ROCKFORD (WREX) -
A police escort rolled into Heartland Community Church's parking lot Thursday night. Corporal Shawna Paxson of Machesney Park stepped out of the limousine with a smile. Inside the church, veterans, friends and family greeted her. The Wounded Warrior Program helped bring Corporal Paxson home for the holidays. She's been recovering at a hospital in Texas from a leg injury.
In September, Paxson was serving in Afghanistan as a gunner. A bomb blasted the vehicle she was in and sent her flying. "Our vehicle rolled over a ten foot wall. All the doors blew off of it. We have three people that were inside of the vehicle that got medevaced with me they had broken arms, broken legs, broken back, broken pelvises," says Corporal Paxson.
"I went on one mission with Shawna and she was hit then. That'd be the last time that I saw her until about three weeks ago," says Corporal Jesse Watkins.
Her family hasn't seen her much either, but this Christmas she'll be with the people who love her. "Just seeing her face makes me light up and I know that she's safe. It's a real blessing," says her
"She doesn't care about herself as much as she cares about all the other individual soldiers . That's why we love her," says Corporal Watkins.
"It was very important for our family to be together as one and show our support for her as well as all the veterans and wounded warriors that are home," says Paxson's father, Mark.
If it weren't for her injury, Corporal Paxson would spend Christmas in Afghanistan with fellow soldiers. "Merry Christmas to them. I talk to them every week and let them know how much I care about them and I love them and pray for their safety everyday."
Corporal Paxson received a purple heart award for her sacrifice. She returns to Texas to continue her recovery in about a week.
