After battling a case of pneumonia a few weeks ago and dealing with the removal of a chest tube so that he could begin eating solid foods, Winston Hencely is another step forward on the road to recovery from injuries he sustained from an explosion at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in November.

Over the course of the past week, Hencely has continued improving and his condition has been known thanks to Facebook posts from his mother, Vicki Hencely.

On Wednesday, Vicki Hencely posted that Winston was able to stand up with assistance during his rehab session and that he was also able to stack and unstack four cones with his left hand.

The following day, she posted the following: “Our soldier has had an ok day. They are trying to get the pain meds balanced out and the sleeping meds too. He slept for a good 7 hours last night and didn’t wake to hit the pain push so when he did wake up his head hurt really bad and we’ve worked most of the day to get it back under control. The doctor did remove the traech today and he was happy about that.”

Hencely’s headaches continued into the next day, although not as bad.

“Our soldier had a good day today!,” Vicki Hencely posted. “The headaches are a little more manageable so he was able to get a good night sleep! He passed his second swallow study after the traech was removed and is now able to have any food he wants! For dinner, he had two grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and a chocolate cheesecake! He went for pt today and was able to stand for a total of eight minutes which is a lot for him.”

As of New Year’s Day, Hencely’s headaches were still bothering him but he was able to eat French toast and take part in another PT session.

Vicki Hencely posted that she and her family are thankful for everything that the community has done for them. Winston’s progress will continue to be updated each week in the Effingham Herald.

Winston is a 2014 graduate from Effingham County High School and a local hero.