“Hey, Julie, Mack has been ‘out of the office’ for several days and just sent this note:
‘I was just on a 10 day mission. Was projected to be pretty dangerous with lots of casualties, but didn't turn out too bad. I did have one scary patient where I put in a chest tube in a partially-built guard tower. Whole thing was pretty exhausting. I did wade across the Argandab River during our "push." You should look that one up, since this is apparently a pretty notable river here.
We have another mission coming up very soon, (sooner than I would have wanted for rest purposes). By the way, please send another roll of duct tape (not for medical use).’”
“I think I understand what an Afghanistan emergency room is, Curmudge. It’s any place where a wounded soldier needs the urgent care of a physician.”
“Perhaps Mack’s team should adopt the motto, ‘The best of care anywhere. Literally, anywhere.'”
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Afghanistan ER
“Hey, Curmudge, I see that Mack copied you on another email to his friends. It appears that he only writes to them when something exciting has happened.”
“Exciting isn’t the right word, Jaded Julie. This time it was tragic. I’ll read part of what he wrote:
‘Hi, everyone,
Hope your Labor Day holiday was good. Ours over here got pretty tumultuous. We were sitting down to a special Labor Day dinner they had in the mess tent when the word came that incoming (fire) was expected. I had to leave half my dinner behind as everyone had to go to bunkers, etc. A mortar hit a Hesco (barrier wall) and bounced into a bunker. It blew up at head height right in the middle of a group of American contractors that worked with us. It was the worst mass-casualty event I've ever been involved with. People lying all over the place with terrible head injuries gurgling blood etc. Two died within the hour, then one more died the next morning at the hospital where we had flown him. (I tried as much as I could to help him.) Several more still in bad condition. It's taken a couple of days to just clean the blood off ourselves and the equipment. Still getting more incoming, lots of time in body armor. Our morale is very good, including mine (so far). I have a tiny ‘cottage’ that one of my medics and I built so I don’t have to sleep in a tent all winter. I’ll try to send a picture of it. I can say that I own property in Afghanistan, albeit in an unsafe neighborhood. Anyway, we’ve got a burned baby coming in. Gotta go--Mack.’”
“Curmudge, it sounds as if on Labor Day the term ‘triage’ reverted back to its original meaning.”
“The training of the whole medical team undoubtedly kicked in; but after things settled down, all of them—Mack, his PA, and especially the young enlisted medics—must have realized what an emotional experience their first mass-casualty event had been.”
“Exciting isn’t the right word, Jaded Julie. This time it was tragic. I’ll read part of what he wrote:
‘Hi, everyone,
Hope your Labor Day holiday was good. Ours over here got pretty tumultuous. We were sitting down to a special Labor Day dinner they had in the mess tent when the word came that incoming (fire) was expected. I had to leave half my dinner behind as everyone had to go to bunkers, etc. A mortar hit a Hesco (barrier wall) and bounced into a bunker. It blew up at head height right in the middle of a group of American contractors that worked with us. It was the worst mass-casualty event I've ever been involved with. People lying all over the place with terrible head injuries gurgling blood etc. Two died within the hour, then one more died the next morning at the hospital where we had flown him. (I tried as much as I could to help him.) Several more still in bad condition. It's taken a couple of days to just clean the blood off ourselves and the equipment. Still getting more incoming, lots of time in body armor. Our morale is very good, including mine (so far). I have a tiny ‘cottage’ that one of my medics and I built so I don’t have to sleep in a tent all winter. I’ll try to send a picture of it. I can say that I own property in Afghanistan, albeit in an unsafe neighborhood. Anyway, we’ve got a burned baby coming in. Gotta go--Mack.’”
“Curmudge, it sounds as if on Labor Day the term ‘triage’ reverted back to its original meaning.”
“The training of the whole medical team undoubtedly kicked in; but after things settled down, all of them—Mack, his PA, and especially the young enlisted medics—must have realized what an emotional experience their first mass-casualty event had been.”
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