Jessica Lynch News and Updates

April 13: Seven missing U.S. soldiers were unexpectedly rescued following an encounter with defeated Iraqi troops south of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. They were in good spirits and seemed to be in fairly good shape. They were released after their medical examinations. Five were from the same 507th Maintainence unit as Pfc Jessica Lynch that was ambushed on March 23rd and the other two were captured when their Apache helicopter was forced down in central Iraq, also on March 23rd. Rescue photo here

April 18: Jessica undergoes successful surgery to repair a bone in her right foot. The public affairs office at Walter Reed Army Medical Center reported that Pfc Jessica Lynch was in satisfactory condition. "She is undergoing occupational and physical therapy under the supervision of her medical team," "Pfc. Lynch continues to express her appreciation for the love and support she is receiving from the public."

April 24: Ramona Lynch, whose husband, Casey, is Jessica Lynch’s third cousin, said she has been told that the hospital has set a tentative release date of June 1 for Jessica. "But she has told the family that she plans to be walking within three weeks, and if she is, she’s coming home," Ramona Lynch said. (Welcome home sign at right is an MTV photo)

April 26: Jessica's birthday is today; she turns 20 years old. While West Virgina communities have large celebrations, "The family is going to do something in her room," said Sgt. Maj. "Kiki" Bryant, the family’s spokeswoman at the medical center. "They will have a cake and some food, but the hospital is not making any plans."

Me and my family send Jessica our most sincere wishes. Happy Birthday sweetheart!

April 30: Fox News reports "The Iraqi lawyer who led U.S. forces to missing soldier Jessica Lynch has been granted asylum by the United States." Read The Story here.

April 30: Fox News reports "The Iraqi lawyer who led U.S. forces to former POW Jessica Lynch has accepted a job offer from Washington lobbying firm..." Read The Story here.

May 2: An on line Sports Illustrated reports that several NASCAR drivers paid a visit to soliders at Walter Reed Medical Center. They visited Jessica and said that they "were stunned by how small, pretty and hurting she was." A quote from the article sums the visit up "One thing that Jessica said that touched my heart was when we were just sitting there looking at her and she looked great," Waltrip said. "She said, 'I'm just in a lot of pain.' ". Read the full article By clicking here

May 4: US officials report that Jessica Lynch has amnesia and can't remember anything about the events of her capture or the 9 days spent in captivity. Officials hope to help her regain her memory, since it's important for her to be able to provide evidence for war crimes. It usually takes months to recover, and sometimes years. Physically, sources say Jessica appears to have been beaten up pretty badly and is still in immense pain. Read the full FOX News story By Clicking Here.

May 6: Jessica's brother, Greg Jr, talked to the press and gave an update on her condition. He says that she is still unable to stand on her own, but he was also unfamiliar with her therapy regimen. When he first saw his wounded sister after her rescue he says "I cried when I first saw her. It hurt hard to see a sister, a loved one laying in bed, helpless where you couldn't do nothing and the whole time you wish you'd have been there instead of her," he said. "But she pulled through and she's doing well now." Jessica's parents visit her everyday. They, and Greg, consider Jessica their hero and "that will always be true."
At this time Jessica is reported to be in satisfactory condition at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, according to hospital spokeswoman Sgt. Maj. Kiki Bryant.

May 23: Jessica is well on the road to a full recovery. She is making great progress in her threapy and "has the attitude of a fighter, pushing herself through the rigors of therapy and inspiring those around her." Read the full Herald-Dispatch article By Clicking Here

June 3: The people of Wirt County, WV around Elizabeth and Palestine have been preparing for Jessica's home coming. Mant have volunteered in fund raisers and helping with the renovations on the Lynch's home. "She wanted to come home by the Fourth of July," said Ms. Hennen, "But I don't see that happening. Last I heard, she was able to walk on a walker but not down a hallway on her own. Her right leg is in a cast. Her left leg has pins and rods. She has some problems with her right hand. A month ago, she could grip a ball but couldn't release it." Read the full New York Times article By Clicking Here

June 17: Washington Post article recalls the saga of Pfc Jessica Lynch. It reports her condition as "At Walter Reed, Lynch's bones have been put back together with such a delicate and extensive network of rods and pins that it can take an hour for her to moved from bed to wheelchair. "She is still struggling with pain and her recovery will be slow," said family spokesman Randy Coleman. Her mother said, "It's amazing she can walk at all, she is a body full of pins and screws," Coleman recounted. Still, Lynch is making progress. She recently walked more than 100 steps using a walker. "She works hard at physical therapy. She doesn't sit around and complain. She is certainly determined to get well," said Walter Reed spokeswoman Beverly Chidel. People who have seen her said she is psychologically traumatized, and appears somewhat dazed, though she is better now than in the early weeks. Recently she has talked on the phone to friends and sent emails from her laptop." Read the full article By Clicking Here.

July 9: The report on the March 23rd ambush of the 507th Maint. Co. is released to the public. It reports that after coming under fire the convey sped up, missing an important turn. As they made their turn around the convoy became disorganized and seperated into three groups. Pfc Jessica Lynch was in an HMMWV with a trailer at the rear of the group. It was origanally driven by Lynch, but was now being driven by Pfc Lori Piestewa. Jessica was seated in the rear. The HMMWV was hit by direct or indirect fire and crashed at high rate of speed into a stalled 5-ton wrecker in front of them. 1SG Dowdy was killed on impact; Piestewa survived the crash but later died in captivity; the deaths of two other passengers are still under investigation. The report says that Jessica Lynch "was also seriously injured and captured." Read the full article By Clicking Here.

July 12: Jessica Lynch coming home! Spokesmen Randy Coleman has confirmed that doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have said that Jessica Lynch can be released before the end of July."She is progressing each day," Beverly Chidel, Walter Reed’s public affairs officer, said. "Early on, there was a lot of pain. Now she’s looking better, she’s upbeat and she’s very talkative. She participates with her treatments and wants to do more." Debbie Hennen, Wirt County assessor, said"When she comes back, she’s going to give a press conference. The location is unknown, but it probably won’t be at the home." Any big community celebration will have to wait. "Her dad said that if we have a homecoming, it will be next spring when she can enjoy it." Read the full article By Clicking Here.