W.Va. soldier recovering after being shot in Iraq Daily Mail - Charleston, WV - 4 hours ago The mother of a soldier from Putnam County said today he is in good spirits as he undergoes treatment for a serious wound suffered in Baghdad last week. ...

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Matthew Richardson, 21, is believed to be paralyzed from the chest down. He was shot in the neck on July 7.

Richardson is a specialist in the U.S. Army. He graduated in 2006 from Hurricane High School, where he was a standout baseball player. His mother, Karen Richardson Finney, said he was alert but still in a lot of pain. Richardson was flown from Iraq to Germany for treatment and is now at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. His mother and other family members remain at his bedside. Doctors have had to insert a chest tube to help him breathe because of a collapsed lung. "We are very busy just trying to get him healed enough to breathe on his own," Finney wrote in an e-mail. "I love the fact that we have so much support out there. I don't know what I would do without it. "He seems to be in good spirits (even flirting with the nurses) when his pain is under control, and he feels like he's getting enough oxygen. I am not sure he really understands the extent of his injuries as of this moment. But we are just trying to take it one day at a time." It is not certain how Richardson was wounded. Richardson's high school baseball coach was one of many friends and community members to express sorrow upon hearing the news. Billy Joe Hicks, who retired this season from coaching the Redskins, said he always knew Richardson was cut out for the military because of his serious, respectful demeanor around the diamond. "He's a 'yes, sir' kind of guy," Hicks said. "He's old school. You could holler and scream at him, and he'd respond, 'Yes sir.' He takes directives better than most kids today." He added, "It's not fair for that to happen to such a good kid. It's ironic how it happened. He was trying to help someone else." Richardson played shortstop at Hurricane and was the team captain his senior season. On his MySpace page, Richardson lists baseball as one of his interests and says he would like to meet New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. "From a coach's standpoint, you'd like to have 20 Matt Richardsons," Hicks said. "Defensively, he had great hands. He's a good defensive shortstop. He ran well and had good motions for an infielder. If he had a weakness, it was probably hitting. He just liked to play ball, and the other kids all loved him." Richardson has another weakness - girls - according to his MySpace profile. He also briefly chronicled life in the Army on the popular social networking site and wrote about his fear of spiders. In one journal entry from Iraq, Richardson details a strange discovery in his ceiling. He had officers open up the roof to check out what was causing the racket emanating from there. "It is seven big camel spiders," Richardson wrote. "I thought they were rats because they were screaming and running really fast. But I guess camel spiders can move up to 10 mph...and they're screamin. So I pretty much won't go in my room because I am deathly afraid of spiders...and these ones are the size of Frisbees." He lists his dad as his hero and "The Da Vinci Code" as a favorite book. He says he can't wait to get out of the Army and even has a countdown clock for his time remaining in the service. Several friends have posted comments of sympathy and inspiration on his mother's profile. "I bet his mom's just devastated," Hicks said. "He's the world to her. She's done such a great job with him. "You always say good things about people when they're in tragic situations, but this is a good boy." Hicks said the accident came at an odd time. The other day, the coach and a colleague were talking about sending former players-turned-soldiers 'Thank You' notes for their military service. Hicks recalled seeing his former player in a military uniform for the first time. A couple of years ago, Richardson visited with Hicks and other coaches on the field wearing Army fatigues. "It was 95 degrees and hotter than Hades," Hicks said. "Here he comes in his Army fatigues. I tried talking him out of those boots. He was proud of that uniform. "He thanked us for what we did for him. But it should've been the other way around."

Tags: BAGHDAD, camel spiders, Iraq, Putnam County, Soldiers, Spc. Matthew Richardson

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