She spent a year in the service with Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, an Indian from Hopi tribe in AZ. They were very different but became best friends. Lori had two kids and was killed in the attack.
On the rescue: She is grateful to the Iraqi lawyer who drew the map and told the U.S. troops where she was. She said she intends to meet him and described him as risking his life to tell the troops where she was. Yet, then she says she doesn't know if he really had a wife who worked in the hospital, so clearly, there is something about him she thinks has been exaggerated or she doesn't trust. Letterman didn't ask her to explain.
She was in the hospital for nine days in a lot of pain. They didn't give her morphine or percocet (The percocet question was fed to her by Letterman, she didn't just start talkiing about Percocet. But she knew what it was because she laughed--one of the few times.)
She was scared on the day of the rescue. She could hear shooting and helicopters. But she didn't know who was coming in. Several people ultimately came in the room. One told her they were U.S. soldiers. She told him "I'm a U.S. soldier too" --we surmised that's a famous line since its also the title of her book. One soldier ripped his flag off his uniform and gave it to her to hold along with his hand. She held onto the flag till she got out of there. That meant a lot to her.
She went to Kuwait where they just checked her vital signs and then Germany for treatment. She's still in therapy 2 hours a day, 5 times a week. They don't say how long it will take to get better.
When asked about how she feels about all her media appearances, she said she just wants to tell her side of the story, particularly because of the soldiers in her unit that didn't make it home. She doesn't tell the story though and we didn't quite get the connection.
She thinks she was saved for a higher purpose (as opposed to the others in her unit who died.) When asked about the reports of her shooting her way out, she says it isn't true and she doesn't want to take credit for something she didn't do.
Her final line was, "I'm not a hero, I'm a survivor." It sounded like a soundbite her publicist came up with, but was effective. There was a lot of clapping at that.
She was wearing blue jeans and a nice top and walked with crutches. She looked relaxed and didn't seem nervous. But she didn't show much personality either. She's definitely not a chatty Cathy. Letterman spoon fed her the questions and did most of the talking.
One thing is obvious: Her life is changed forever and even if she recovers, her legs and feet will never the way they were before. We would have liked to have seen more spark in her, but it didn't seem like she was willing to share herself--not even with the audience which she barely acknowledged. But, we believe she is genuine. We hope she does well with her book. When she gets a little more practiced with the media, we won't be surprised if she turns up hosting Saturday Night Live. We think she'd get a standing ovation there too.
