The Soldiers' Stories: Wounded Marine Suffers Setback

A Marine from Columbia County who was wounded while serving in the Middle East is still fighting for his life.

Lance Corporal Derrick Sharpe, 19, of Berwick was injured last month in Iraq.

His mother had to make the heart-wrenching choice Monday to have his leg amputated, or he wouldn't make it. Kimberly Sheets said it's the toughest decision she has had to make but she can't bear to lose her son.

LCpl Sharpe had only been in Iraq a few weeks in September when a roadside bomb went off while he was on patrol. Now, he's in critical condition at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

Candles burn brightly inside Kimberly Sheets' living room in Berwick.and she said they will continue to do so until her son is healed.

Throughout the room there are reminders of the young Marine as he lies far away in a coma.

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