Topeka ? The wife of a Topeka soldier wounded by a sniper in Afghanistan says pneumonia has forced a delay in surgery to fuse his spine back together.

Army Sgt. Jamie Jarboe is being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He was shot in the neck April 10 while on foot patrol in Afghanistan.

Melissa Wallace-Jarboe told The Topeka Capital-Journal the sniper’s bullet damaged her husband’s trachea and his upper spinal column. He’s unable to move his lower extremities and has a collapsed lung, but can whisper after having a tracheotomy.

Wallace-Jarboe spoke Monday from the hospital. She said her husband is alert and hopeful.

Sgt. Jarboe is based at Fort Riley and serves with the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division.