U.S. Soldier to Undergo Surgery Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Afghanistan

A U.S. Army officer from Bakersfield, Calif., is showing signs of recovery following a traumatic brain injury suffered during an explosion in Afghanistan and is set to have surgery on Friday, Oct. 5. Lt. Samuel Van Kopp was on patrol when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-ladened vest. Shrapnel hit the West Point graduate in the head.

Van Kopp’s father says his son is no longer on a ventilator or supplemental oxygen, and is moving his arms and legs with good coordination, according to family spokesman David Reese, who was Van Kopp’s principal at Bakersfield High School. However, “progress, though rapid so far, will slow down,” the father notes.

Surgery to remove pieces of Van Kopp’s skull from his brain is scheduled to take place at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Doctors have not scheduled surgery to remove shrapnel from the soldier’s brain, Reese says. For more information, click here to read the full release.