KUNDUZ PROVINCE, Afghanistan – During the afternoon of May 24, an elderly couple pushed a tottering wheelbarrow to the gates of the Afghan National Army special forces outpost in Nowabad village and inside the wheelbarrow lay something that surprised the guards.
A 3-year-old girl grimacing in pain lay in the wheelbarrow. She had accidentally fallen into the fire pit her family used for cooking and appeared to be badly burned.
Her family had taken her to a local clinic the day before. However, the treatment she received was inadequate and she cried in pain throughout the night. Since the family lives close to the ANA camp, they decided to take the child there for further medical treatment.
The toddler was wheeled into the compound and ANA medics along with coalition mentors sprang into action to diagnose and treat her burns.
“When we took the bandages off, we saw that she had second-degree burns on about 38 percent of her body,” explained a coalition medic.
Despite the challenge that lay ahead of them, none of them, especially those that had children themselves, were giving up on helping their newest patient.
After a tense hour of treatment, the staff had stabilized the girl, removed her old dressings, cleaned and re-bandaged her wounds, and put her to bed. She was finally in less pain.
For the next two days, the medical team took turns at her bedside. Her plight even touched other members of the team, who volunteered to stand watch over her late at night.
“Our team sergeant was adamant that we keep her,” said a coalition medic. “He wanted us to keep her to make sure nothing went wrong. Her family has also been reacting positively. They haven’t tried to take her. They seem to trust us and understand that what we’re doing is for her best interest."
The girl is expected to experience some scarring, but she will make a full recovery, thanks to the efforts of a team of dedicated medics.