Roxy's Purple Heart Soldier Boy
SPARKS, NEVADA

He almost lost his life just getting the mail. But when you're in Iraq, you can never let your guard down, even for a simple task like getting the mail. American soldiers live for letters from home. And Staff Sergeant Sean Freeman was no different.

He and two other men drove a Humvee on a short trek to the mail house. But Iraqi soldiers ambushed them, flipping and then exploding the Humvee, killing Staff Sergeant Freeman's comrades, and leaving him clinging to life.

Freeman suffered a brachial plexus injury, which involves severe damage to the nerve sheath that carries information to the nerves and muscles in his left arm, as well as fractures to his ribs, a massive concussion and shrapnel in his upper body.

When Sean Freeman got to the combat hospital, his family was told he might never be able to use his left arm and shoulder again. But Sean had other plans. The first words out of his mouth to his dad, David, were, "Don't get rid of my golf clubs and how is my dog doing?"

A talented athlete and fiercely competitive, Sean obviously had other plans about his recovery. All through his two-year fight to regain his health, stories of his treasured Boxer, Roxy, would send him into peals of laughter as his family regaled tales of her mischief.

David told Sean about the time he came home unexpectedly to find a 24 pack of toilet paper strewn about the house. Stunned, it sounded like a herd of elephants were bounding down the second floor steps to greet him. Who showed up? Roxy with a roll of toilet paper in her mouth.

Or how she would take Sean's mother's shoes off the shoe rack and toss them down the stairs. Sean's family would even put Roxy on speakerphone so Sean could talk to his dog. Roxy would cock her head back and forth and wag her tail at the sound of his voice. And when Sean would come home on leave, Roxy was ecstatic, never leaving his side.

Laughter is always the best medicine and it certainly took Sean's mind off this painful recovery. But as David pointed out, "As much as she helped him recover, Roxy helped us too. I know that a lot of times when she was getting hugs and kisses from me, my wife Monica or my other son and daughter, those hugs were really for Sean."

When Sean came home on leave, Roxy never missed an opportunity to show Sean how much she loved him. She knew Sean didn't have full use of his injured arm and she would take advantage of that when Sean stretched out in the family's easy chair. She would pin down Sean's good arm and just plaster the guy with dog kisses.

It was an unbreakable bond that crossed thousands of miles, never diminished by time. When Sean married his high school sweetheart, Kadie, during his recovery and eventually started a family, Roxy just widened her circle of love.

Sean fought hard to stay in the military. He regained 80% use of his arm and didn't want a medical discharge. He wanted to continue serving his country. In Sean's world, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

He went back to military police school and graduated #1 in his class. He is now deployed to Korea at Camp Hovey near the DMZ.

But the story hardly ends there.

Back home, the recession had hit Nevada hard. It ranks third in the nation with 15% unemployment. David, Sean's father, was diagnosed in February 2008 as needing a total hip replacement and lost his job in March.

Their 17 year old Shih Tzu, Pookie, had to be put down. Then they took Roxy to the vet to check her fatty tumors. At six years of age, she was very healthy, and the tests had always came back negative. Not this time. Roxy was diagnosed with Stage One Mast Cell Cancer.

That was only six days after Pookie had passed away. The entire family was devastated. There was no question that they would have the surgery. Roxy was part of their family. The question, though, was how?

Roxy's prognosis was excellent but the surgery was $1200. Then there would be bills for the on-going treatments. David's unemployment check was $320 a week. Monica, his wife, still had a job but finances were tight.

Monica and David were desperate to save their girl's life. She had given them all so much. This was no time to let Roxy down. David appealed to his friends on Facebook but was shocked at the overall callused response. "She's just a dog. Get another one.

But the Freemans weren't about to do that. Instead, they turned to The Mosby Foundation for help. We received this desperate plea from David. "I know Roxy has a lot of Sean's fight in her and will beat this. We just have to give her the help to do it. I am asking, no, I am BEGGING; PLEASE help us save this dog. She means the world to her Purple Heart Soldier boy and to the rest of this family."

We never hesitated. The Mosby Foundation helped to raise the funds needed for Roxy's surgery. The entire Freeman family was overjoyed.

Roxy underwent her surgery in early August. The surgeon removed a total of eight tumors, three in her left leg. "She looks like a patchwork quilt now," David told us.

With 84 stitches, Roxy was in a lot of pain. But just like Sean, she was a fighter. She wasn't about to let this stop her. By late August, her stitches came out and healed nicely. Roxy no longer limped with her left leg and was strong enough to go for walks.

And by early September? David laughed and told us, "I knew she had turned the corner the other morning when she had gotten about 25 toys out of her toy basket and dragged them all over the house! I said, 'SHE'S BACK!'"

Oh yeah! Roxy's got a lot of mischief time to make up for. Both she and her man have squeezed a lot of lemons. But both have too much love to give the world to stay down.

We'd love to be there when Sean comes home early next year. You can bet the dog kisses will flow just like lemonade.