his car, and get his affairs in order.