Courtesy Photo | A toddler cries before receiving medical attention at a coordinated medical engagement...... read more read more
By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – A coordinated medical engagement brought free medical care to residents of Arab Jabour Jan. 8.
Soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, hosted the CME with Iraqi doctors.
"This (CME) gives us the chance to come here and do good things," said 1st Lt. Bryan Deminico, platoon leader, Co. D, 1-30th Inf. Regt. "It helps us to help the people, put a good face on what we are doing."
Over the course of the afternoon, 234 people were treated for various ailments. The most common illnesses treated were colds, flu-like symptoms such as runny noses and diarrhea, said Maj. Catherine Haverty, 2nd BCT embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team health official.
Coalition medical personnel, three Iraqi doctors and an Iraqi nurse treated minor ailments and a few more severe cases.
Two girls suffered from burn injuries: one had been electrocuted and the other burnt her hand on a stove. Both girls had their burns cleaned, disinfected and dressed, Haverty said.
The most severe case was a toddler, Shahad Muhanad Raief Al Dulaimi, who suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spine's neural tube is incompletely formed, Haverty explained.
Due to this disease, Shahad also suffers from hydrocephalus, or water on the brain. There is pressure on her internal organs and she is unable to walk, Deminico said.
The doctors couldn't do much at the medical operation because the little girl needs surgery.
Haverty said there are doctors in Iraq who could perform surgery to correct spina bifida. However, Shahad's grandmother said she lacks money to pay for the surgery.
Deminico said Coalition Forces are submitting paperwork for the family to try to get help from their higher headquarters and the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
The ePRT has liaisons with doctors in the International Zone working with the Iraqi Ministery of Health to address this problem and bring a more permanent medical presence into the area.
"We are here to help, we are here to fight alongside the community to remove any insurgent forces that threaten the community," Deminico said.
| Date Taken: | 01.12.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2008 15:25 |
| Story ID: | 15438 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 68 |
This work, CME brings help to Arab Jabour residents, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
