Part VIII: The Journey Home Though I deployed to Iraq as a physician, little did I know that I’d make my journey home….not as a doctor, but as a patient! After taking care of hundreds of patients, I became one. It all started with what I thought was a minor injury to my left knee. Since college, when I fractured my left leg, I’ve had problems with my knee. Thankfully, I’ve been able to lead a fairly active lifestyle in spite of my knee. Until Iraq, that is. Late one night our medical team was called out to respond to the scene of a bad car accident on the highway near our camp. Because it was "outside the wire," which is to say it was outside our camp, we had to wear our full battle gear. We were told on our radios that a QRF (Quick Reaction Force) team was already on the scene, and would secure the area and provide protection for us. A QRF is a team of combat soldiers that are on call day and night, like a special SWAT team. We were expecting them to be on site when we arrived. There was some concern that this might not be an accident, but might instead be an ambush. So off we went in our Army ambulance, dressed
to the nines in all our protective gear, not knowing what we'd find.
To make a long story short, we arrived at the accident and there
was no QRF. We'd beat them to the scene. We knew we needed to act
fast, since we were in enemy territory with only a couple of soldiers
to protect us. It was pitch black out, and, as the ambulance rolled
to a stop, we opened the back doors and jumped out. Well, my 52-year-old
left knee, with the extra weight of all my gear, apparently couldn't
handle the jump, and just plain gave out. Easter weekend came, and I said my goodbyes to the great soldiers I’d been working with. Early the next morning I loaded all my gear onto a truck and convoyed over to Camp Anaconda one last time. I checked in with the Air Force team, and was put on that night’s MEDEVAC flight to Germany. The initial MEDEVAC process is something I’ve had a lot of experience with, both in Kosovo and in Iraq. I know how to call in a helicopter to pick up a patient. I’ve done that many times. I know what happens to a patient once they’re loaded onto a helicopter to be taken to a hospital. On several occasions I’ve accompanied critical patients on some of these flights. I’ve also been the receiving doctor at a combat hospital when the helicopters landed, bringing the wounded to our emergency room. The role of a combat hospital is only to provide initial emergency treatment and surgery, and then to MEDEVAC patients on to a permanent hospital outside the combat theater for definitive treatment and rehab. This is the side of the MEDEVAC process that I knew little about. Although soldiers have to put up with a lot of discomforts and hardships, there is one area where soldiers receive a level of quality that exceeds what they get on the civilian side---the area of medical care. The military spares no expense in trying to give its soldiers the very best medical care possible. Although combat hospital facilities, often MASH-like tents, leave something to be desired, the doctors that staff these combat hospitals are among the best in their respective fields. The diagnostic and surgical equipment are state-of-the-art. And, through the MEDEVAC system, every effort is made to get a soldier the care they need, when they need it, and where they need it. Now, having personally gone through the MEDEVAC system, I am more convinced than ever that American soldiers are getting the best care possible. Here’s the story of what happened to me in the process of getting my own injury treated. In preparation for the MEDEVAC flight to Germany, our group of about 40 patients was checked into an Air Force hospital that was set up right on the flight line next to the airport runway. Many of the patients had only minor injuries, while a half dozen soldiers or so were very serious. Each of us was evaluated by a doctor to determine if any last minute treatments were needed. The most critical patients had a team consisting of a doctor, nurse, and respiratory therapist assigned to each patient, and this team traveled with the patient all the way back to Germany---talk about personalized care! About half of the patients, including me, were considered “litter” patients, which means we traveled on the cargo plane on a litter. Once everyone had been evaluated and checked and rechecked, we were put onto a blue bus with a large red cross that had been rigged to hold the litters, stacked three high on each side of the bus. The bus took us out to the cargo plane, where it backed up to the plane’s open tail, and we were carefully moved onto the C-141 cargo plane. Again, the plane had been configured so it could hold the litters, stacked three high. The ambulatory patients sat towards the front of the plane, on uncomfortable jump-seats. The airplane’s crew consisted not only of pilots and load masters, but also a large number of nurses and doctors and flight surgeons. We were in good hands. We flew to Germany, landing at Ramstein Air Force Base, where the blue medical buses were waiting to transport us to Landstuhl Medical Center, the biggest military hospital in Europe. As we drove up to Landstuhl, a lump formed in my throat at the site before me. Lined up outside the front of the hospital were dozens of hospital beds, each with a team of doctors and nurses and medics, all waiting to bring the MEDEVAC’d patients directly into the hospital. There was no delay in treatment. Some of the soldiers were taken to surgery almost immediately. Others were admitted for more testing and evaluation. Each of us was given the very best of treatment by the best of doctors and nurses. In Germany, each of us was evaluated. Those soldiers who had life or limb threatening conditions that needed immediate attention were treated in Germany. The rest of us were sent on to Washington, D.C., to Andrew’s Air Force Base and Walter Reed Hospital, for further evaluation. The MEDEVAC flight to Washington was on another C-141. The same procedures were followed. Patients were transferred to the Ramstein Air Force Hospital prior to the flight, and, when the plane was ready, were taken out onto the tarmac in the medical buses to load the plane. Landing at Andrew’s Air Force Base in Washington, the same process was repeated. Buses took us to the hospital for evaluation. Some of the soldiers stayed for treatment at Walter Reed, while the majority of us were MEDEVAC’d onwards to other hospitals for treatment. Along with several other orthopedic patients, we stayed the night in the hospital, and the next day loaded onto a KC-135 cargo plane bound for Scott Air Force Base, near St. Louis. By now, the size of our group had decreased to about a dozen patients. With just twelve patients in a giant 757-size plane, we felt like VIP’s. Once again, we were cared for in-flight by a team of skilled Air Force doctors and nurses. Once at Scott AFB, we were again admitted to the local Air Force Hospital and evaluated. Several soldiers were selected to receive care at hospitals near their hometowns, while eight of us were flown on to San Antonio the next day. This time, the MEDEVAC plane was a C-130, and, with only eight patients, we had room to spare. Our flight took us to Lackman Air Force Base in San Antonio, where ambulances were waiting on the tarmac to take us to one of the Army’s best hospitals, Brooke Army Medical Center. This is where I’ve been for the past week. I can’t say enough about the quality of the care I’ve received. When we flew in, we were transported to the emergency room for immediate evaluation. One of the soldiers in our small group was taken to surgery that very night. I was worked into the system very quickly, getting the diagnostic testing I needed, including x-rays and an MRI, and then seen by the orthopedic team. They recommended surgery, and I was worked into the surgery schedule within 24 hours. My knee has now been repaired, and I’m on the road to recovery, thanks to a military medical system that goes to extraordinary lengths to get its soldiers the medical care they need. In addition to the exceptional medical care I’ve received, I and my fellow soldiers have also been treated like heroes. At every step of our journey home, we’ve been thanked and appreciated in so many unexpected ways. Each time our MEDEVAC flight landed, there were officials that met our plane to say “Thank You!” Late in the evening of our arrival at Brooke, General Fox dropped by the emergency room to welcome us home. At every turn, we were given home made cards, drawn by children across America. Perhaps the most poignant memory for me was when we landed in Washington, D.C. After a long flight, our plane touched down at Andrew’s Air Force Base. Home at last! Though I still had many miles to go before I was truly home, I was at least on American soil. Shortly after we touched down, a Marine
master sergeant boarded our plane and walked through the aircraft,
stopping at each soldier’s side to express his appreciation.
When he got to me, he looked at the medical insignia on my uniform
that indicates I’m a doctor, and gave me a big bear hug. “Doc,”
he said, “On behalf of a grateful nation, I thank you for
your service to our country. Welcome home, sir!”
|
