Antioch Marine recovering after near-fatal injury

When Cpl. John Peck finally came off sedation this week, more than a month after being severely injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, the first words he mouthed to his mother were, "I love you."

"It's frustrating trying to understand what he's mouthing, but it's great when your son can tell you that he loves you after all he has been through," said Peck's mother, Lisa Krudyholowa.

Cpl. Peck, a 2004 graduate of Antioch High School, has been in intensive care at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland since being struck by a roadside bomb on May 24.

After battling through amputations of all four limbs, a near-fatal abdominal bacterial infection and pneumonia over the past 48 days, the possibility of returning home looks more promising.

"He was alert for a good hour communicating and he knows what happened," Krudyholowa said, adding that he has kicked the bacterial infection.

His mother said he knew the risks of going back to war, having been injured during his first tour of Iraq three years ago.

"I'm really glad that he didn't wake up angry at the world," she said. "He's OK with it. He knows that he did it for his country."

Peck, the recipient of two Purple Hearts, communicates with his mother by nodding yes or no to questions, and by slowly mouthing words. He is not able to speak because of a breathing tube.

Krudyholowa said she finally got her son to smile last week while hanging up Fourth of July decorations in his room.

"I put it (a decoration) on my head and said should I hang it from here," she joked. "He smiled and shook his head like, there goes my goofy mom."

Doctors at the hospital do not have an estimated timeline for when Cpl. Peck might return home to Illinois, but his condition is dramatically improved since early June when his family described Peck's life as "hanging by a thread."

Peck's room is draped with cards and notes that have been flooding in from family and friends.

"He looks around and sees all the cards. I read him some from some of our close friends and family," his mother said. "After I read it to him, he kind of smiled a bit."

The Antioch community has not stopped their support after raising thousands of dollars in a special fund set up in Cpl. Peck's name last month.

A group of residents including representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps and Veterans Affairs met Wednesday to discuss fundraising events, which could include a concert, said Antioch Trustee Dennis Crosby.

"We are trying to make sure the family has enough for their needs," said Mayor Larry Hanson. "Obviously in his condition he is going to need lots of support, not only financially but emotionally."

To donateDonations to the "Cpl. John Peck Fund" can be deposited in his name at State Bank of the Lakes, 440 Lake St., Antioch.