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| Michael P. Murphy ("Murph") |
From the book "SEAL of Honor"
"After the tragedy of losing a comrade, the remaining 36 hours of Hell Week were cancelled. Michael made it back to his room and fell into a chair. His feet and lower legs were so severely swollen and red that he was unable to remove his boots or move his toes. After sitting a few minutes, he was unable to move his legs and had no feeling below his knees, and he could not bend down to reach is boots. His roomate called for medical assitance. When the medical team arrived, they were unable to remove his boots and had to cut them off, along with his socks, as well as his pants to the groin. Both legs were very hot to the touch with red streaks extended above the knee to the groin. There was blackened dead and decayed skin between his toes and on the bottoms of both feet, along with massive swelling and several large cracks in the skin on both lower legs that drained a blood tinged fluid. Several toenails were found in his socks.He also had stress fractures in both legs.
Now barely conscious, Michael was transferred to the base hospital, where intensive intravenous fluids and powerful antibiotics were started in both arms. Following surgical removal of the blackened dead skin, an aggressive wound management program was started. He was confined to a bed. When commanders and doctors told him that he could not continue BUD/S training with is class, he immediately tried to get out of bed and return to his boat crew. Only after BUD/S instructors told him that he would be rolled back and permitted to continue with a future class, did he finally relent."
He dream of becoming a Navy SEAL officer had been delayed, but he would not be denied.He spent nearly 3 months undergoing intense physical therapy and healing. Finally cleared to return to training, he joined Class 236 to repeat the entire Hell Week course once more.
...to be continued
