“He told me not to worry about him, that he would get a shiny new pair of legs and he’s still got his life,” said his mother Bobbie Collins, of Hamilton. “Sam apparently feels that he wants to work to help others in this situation.”
Collins, who spoke to the JournalNews from the Seattle-Tacoma airport, was en route to visit with Shockley’s commanding officers at Ft. Lewis, where he’s been stationed for the past several years.
Collins said that the family learned of the accident at 10 a.m. local time Sunday and was able to speak to him around 4 p.m. before he went into surgery. The family, she said, is still “in panic mode” trying to figure out what to do next to help her son.
“We’re trying to make arrangements to get someone to Germany, probably his fiance (Emely Ramlo of Tacoma), to be with him,” she said. “It’s important to have someone there with him for the healing process and he’s all by himself right now.”
Shockley will be receiving treatment in Germany for two more weeks, and has decided to be transferred to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., Collins said.
Collins said Shockley enlisted in the Army on a deferred entry program between his junior and senior years of high school, but that his interest in the military came as a big surprise to her.
By entering early, however, he was able to earn a Private First Class rank before graduation and was very successful, earning a Staff Sergeant rank at an early age as well.
Shockley was on his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan and his second enlistment in the U.S. Army. His brother Chris Bushelman said Shockley “enjoyed being in the Army,” but this was to be his last tour of duty. However, Collins said Shockley was planning to re-enlist to receive additional training.
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