Fighting for Life

Yesterday was a rough day at Craig Joint Theater Hospital in Bagram. Just after lunch, we were barraged with 6 trauma patients, 2 of which were critically injured and went to the operating room immediately. (Their injuries ranged from a severe pelvic fracture with broken bones in both feet to a simple head laceration; I orchestrated the resuscitation on a mid-level patient, one with a spinal fracture.) Before we could even get all the patients out of the ER and onto the ward, there was a 2-soldier trauma and another 4-soldier trauma. All but 1 of the 12 trauma patients were Americans. Thankfully, all of the soldiers survived the night, and all of them that require transport will be in Germany by tomorrow.

The pace at the hospital has been picking up, which is to be expected during the summer months here in Afghanistan. Last year, there were around 240 surgeries in the month of April, 280 in May, and 300 in June. (That's a whopping 10 surgeries per day!) I would anticipate that with the new troop surge, we might even surpass these numbers in the summer of 2009.

In thinking of yesterday's trauma patients, I remembered a documentary which was screened for USUHS students and faculty in the spring of 2007. It's title is "Fighting for Life", and James and I went to the screening and the reception that followed. We both agreed that the film was superb, and I will even admit to shedding a tear or two. It tells the stories of doctors, nurses, and patients at the combat support hospital in Balad, Iraq, and in the case of the patients, follows their stories to Germany and to the United States as they are treated for their wounds.

When I initially saw the film, I never imagined that I would be one of the physicians caring for these wounded troops. I'm not sure why - I was a 2nd year resident at the time, and it should have been obvious that I would be deployed in the next few years. But I guess I was so emotionally caught up in the film that I didn't see myself in that role.

I would recommend the film to anyone interested in the life of a physician in a war zone, anyone interested in military medicine or medicine in general, or anyone supporting a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine in the current world conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is truly enlightening.

The documentary has been available in limited release in movie theaters around the country, but next weekend, for the first time it will be broadcast on national television. For most, it will be on PBS between May 23 and May 26th. (In southern California, it will be on channel 28 [PBS] on Saturday, 5/23, at 10PM; in Phoenix, it will run on Sunday, 5/24, at 10:30PM.) It will also be available after the TV broadcast for purchase on VHS and DVD.

Find out more about the movie and find your local listings here.

These are some snapshots from the film: