The Unseen Wounded

Keeping up with the Wounded American Soldier

This reads like a blog, from the bottom up. I have to say they really do an impressive job keeping you notified. When the Mate was Army it might take a week before they let you know what was happening.

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Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 3:12 AM

Jewel has checked into LRMC. She is in Room 224, which is on Ward 8D. The direct dial number for her room is **********; the DSN number to the room would be *********. If you cannot get an answer in the room, it may be because she is being treated or is asleep – if you need to speak to someone the nurse’s station for that ward is ***********.

I spoke to SPC Wondergirl just a few minutes ago. She said she was very tired and sounded exhausted, which is what I would expect, but she said he was doing OK. She told me they were about to move her into surgery prep, so I don’t know how much longer she will be in the room or when she will be back. The surgery is to verify that all her injuries were completely cleaned out and properly treated here, and to ensure any fluid build up is drained.

I have not spoken to a doctor in Germany about her treatment plan, but based on her injuries, the comments of the doctors here, and our prior experiences, I would guess that the most likely sequence of events would be a stay at LRMC in Germany for two to five days, followed by a move back to the U.S. She is most likely to either end up at Womack Army Hospital on Fort Bragg for convalescent leave (which is what I think will happen) or at Walter Read Army Hospital in the D.C. area for additional treatment.

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Sent: Friday, 24 June 2005 08:56

Jewel’s plane is wheels down in Germany now, but she has not yet arrived at LRMC. I gave the triage nurse your email address, and she promised to send you a message as soon as they have a room assignment and phone number.

In any case I will call back to Germany again in about two hours and see if she is settled. I will send you all the room and phone information at that time.

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Sent: Friday, 24 June 2005 04:09

SPC Wondergirl did get on the flight to Germany tonight. The flight actually took off about one hour ago or so ago. At this point the time differences begin to kick in, so here is the best idea of a timeline I can give you:

· It’s about 0348 here in Iraq, 0148 in Germany (two hours earlier), and 7:48PM East Coast time in the US, if I have my time zones right.
· The flight is scheduled to land at Ramstein Airbase at about 0600 local time in Germany, roughly four hours from now.
- It should take about 20 minutes to get everyone off the plane, and about 20 minutes driving time to get to the hospital, depending on weather and traffic and everything else.
· By about 0700 Germany time (five hours from now, so 0100 EST, Jewel should reach a room with a phone.

I have begun calling the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to coordinate with them. They do not have a room assignment yet and will not do that officially until she is admitted, but I should be able to find that out either just before or just after the plane lands. Her room should have a phone, and you should be able to talk to her there.

The international direct dial number will be ****************. If you have access to a DSN phone, the number would be ****************. The last four digits will be the extension number for the room which I will forward to you as soon as I can find out the room assignment or the ward she’ll stay on for the floor nurse phones. Again I think I’ll be able to send that to you before she even arrives in the room, and whenever I find out I’ll forward it right away.

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Sent: Thursday, 23 June 2005 22:33

I have just confirmed that Jewel did arrive in Balad as scheduled. Her condition is still stable and her prognosis is good. I also confirmed that she is tentatively schedule to fly to Germany tonight. As before, the manifest is never final until they shut the door of the plane, but right now the flight is two to three hours away and they are planning on putting her on it.

She is in Ward Four of the Balad hospital, which is the ward for stable patients who are doing well – Ward Four is always a good sign. The only change in her condition is that the doctor is considering putting a temporary cast on her left hand. Her hand and wrist have swelled a bit, and he is not sure if that is the result of a bruise, a break, or a sprain, so he is likely going to put a cast on it for protection and for some support for comfort.

I have not yet been able to speak directly to her, but the doctors are all saying positive things.
I will call the hospital again in three to five hours and try to confirm if she is on the way to Germany or not, and I will let you know what I find out. Once she is on a plane I will begin making contact with Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and I should be able to give you a more specific ETA in Germany and eventually a direct dial number to her room.

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Sent: Thursday, 23 June 2005 18:20

PC Wondergirl has left Baghdad for the medical facility on Balad Airfield. Her flight left here 1710, about one hour ago local time here. She should arrive there within the next hour. I will call the hospital in Balad to confirm her arrival in about two to three hours.

When soldiers arrive they are always given a complete re-evaluation and they have to have paperwork processed, so that can take time depending on what else is going in when they arrive.

The next flight from Balad to Germany will leave sometime around midnight tonight from Balad. The goal is to have Jewel on that flight, however I may not know if she made the flight or not until late tonight or early tomorrow morning. The reason for this is that the manifest for the medical flight is constantly changing, and if more seriously wounded soldiers were to arrive they would go first. Because Jewel is in stable condition and her life is not in danger she could be bumped, although they usually have an extremely high success rate for getting everyone on the first flight after arrival.

The flight to Germany typically takes about seven hours, and once they arrive there is always a delay caused by moving the soldiers from the plane to the hospital, another initial exam, and administrative paperwork. Once SPC Wondergirl is in the medical center in Germany, she will be able to make and receive calls, but at this point I would not count on getting any calls in the next 24 hours – when they arrive they always treat all injuries as quickly as possible, so whatever she needs for her leg will be done right away if they can, and that will lead to a delay in her reaching a room with a phone.

I will keep you posted on all flight information as soon as I receive it.

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Sent:Thursday, 23 June 2005 12:58

I have some more news for you, and it is good. 1SG Goodguy, your daughter’s company First Sergeant, has just called me from the hospital. SPC Wondergirl is still roughed up and under some sedation / medication, but she was able to wake up and talk to them. She knows you have been informed of the accident, and she is still rated as in good condition.

She is going to begin movement to Germany later this evening. The specific reason she is still being evacuated is her broken leg. She will go to Germany for the orthopedic doctors to look at the leg, and set it or do surgery for that as needed. We believe at this time she will almost certainly be further evacuated at some point to Ft. Bragg for convalescence, recovery, and any physical therapy for her leg.

I have found out from 1SG Goodman that the doctor who treated her did take out all the shrapnel from her. At this point the doctor believes there is no more debris left to be removed, which is very good. It also appears that the injuries described to her lung area and liver may have been either overstated, or may have been confused in conversation with another female soldier admitted at the same time with similar injuries. Jewel does have a small drainage tube in her nose right now to assist in keeping her lungs clear of any fluid build up, but she is not expected to have any complications in this area.

When a soldier moves as a medical evacuation, the system used to track that move is called TRACES. Each soldier gets what is called a "site number". SPC Wondergirl’s site number for her move from Baghdad, through Balad, to Germany is *********. If you or anyone else calls a hospital, that number will allow them to quickly tell you where she is in terms of the movement to Germany. If you call the hospital itself asking for an update on her condition, ask to speak to the patient representative and use her social security number (typically works faster).

As I write this message they have not yet established her flight schedule or itinerary, but I will continue to ask and I’ll let you know that timeline as soon as it begins to develop.

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Sent: Thursday, 23 June 2005 08:57

I have just got off the phone with the hospital where your daughter is currently receiving treatment. The good news is that at this time she is doing fine, had a good night, and is stable. She is not in any danger, and everyone I spoke with said she should have no problems making a full recovery and will not have any loss of any functions.

Since I wrote the note below I have received better information, so I’m going to recap all her injuries here. There are some rumors going around, but what I write here came directly from her doctor and from my personal observation.

SPC Wondergirl was very close to the blast, and got hit with a lot of fragments. She has a very large number of very small wounds. Most of her wounds are skin punctures from small pieces of rocks. A smaller number are from metal fragments. Most of these are on her legs.

Her most serious injuries appear to be two small pieces of metal that did penetrate her torso. One is in the area of her left lung, the other is near the right lobe of her liver. Her lung was not punctured by the fragment and she is having no trouble breathing, it is just in the lung area of her chest.

Her liver was slightly nicked and she had some fluid build up in her pelvis, but none of the major arteries or veins in the area were cut. The doctor I spoke with stated that they would make a decision in Germany about removing these, but there will not be any surgical intervention here because again the injuries are not critical or dangerous, and due to the dirt here they do not do any surgery unless there is no choice.

Jewel has a facture of her right fibula. She has a cast on her right leg and a brace for her right knee. I asked about the previous report that she had broken anything in her left leg or her femur, and the doctor today said it was her right fibula. I’ll continue to check on this and should be able to send you a 100% verified account within the next two hours.

She has several small cuts. The most serious cut is on her face to the left of her mouth, and it’s about 3/4 of an inch long. This and a few other cuts have been stitched. Other cuts were on her shoulder and several very minor ones on her legs.

She was initially intubated to help with breathing while they examined and treated her last night, but the tube is out and she was awake and communicating this morning.

This information is slightly different than what I sent out last night, and may change again, but I will keep you fully updated on all changes or additional developments.
SPC Wondergirl will be evacuated to Balad Airfield Iraq and then on to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany tonight. They do not yet have flight times or a tracking number for her, but I will get that later this afternoon and forward to you as soon as I receive it. Once she gets to LRMC she will have a phone in her room, and when I get that number I will let you know immediately. You will be able to call that number through the military phone system if you have access, or commercially if you don’t.

I was not able to speak to Jewel this morning because she was groggy and the phone in the hospital here would not reach her bed, but her lieutenant and platoon sergeant will by flying in to see her within the next half hour, and again I will keep you posted with all the information as soon as we receive it.

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Sent: Wednesday, 22 June 2005 21:39

I have just got off the phone with the hospital in the IZ. The good news is SPC Wondergirl’s lungs are clear – there was no puncture or compromise of her torso, only relatively minor shrapnel wounds.

She has several deep shrapnel wounds to her right leg with possible damage to her femur. The corpsman I talked to was not sure if it was fractured or not, or if the damage was from impact or shrapnel. There is also a single fracture on her lower left leg. She will be admitted, but no decision has been made regarding MEDEVAC. She is not in any danger or in critical condition. I will call again at 0600 to see if there is any update.

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Sent:Wednesday, 22 June 2005 21:17
Subject: Injured Soldiers

We need to keep each set of family members updated with every 6 hours or so. This is most effective by e-mail.
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I want to add a big thank you to the soldier that tracks the wounded and sends the emails to the family. It may seem like an easy job but it must be difficult to find the words sometimes. Prayers going up for all of the wounded and all of the soldiers in Iraq and everywhere.

posted by Valerie - Still Riding Forward @ 5:59 PM 0 comments