Fw: Army Doctor

 Army Doctor

Being born in 1= 940, I can remember stories of hardships

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from the major conflicts the American military men have endured. 

= Written By Capt. Steven R. Ellison, M.D., US= Army

 

This should be r= equired reading in every school and college in our country. This Captain, an= Army doctor, deserves a medal himself for putting this together. If you cho= ose not to pass it on, fine, but I think you will want to, after you read it= .

 

 

I am a doctor specializing in the Emergency Department= s of the only two military Level One-Trauma Centers, both in San Antonio, TX= . We care for civilian emergencies as well as military personnel. San Antoni= o has the largest military retiree population in the world living here. As a= military doctor, I work long hours and the pay is less than glamorous. One t= ends to become jaded by the long hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact a= nd the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. The arrival of a= nother ambulance does not mean more pay, only more work. Most often, it is a= victim from a motor vehicle crash.

 

Often it is a person of dubious character who has been shot o= r stabbed.

With our= large military retiree population, it is often a nursing home patient. Even= with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in Panama, I have ca= ught myself groaning when the ambulance brings in yet another sick, elderly p= erson from one of the local retirement centers that cater to military retire= es. I had not stopped to think of what the citizens of this age group repres= ented.

 

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I saw 'Saving Private Ryan.' I was touched deepl= y. Not so much by the carnage, but by the sacrifices of so many. I was touch= ed most by the scene of the elderly survivor at the graveside, asking his wi= fe if he'd been a good man. I realized that I had seen these same men and wo= men coming through my Emergency Dept. and had not realized what magnificent s= acrifices they had made. The things they did for me and everyone else that h= as lived on this planet since the end of that conflict are priceless.=

 

Situation permitting, I now try to ask my patients about thei= r experiences.They would never bring up the subject without my inquiry. I ha= ve been privileged to hear an amazing array of experiences, recounted in the= brief minutes allowed in an Emergency Dept. encounter. These experiences ha= ve revealed the incredible individuals I have had the honor of serving in a m= edical capacity, many on their last admission to the hospital.

 = ;

 

There w= as a frail, elderly woman who reassured my young enlisted medic,trying to st= art an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised, despite her illness= and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She was what we call= a 'hard stick.' As the medic made another attempt, I noticed a number tatto= oed across her forearm. I touched it with one finger and looked into her eye= s. She simply said, ' Auschwitz ..' Many of later generations would have lou= dly and openly berated the young medic in his many attempts. How different w= as the response from this person who'd seen unspeakable suffering.

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<= span style=3D"font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;" class=3D"">A= lso, there was this long retired Colonel, who as a young officer had parachu= ted from his burning plane over a Pacific Island held by the Japanese. Now a= n octogenarian, he had a minor cut on his head from a fall at his home where= he lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until after midni= ght by the usual parade of high priority ambulance patients. Still spry for h= is age, he asked to use the phone to call a taxi, to take him home, then he r= ealized his ambulance had brought him without his wallet. He asked if he cou= ld use the phone to make a long distance call to his daughter who lived 7 mi= les away. With great pride we told him that he could not, as he'd done enoug= h for his country and the least we could do was get him a taxi home, even if= we had to pay for it ourselves. My only regret was that my shift wouldn't e= nd for several hours, and I couldn't drive him myself.

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I was there the n= ight M/Sgt Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency Dept. for the last time.= He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking care of him, but I walked to h= is bedside and took his hand. I said nothing. He was so sick, he didn't know= I was there. I'd read his Congressional Medal of Honor citation and wanted t= o shake his hand. He died a few days later.

 

The gentleman who served with Merr= ill's Marauders,

 

the survivor of the Bataan Death March,

 

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the survivor of Om= aha Beach,

 

the 101 year old World War I veteran,

 

the former POW held in frozen= North Korea,

 

the former Special Forces medic - now with non-operable liver= cancer,

 

the former Viet Nam Corps Commander.

 

I may still groan when yet another= ambulance comes in, but now I am much more aware of what an honor it is to s= erve these particular men and women.

 

I have seen a Congress who would turn t= heir back on these individuals who've sacrificed so much to protect our libe= rty. I see later generations that seem to be totally engrossed in abusing th= ese same liberties, won with such sacrifice.

 

It has become my personal endeavo= r to make the nurses and young enlisted medics aware of these amazing indivi= duals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept. Their response to these p= articular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the nex= t generation.

 

My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an i= ncredible generation, and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our uncar= ing government and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We sho= uld all remember that we must   'earn this.'

 

 

If it wer= en't for the United States Military, there'd be   NO   United States of America!

 

And now as you have finished reading this, our C= ongress enjoys their&n= bsp;  free   medical care, are in= the process of charging these people for their medical care and at the same= time possibly reducing their retirement pay. A typical political <= span style=3D"font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;" class=3D"">&= nbsp;"Thank you" for their Service

 

  

In God We Trust!<= /strong>

 

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