Pfc. Kevin Macari used his MySpace blog to keep track of what he was seeing and feeling while serving in the Army. Below are some excerpts:

Louie Palu / Alexia Foundation via Zuma Press

Pfc. Kevin Macari, who lost his leg to a landmine explosion in the Arghandab District of Kandahar, Afghanistan, looks at a photo of his fiancée while being evacuated in a U.S. Army medevac helicopter, Sept. 28, 2010. Macari asked photojournalist Louie Palu to hold his hand during the helicopter ride. “It was a hard day,” said Palu.

 On June 25, 2010, Kevin Macari wrote:
“I can’t get the blood out from under my fingernails. I’m sick of breathing in dirt, and I miss my fiancee….”

On Aug. 5, 2010, Kevin Macari wrote:
“I’m honestly so sick of doing some of the ______— _— ___— I’ve had to do and see that I just wanna come home and live the rest of my l..."

On Oct 7, 2010, Kevin Macari wrote:
"Hey jessica. I'm back home now, but not for anything good. I got my left leg blown off in Afghan. I'm okay but just figured id drop you a line..."

Macari was injured while serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He lost his spleen and his leg below the knee in the initial landmine injury. His father, Thomas Macari Jr., says Kevin is recovering in the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

“He has been fighting an infection by his knee which he was told if it reaches the bone they would have to take his leg above the knee. That thought was devastating to him. The good news is that the infection is getting better,” said Thomas.

His father says Kevin’s spirits are on an emotional rollercoaster ride. “Some days he is his old self, happy, joking and laughing. Other days he is withdrawn, and he doesn’t want to talk.”

Thomas says, “Kevin is not sure what his future will bring as to staying in the Army, but that decision is well down the road. Right now his job in the Army is recovery.”

Kevin misses the guys in his unit who are still in Afghanistan, but he is able to keep in touch by using the Internet, says Thomas.

In September, The Atlantic published a slideshow of photographer Louie Palu's coverage of IEDs in Afghanistan. You can see it here.