Sgt. Rachel Rodriguez
Marine liaison’s positive attitude shines at Landstuhl
LANDSTUHL, Germany — Sgt. Rachel Rodriguez lives by a secret.
The secret helps the Marine liaison at Landstuhl run faster, test better and brighten the lives of hundreds of wounded Devil Dogs.
Her secret comes from “The Secret,” a best-selling book that promotes positive thinking.
“Don’t you know the secret of life is sending positive energy out into the world?,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez had come from the hospital room of a Marine who days earlier had survived ejection from a vehicle turret during a roadside bomb blast in Iraq. Other than recurring headaches, the young Marine sat in his bed unscathed.
Rodriguez began by asking Cpl. Dennis Ndaanee if he had talked to the people he loved. If he needed a calling card, an ID card or anything.
Then came the humor. She asked the Marine if he was married. After Ndaanee said no, Rodriguez asked if he had kids. Ndaanee answered no.
“No baby mama. No drama,” she said. “I was just wondering because maybe that’d be why you’re having those headaches.”
It took only moments for Rodriguez’s perma-grin to infect the 25-year-old Marine. Ndaanee’s smile lasted the day.
About 85 percent of Rodriguez’s job is administrative — tracking wounded Marines over databases, answering phones, generating reports. For the remainder, she deals with the wounded. Even in her time off, Rodriguez and other Marine liaisons take some wounded bowling or out to eat.
Her positive attitude even affects hospital staffers. Rodriguez passed along her knowledge of “The Secret” to a soldier who improved her test scores. German hospital guards stop by Rodriguez’s desk to chat. A retired Marine colonel trades quips with the New York City native.
But the realities of war visible at Landstuhl can touch even the most positive people. Rodriguez remembers one occasion.
A Marine rested in intensive care, awake but unable to speak. He grabbed Rodriguez’s hand. When she asked him if he wanted her to pray for him, the Marine blinked. A look in his eyes begged Rodriguez to save him. She prayed and repeated everything would be all right. Small tears flowed from his eyes.
The Marine went into surgery but came out in a coma. Rodriguez spent hours praying with him. His family arrived. On the day the Marine was to leave Landstuhl, Rodriguez happened to be in Stuttgart. She drove to the hospital at 3 a.m. to say goodbye. Before seeing the patient and his family, Rodriguez sat in her car and cried.
“We’re not supposed to cry in front of patients,” she said. “You can’t cry. You can’t really show emotion. I started crying because I felt very helpless. That was the one time where I felt like no amount of positive thinking will change the situation. Then, I just had to decide to smile and go into the room and say goodbye to the family and shake his hand.”
But even from Rodriguez’s time of doubt a positive outcome emerged.
The Marine from ICU lost a leg but now walks, talks and lives life as if it never happened.
