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
This started out as letters home to my friends and family while I was at Hurricane Katrina, and continued through my deployment to Afghanistan. I have recently added my friend Clara Hart as a contributor. Now it very roughly chronicles life as a civilian, and citizen of the USA. If you need some assistance with Workplace Safety Programs, please let me know, I am happy to help.
3 comments:
I know far too many people whose children have died -- remarkably only one while in the service and she not in combat but in a training accident. I read your news, I see the roll call of the war dead on the news -- so many of them babies --, I read that the number of veterans killing themselves now exceeds the number killed in combat. ( http://www.truth-out.org/veteran-suicides-outnumber-us-military-deaths-iraq-and-afghanistan64433 ) And while I honor the dead and their sacrifice, I see all those babies and I think of their parents and I have to ask why we have asked so many to grieve while so many others seem oblivious.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah, Kick-Ass Kwanzaa and best wishes for 2011. Thank you again for taking care of what needs to be taken care of.
Don't know if you're still around Ms. Clara but when I read this, it reminded me of you.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/still-in-the-fight-a-new-reality/?ref=opinion&nl=opinion&emc=tya2
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