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A Place For Our Soldiers 

lizzpeterson

A couple of weeks ago, our preceptor day was spent in San Diego at the Balboa Navy Medical Center.  Navy Medical is one of three hospitals that soldiers wounded in battle are flown to for care.  Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC and Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas are the other two hospitals. 

 

The prosthetic facility is located in an area called C5: Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care.  It integrates prosthetic care with physical and occupational therapy.  The facility runs snowboarding, surfing and even rock climbing clinics for their patients.  The patient care area is a big, relaxed room with cushy chairs, parallel bars, and a TV tuned to ESPN.

Each patient we saw was upbeat, motivated and really active.  There was a runner, a scuba diver and a surfer among the group.  My classmate and I made small talk with each soldier as their prosthesis was being adjusted.  We told jokes, talked about the weather, and some even opened up about their amputation.  One patient’s story really stuck with me.  Danny (not his real name), a bilateral transfemoral amputee, had walked in to the prosthetic office with fanfare.  He’d high-fived everyone, hugged one of the patient’s in the office and immediately hooked up his Ipod to the stereo for an upbeat atmosphere.  He introduced himself to my classmate and I, and then plopped down in a chair like it was his own.  While the practitioners were looking for some components, Danny told us that he had been in a humvee that hit a roadside bomb.  One leg was injured in the explosion while the other was crushed and pinned down in the vehicle.  Danny watched a fellow soldier amputate the pinned leg.  Danny had then passed out and his heart stopped.  Someone (wasn’t told if it was a medic or fellow soldier) cut open Danny’s chest and started pumping his heart with his hands.  Nearly two years later, here he was shooting the breeze with us, laughing his infectious laugh, loving every minute of life. 

 

While driving home, my classmate and I couldn’t stop talking about the facility and the amazing people we’d met that day.  It’s great that there is a place like C5 for our soldiers wounded in battle.  They deserve nothing but the best.  Even a few weeks later, I still think about those soldiers.  I know Memorial Day is reserved for honoring the fallen soldiers. However this Memorial Day, I’ll also honor those that are still serving in the military.



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