Sunday, May 28, 2006

Baghdad ER



A friend of mine taped this documentary for me. It was both awful...and amazing.

I am not unfamiliar with trauma, having had a long career as an ICU tech but seldom in a civilian hospital do we see such horrific injury. And with amazing grace and skill under the most difficult of circumstances, these medical teams pull out 90% of the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines they treat.

The documentary hinted at the cost to these doctors, nurses and medics but it did not delve into it. In order to be effective in these jobs, one must be driven, creative and fearless. The downside to that is the fact that no matter how good and how skilled you are - you simply can't save everyone. The loss of a patient is always personal especially when that patient is young and healthy. Doing that job day in and day out for a year where the vast majority of the people you treat are young healthy people must grind upon their souls.

Thanks guys for what you do. Thanks for always giving 200%.

1 comment:

Marty said...

I, too, am an army mom wishing to bring our troops home now and take care of them when they get here. My son is currently on his second tour of duty in Iraq.

I saw Baghdad ER. My heart went out to the medical personnel working so hard to save lives. Many more would die if not for their skill on the field.