Realities of War: My Trip Home
During the 9-hour flight home from Ramstein Air Force Base to the states, med techs, nurses, respiratory therapists and one physician provided seamless care.
Flight nurses provided ongoing assessment of about 43 patients. While most patients were ambulatory, about 13 of them laid in litters which resemble three-tiered bunk beds with a canvas underlay and cushion on top (pictured below). (photos by Jeffrey Leeser)
Closer to the back of the C-17, the critical-care transport team [RE: "c-cat" for short], cared for two critical patients. CCTT--comprised of one nurse, respiratory therapist and physician--monitored closely the patient's pulse ox as well as heart rate, among other indicators. One of the critical patients sustained a bullet wound to the head.
In flight, I sat with an ambulatory patient, a civil engineer with the Army who was on his way back to Georgia. He is being sent home for internal bleeding. Within view of us are the two critical patients. "It's hard for me to see the guys physically wounded and then there's me," he said. "I feel like my problems are a lot more superficial than theirs."
As far as the nurses are concerned, no injury is superficial. On board that flight, patients dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, on-the-job injury, leg wounds, epilepsy and mild traumatic brain injury received the highest level of compassionate and skilled nursing care.
If there is ever a silver lining to injuries sustained in war, it would be this: it has greatly advanced medicine in terms of designing high-tech prostheses and honing reconstructive surgery, including facial. The demand in the U.S. is not high in these areas, and what would have normally taken 30 years to develop has taken 5 years because of the war, relayed Janet Deltuva, deputy, 79th Medical Group Commander at Andrews Air Force Base.
"When they come back, there is tremendous need to repair and restore," she said. "And with that comes bold advancements that wouldn't be there without the need."
More on the nursing and multidisciplinary care provided for soldiers at Ramstein Air Force Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, both in Germany, as well as care provided at Andrews Air Force base will appear in upcoming issues of ADVANCE. It's been an amazing journey!