Thursday, November 02, 2006

Silver Lining


Though we have some rough days over here, I want to share a pleasant experience I had recently. While there is some argument as to who is "at fault" over here, there is no question the children of this country are truly innocent bystanders in this conflict. We recently cared for an 11-year-old little girl who was playing at her house when she was shot in the head by a stray bullet from a nearby firefight. She was brought to our hospital in critical condition; unconcious, barely breathing, with swelling of her brain. We stabilized her, supported her breathing, and lowered the pressure in her brain, then evacuated her by helicopter to one of the larger hospitals in Balad. There the neurosurgeons took her to the operating room and performed brain surgery. A week later I was walking through my aid station to see this beautiful young girl and her father sitting in our patient holding area, having just returned from the hospital in Balad on the way back to their home in Ramadi. She was awake, conversant, smiling, and walking around holding her father's hand. The neurosurgeons saved her life, but it was an absolute pleasure to play even a small part in returning this little girl to her father and reuniting their family.

5 Comments:

At 7:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

these are the cases the press and all americans should know about. angels helping little angels

 
At 5:55 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Carlos,
I have been thinking about you a lot this past week, with all of the stuff on the news about the violence. I knew you and your crew would be really busy...It is awesome to see glimmers of something good come out of such a horrible situation. Keep up the good work, and continue to fight the good fight of saving people's lives.

Take care,
Des

 
At 11:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow, I haven't checked this site in a while, and this story is a real reality check for people like me who only argue about these things abstractly. keep doing good.

-- casey c

 
At 9:53 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this with all of us - a little hope in this situation. It is great to you and your group doing what they do.

Coach Mark

 
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