Reading man who helps injured soldiers now helping care for son

Reading man who helps injured soldiers now helping care for son wounded by city gunman
An Army Reservist who helps wounded soldiers cope with disabilities must now work with his son, who was shot three times in Reading.
By Dan Kelly
Reading Eagle


Master Sgt. Brian S. Thomas of Glenside is a soldier and a healer.

He has spent the past six years developing a rehabilitation program for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

On May 11, he got a phone call any father would dread.

His 23-year-old son had been paralyzed by gunshot wounds.

But it wasn't in a war zone. It was on the streets of Reading.

Nathan Thomas was hit in the left thigh, with the bullet missing all major blood vessels. A second bullet tore into his left elbow and came out near his shoulder.

A third bullet struck his abdomen, then passed through the center of his T-12 vertebrae, severing his spine and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Nathan Thomas is recovering in a Philadelphia rehabilitation hospital where he is expected to remain until late June. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas is required to return to duty with the Army Reserve in Texas on Sunday.

He said he agonizes about leaving his wife and son behind, but said he also has to prepare his on-duty residence in San Antonio to be wheelchair accessible.

"(With) all this paperwork and the issues that accompany them, I really have a hard time trying to focus," he said.
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