Friday, October 15, 2010

Reality Check

The war was brought home to me this morning. Not that these wars are not clearly evident to me every single day, they are. I work in a place filled with human reminders that we are at war. Today though, it was very personal! I learned one of my former coworkers, a hard working handsome young man who deloyed as a medic to Afghanistan, was badly injured by an IED. Via sketchy information we know he has lost both his legs but do not know about the true extent of his injuries. We expect him to arrive CONUS some time in the next few days.

I see the injuries of the deployed every single day at work and have felt saddness, disgust and anger at the extent of their injuries. But never have I felt this "knot in the pit of my stomach" horror I feel upon learning the news of our medic. I have cried plenty for my patients and their families, I have attended their funerals. But now it has happened to someone I personally know and I cannot describe this feeling of wrongness. I cry for a young idealistic medic and I can't even begin to tell you how I feel about what I know lies ahead.

Please pray for him, his family and for those of us medical providers whose honor it will be to care for him.
Clara