Families of wounded facing huge challenges (9/13/04)

Families of wounded facing huge challenges / The stresses on injured soldiers can be just as hard on their relatives
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NEWS
STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press
677 Words
13 September 2004
Houston Chronicle
3 STAR
8
English
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON - Heather Pepper pulls a cigarette out of her husband's pack, lights it and takes a drag to get it burning.

"Here, honey," she says, holding it in front of Staff Sgt. Jason Pepper, 27, and moving an ashtray to a spot near him on the table. His face and his blank eyes turn toward her, his hand groping the air to find hers.

Blinded four months ago by a roadside explosion in Iraq, Pepper is almost completely dependent on his wife. She helps him bathe, dress and eat. When he walks, he throws his hands over her shoulders, shuffling along behind her. She has become his eyes.

"It has been a huge challenge for us," said Heather Pepper, 26, sitting on the patio of a group home at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "I had to do everything as if he was a brand-new child, except bigger."

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