These Are Not Toy Guns Anymore

By: Hannah Stracensky
Posted In: Opinion

Imagine you were not sure if you would die today. Imagine seeing people who want to kill you, who try to kill you. Imagine that someone would actually aim a bullet for your body. It doesn’t matter how much you are loved by siblings, friends, parents, cousins, aunts, or anyone else, they can’t protect you.

War. Little children playing war means nothing, but big children playing war means everything. Here, blood and skin have as much meaning as a sack full of dirt.

It was a routine clearing operation in Baghdad. The date was sometime in January. On that day, a bomb hit them, or maybe it was a sniper who got them. I guess it doesn’t really matter. Not everyone lived that day, but not everyone died either. He was injured though. The blast injured the right lobe of his brain. To put this in perspective, the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body.

Growing up, his sister was my best friend. I’ve known them since I was eight years old and they are part of my family now. I will never forget when his sister called me on the phone to tell me her brother was in critical condition. We were all so scared. I have never been a very religious or spiritual person, but I prayed more in those following months than I had in my entire life.

A year and a half later, he is okay. He is driving and lives next door to his family. His sister told me she felt she could finally relax. A kid right out of college was injured and his life changed forever.

This year, two others I know are off to Iraq. The death toll is small, but our boys still need us. I have heard many people say that there are not many soldiers in Iraq, and that not many have died. Well, just because the numbers are not big does not make these soldiers any less important.

Think about this, the number one Iraq injury is brain trauma. Your brain is the control center to your body, it is complex, it works best as a whole, and all together. Imagine living with part of your brain injured or missing. Imagine living your whole life looking healthy but inside your not. Just imagine this, it’s something to think about.