SANTA CLARA, Washington County — One of the four LDS missionaries wounded in the Brussels terrorist attacks described the fear, confusion and lessons learned on Monday as he continues on the road to full recovery.

Joseph Dresden Empey, or Dres as his family and friends call him, is looking for the positive in the situation as he heals from serious burns and injuries. He's recovering at home in Santa Clara.

Monday, Empey was at the wound clinic where doctors discovered and removed another piece of shrapnel from his leg. It was a reminder of what happened on March 22.

A month ago, Empey, 20, along with fellow missionaries Mason Wells, 19, of Sandy, and Richard J. Norby, 66, of Lehi, were at the Brussels airport just before 8 a.m. to drop off Sister Fanny Clain, 20, of Montélimar, France, who was scheduled to board a flight to the United States to serve in the Ohio Cleveland Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

They had been at the airport for about five minutes when the first bomb went off.

“I felt lots of pressure, and my vision just went bright orange and then it went black,” Empey recalled. “It knocked me out.” He said he was unconscious for the second blast.

“I was laying on my right side; it was my left side that was facing the blast. I opened my eyes and my ears were ringing super bad, and I slowly got up and I kind of was putting the pieces together in my mind as I got up. What were we doing? I realized we were at the airport. I kind of realized, like, there’s been lots of terrorist attacks in Europe recently. It looks like a bomb went off, so I kind of put the pieces together in my head pretty quick. I was kind of freaking out a little bit.

“I started looking for the other missionaries on the floor around me, because they were right next to me, and I couldn’t find (them) so I ended up just getting out of there,” he said.

The first person he saw as he got out the door was his companion, Elder Wells. Later he found out Wells and Clain hadn’t been knocked unconscious after the first blast and were able to get out, but as they ran out, the second bomb went off.

"For that first 10 minutes I felt pretty fine,” Empey said. “I could see the burns on my hands and I could feel it on my head, but that’s about it. So I was feeling fine. I was walking around. And then slowly, bit by bit, my legs became more sore and more sore, and the adrenaline had gone away and I was like, ‘OK, I can’t walk any more,’ so I just sat down next to my companion. Didn’t walk after that. Just had them haul me away.”

Empey was able to contact his family about six hours after the blast. Because of the time difference, he said his parents were asleep and hadn’t yet heard about the terrorists attacks. He spoke to his dad to let him know he was OK.

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“I wasn’t too emotional. I was kind of excited to talk to them because it had been a good long time. Stayed relaxed. (I said), ‘Just so you know I’m totally fine, but there was a terrorist attack and I’m in the hospital. My injuries aren’t too bad and I should be totally OK.’”

Empey suffered burns to both hands, and on the left side of his head and face. He also had shrapnel from mostly the knee down, but had a few below the waist.

Now, several weeks into his recovery, his message today is one of gratitude.

“All we’ve received is love and support and prayers, and everyone’s just been amazing to us, so I would just thank everyone; everyone’s just been so awesome to us,” he said.

To have survived, when dozens of others did not, brings a new outlook and a new sense of gratitude that Empey says has to power to bring people together.

“I feel really blessed to be alive today,” he said. “We’ve been praying for those families who’ve lost loved ones.”

He was just a few months away from finishing his two-year mission when the attack happened.

He may start working over the summer and then go to school in the fall. And while the attack was devastating, he said, “We can find positive things in even the most tragic experiences.”

Sister Clain is recovering from second-degree burns and shrapnel injuries caused by two bombs detonated by suicide bombers and an infection in her blood caused by the shrapnel. She was released from the hospital on April 19 and is recovering in France.

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Empey said he’s praying for Norby and Wells.

Wells suffered a ruptured Achilles' tendon on his left foot and tore off the entire surface of skin. He will require a skin graft to repair the wound. He also has a broken left heel.

Norby suffered second- and third-degree burns over 35 percent of his body, including his face, arms, trunk and legs. He was placed in a medically induced coma for several days. On April 15, he was able to return to Utah. He’s being treated at the University Hospital Burn Center. Norby will remain hospitalized for a number of weeks, with additional surgeries expected.

Empey and Wells have been released from their mission assignments. The Norbys were released from their mission call on April 17. Sister Clain will resume her mission once she recovers from her wounds.

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