Sanford, N.C. — Sanford soldier Josiah Blystone was on his first tour of duty near Baghdad when he was seriously injured during a routine patrol.

He was “just walking along and all of a sudden the IED (improvised explosive device) exploded,” Blystone's sister Christin Porter said he told her. Shrapnel flew into his right arm, tearing apart the nerves. It also landed in the side of his face and in his right eye.

“They're not expecting him to be able to see out of it (his right eye) again,” Porter said.

Blystone is recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Porter just returned from visiting him.

“Seeing all the guys there and seeing how often they're bringing in wounded soldiers, it really makes this war more realistic. Because if you're not watching the news all the time or you don't have a family member, we don't really see and feel the effects of it,” Porter said.

She said she knows her brother was lucky.

“A lot of guys lose limbs, both eyes, and their lives. I don't think they are ever the same because of this kind of thing,” she said.

Blystone was injured by the homemade bomb Feb. 16. He had only been in Iraq for about four months. He will likely be at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for another couple of weeks undergoing extensive rehabilitation.