Horror En La Frontera (Ingles)

said that at first the prospect of meeting the surgeon and the memories that it would excite troubled him. But he was more troubled by the haziness that was the fall of 1968, a time when he was passing in and out of consciousness, not knowing who was ministering to him or what they were doing, and then slowing coming to the realization that he was blind and without legs.
"Having it all portrayedto me, giving colors to the pictures in my mind was important," he said. He compared what some would consider the morbid details of his injuries to the childhood memories that others savor and sift for their meanings.
"It might seem morbid to want to know if my legs were still attached somehow or not when they bought me in," Mr. McGarity said, "but the more color I can add, the more complete mylife is. The old McGarity was dead then and that's when I started rebuilding myself."
Three years after he returned from Vietnam, Mr. McGarity married. He receives veterans' benefits and is not employed, but his wife works at a day-care center.
Mrs. McGarity said the reunion seemed to change some things for her husband. There are still nightmares and frequent talk about the war and even somearguments. "But he has put more of the pieces together now, and Dr. Swan coming here sort of made everything more rounded and smooth," she said.
Dr. Swan said the decision to seek out Mr. McGarity began to take shape two years ago when he lectured at a symposium on trauma. For the first time, he said, he spoke publicly about the incident. In such situations, Dr. Swan said, the wounded most likely tosurvive with the likelihood of "a meaningful life" were given priority.
Although many colleagues disagreed with Dr. Swan's efforts to save the severely wounded Mr. McGarity, he devoted nine hours and focused the skills of five specialists on the young soldier. "I was criticized for what I did and I took the criticism seriously and felt that I had probably made a mistake," the doctor said. "Theymoved him four days later, and I remember a chaplain's assistant who knew him telling me that he had made it back to the U.S. I remember thinking that was good, but maybe it wasn't because what kind of life could he lead?"
When he started his search, Dr. Swan's only clue to the soldier's identity was a recollection that they shared the same first name. But with the help of Peter MacPherson, afreelance writer and friend who was interested in the case, the search led to Mr. McGarity's home. Dr. Swan, too, approached a possible meeting with trepidation and at first inquired through third parties about Mr. McGarity's condition and his life before deciding to try a meeting.
"I found this remarkably resilient individual who had a will to overcome what for many would be insurmountable and whohad a meaningful life," Dr. Swan said.
Surrounded by his wife and two daughters, Alicia, 18, and Elizabeth 12, Mr. McGarity does not romanticize about his condition and his life. He admits he was addicted to pain medications early in his recovery, though he said he overcame them with the help of the medical staff at the Veterans' Hospital at Hinds, Ill.
And he still experiences the effects ofpost traumatic shock syndrome, when deep despair nearly overcomes him. When these feelings overtake him, he does not exhibit what his friends and family say is his normal, almost compulsive need to prove wrong those who say he cannot do certain things.
Marion Early was a nurse at the Veterans' Hospital at Hinds, where Mr. McGarity was a patient for more than a year. They have become friends andkeep in touch. She recalled him as someone who initially required "pushing" but who eventually grew to enjoy surprising other people and even himself with what he could accomplish.
"Once he got through it he did all right," Ms. Early said with pride and affection.
In the end, Mr. McGarity said, it was a simple decision for him.
"What are my choices?" he said. "I could either vegetate or live my...