Hospital Visit (7/13/09)

I was honored to be allowed to go on a tour of the hospital. The night before, when we had been enjoying the Catch Penny concert, drinking near beer and laughing and joking around, all medical staff were at the hospital patching up 9 brave men who had been involved in an IED attack. The attack took place outside an Iraqi police station, and was apparently detonated by remote, meaning some coward sat at a safe distance away and pushed a button to blow up our boys when they passed. Fortunately the assessment was that it didn’t detonate properly, so instead of blowing up in the middle of the group, it exploded towards the end of the group, and didn’t blow up straight, but just in 1 direction, not totally towards our guys. That said, it did blow up and wounded 9 brave men who were on a foot patrol with the mission of helping the Iraqi people get back their land, their safety and their country. Attacks like this are apparently not that infrequent, and infiltration in the local police and military forces was common, either by bribe, or by threats. Saddam ruled his people by intimidation and force and violence, and the insurgents today have continued that tradition.

1 was an Iraqi interpreter who saw a possibility for a better life in his country, and was helping the American soldiers so he could eventually live in peace and safety without American troops patrolling their cities. He was injured the worst, and was in the ICU when we arrived. As I understand it, he was impaled by a coke can sized object in the hip/groin area. The biggest problem was, we could only provide him with the care that we could at that base. (4 other American soldiers had been operated on, stabilized and med-evaced within hours of the attack to be sent to Germany and them home to be cared for with the best and most modern facilities and techniques. They were all expected to make a full recovery) Under the treaty we have with Iraq, we are not allowed to transport him for more thorough care, and we could only hold him for 7 days. This man needed at least 2 months of medical care according to the doctor giving us the tour, so he would need to be transported to an Iraqi medical care facility BUT if he was put in a local facility, the insurgents would identify him as someone who was helping the Americans, and not only would his life be in danger, but that of his family as well. This poor man had a lot more than 2 months of recovery to worry about. There were 2 American soldiers at his bedside when we were there who had sustained very minor shrapnel wounds. You could see the fear, and stress in their eyes, partially from their own trauma, but also in sympathy for the situation of their friend, a man who bravely chose to help them despite considerable danger to himself and his family. It’s brave men like this who are going to allow the Iraqi nation to be successful and free and safe, and I hope there are many more who are inspired by his bravery and step forward to reclaim their country. It’s so hard though because there is such a culture of violence and intimidation and they live under a constant threat making it less likely for honest people to live a peaceful life.

You could see the shrapnel wounds on the faces of the 2 soldiers who were at the Iraqi’s bedside, burns about the side of a pencil eraser. They apparently had a few other wounds on their bodies, but were expected to return to their unit the next day.

We left those three men to their quiet conversation, and went into the care ward where the other 2 soldiers were. The first was quite drugged up, and was still in a bit of pain, but managed to have a great conversation with us just the same. He had sustained injuries on both of his ankles, one worse than the other. He was scheduled to med-evac out that night (The sandstorms were grounding most aircraft, but it was a relief to know that the med-evac still flew!) and go to Germany for more extensive surgery. From there they would determine whether he would be fit to return to his unit, or if he was headed home. You could see in this man’s eyes that all he wanted was to just go home, but of course his loyalty to his fellow troops kept him wanting to be here in Iraq, fighting alongside his brothers. He was really excited to talk to Sandy the Astronaut, and Frank the Olympian. He showed us his purple heart that the General himself had just moments before awarded to him right there in the hospital. Someone said “cool” and he said “not really!” He also showed us the nail that they had pulled out of his leg. Ew! We talked for a while then headed to the next bed.

This young man from Kansas was about as all-American as you can get. Blonde hair, big football build. You almost expected him to have a piece of wheat in his teeth. Really nice kid. He had been peppered all down one side with shrapnel. He was expected to recover right there in the medical center at Speicher and return to duty once his wounds were healed. He was apparently the one closest to the blast, and it was because of the malfunction of the explosive that he wasn’t the worst one injured. The blast apparently picked him up, tossed him 20 meters across the street and into the side of a building. He was battered and bruised, but overall ok and considered quite a hero because the doc and 2 of the soldiers there told us with pride that this young man was closest to the blast. It was like a badge of honor. I’m sure he wasn’t looking forward to returning to foot patrol. That would certainly make you more hesitant and stressed while trying to do your job.

We visited for a while, then soberly got back on the bus, talking about the bravery of these young men, how this truly was still a life conflict, and how we all hoped and prayed that no more of our young men would be involved in situations like this. But we all quietly knew that they would.