CODY - A U.S. Army private from Cody is reportedly in good spirits as he recovers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from injuries he sustained in Iraq.

Pfc. Wes Hixon, 23, was driving a Stryker armored vehicle on patrol with the 25th Infantry Division near Baghdad last month when it was struck by a roadside bomb. The blast killed four soldiers and wounded six others, all inside the vehicle, according to Jona Vanata of the Cody-based Families on the Frontline support group.

The explosion ripped the 19-ton vehicle in half and propelled it 30 feet in the air, Vanata said in an e-mail.

Hixon remains in intensive care following a series of surgeries, including a 15-hour operation to help repair his shattered spine. He also suffered several broken ribs, a torn diaphragm and facial injuries, but no brain injury, said Brenda Marchese, a family friend.

"He is doing quite well, considering his circumstances and the events he went through," said Buck Wilkerson, a Cody veteran who spoke recently to Hixon's father, J.C. Hixon.

Wes Hixon has recovered from pneumonia, but is unable to move his legs, although his spinal cord is intact.

Wilkerson said no definitive long-term prognosis has been made about Hixon's paralysis.

"He's dedicated to persevering and to doing the best he can with this, and has been setting an example for nearly everybody else there with his attitude and how well he's doing," Wilkerson said.

Marchese, who works at the Cody Wal-Mart with J.C. Hixon, said the father's support has been a key to his son's recovery so far, and has helped raise the spirits of others at the clinic.

"Wes' dad and mom and whole family are there with him," she said. "And when Wes is napping, J.C. goes and visits with all the other wounded soldiers who are there, too."

J.C. Hixon, a former Marine, said he appreciated the support the family has received from Cody-area residents, and praised the medical care his son is receiving, Wilkerson said.

Marchese said J.C. Hixon displayed several cards and letters from Cody supporters around his son's room.

"They're dear friends, and I'm very hopeful for Wes," said Marchese, whose son, Sgt. Anthony Marchese, is scheduled to return next month from Afghanistan.

Wal-Mart has continued to pay J.C. Hixon's medical insurance while he is caring for his son, and co-workers are raising money to help pay for his travel expenses, Marchese said. Families on the Frontline also has contributed.

Hixon is expected to eventually be transferred to a hospital in Washington state that specializes in spinal rehabilitation, and Marchese said she is working to raise travel money or arrange for transportation for his father to join him there.