When Marine patients begin to slack off on their therapy sessions, Jimerson closes the door and provides a motivational speech. "Despite your injuries," he tells them, "you're still a Marine and the commandant has ordered you to cooperate with the doctors and therapists and get back in the fight."
Ortiz was attached to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment as it battled to oust Taliban fighters from control of Sangin, a farming community in southern Helmand province, on the Pakistani border.
Cpl. Farrell Gilliam, 22, of Ridgecrest, Calif., was a machine-gunner with the 3/5. Now he's also a patient at the Palo Alto polytrauma unit.
A week before Ortiz was injured, Gilliam stepped on a buried bomb. The blast took off both legs and severely damaged his right arm. He also suffered a severe abdominal injury.
Two weeks of testing have indicated that Gilliam does not show what the doctors call "residual effects" of traumatic brain injury.
One of the mysteries that military medicine is trying to unravel is why some troops suffer traumatic brain injury after stepping on a roadside bomb and others do not. The answer could help in the development of treatment strategies.
"No two brains are wired the same," said Pawan Galhotra, director of the polytrauma unit.
Gilliam's brother, Daniel Lorente, 27, is living in Fisher House. He put his plans to go to law school on hold to help his brother.
Gilliam is set to be transferred to the Center for the Intrepid, a rehabilitation facility specializing in amputees and burn victims adjacent to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Several days after his conversation with his doctor about his medication, Ortiz reached a milestone, despite his pain.
For the first time, he took a step on preliminary prosthetics, so-called stubbies. Later, he will be fitted for full-size artificial legs.
Doctors are encouraged and believe that if he continues to work hard, he could be transferred to outpatient status in two to three months.
Photos: Rehabilitating injured vets
On his Facebook page, Ortiz wrote of his joy at his first "stubbies" exercise:
"Damn, today was the first day I walked since January 15th this year. I could still remember that day as if it was yesterday.
"The future is bright for those who try, I guarantee you that because I'm witnessing it myself."
tony.perry@latimes.com
