OPERATION FINALLY HOME, LANCE CPL. JEREMY BROOKING

Wellborn Cabinet, Inc., is extremely proud be the cabinet sponsor for Lance Cpl. Jeremy Brooking’s new home.

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jeremy Brooking knew from a very young age that he wanted to serve his country as a Marine. He followed his dream and enlisted in 2005 at the age of 18.

Brooking married Tia his childhood sweetheart less than a year before being deployed to Iraq in 2007. Tia solidly supported Jeremy on his path to becoming a Marine and as a Marine wife.

Two months after deployment, while on duty Brooking was shot in the chest by a sniper.

“While on the medevac Brookings flat-lined, but the dedicated medic team brought him back and rushed him to a Fallujah hospital for treatment. While there his life nearly slipped away for the second time that night.

“The doctors told my chain of command that I was not going to make it,” Brooking said.

It was at that point his commander broke out his satellite phone and let the dying Marine call home.

During the call with his wife, Brooking did not let on the extent of his injury.

“I was concerned more about her than anything,” said Brooking. “When she answered the phone, I told her, “I got shot, but I’m OK, then I asked her about school and work.”

After saying their goodbyes, he handed the phone back to his commander, who told the worried wife a harsh reality: she might soon be a widow.

“I was terrified thinking I may not ever speak to him again,” said Tia Brooking.

Lacking the necessary equipment to operate on Jeremy, Fallujah hospital opted to fly him to a hospital in Germany. With equipment no longer an issue, doctors in Germany feared Brooking’s body was too weak for any procedure. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a lack of oxygen when he flat lined in the medevac. So the bullet remained lodged in his chest for a year.

Brooking miraculously survived. A year later the doctors removed the bullet, and Jeremy was left with a gaping hole in his lung.

Brooking received the Purple Heart as well as several other awards for his service. He and his wife have two little girls, and he still lives with physical pain from the injury. Once home, he quickly realized everyday tasks were no longer possible, and at 19-years-old, he had to rely on his wife for around-the-clock care.

“Operation Finally Home has been amazing and they are truly the hands and feet of the Lord,” said Tia Brooking. Tia Brooking believes the new home is the door to freedom for their family. “It's going to give us a life of freedom,” she said. “Less pain for Jeremy means more family time and a better quality of life for everyone.”