2 posts tagged “medics”
by SFC Stacy Niles
214th Fire Brigade PAO
FOB DELTA, Iraq (April 24, 2008) – The El Salvador Cuscatlán Battalion X rotation distributed 125 wheelchairs to disabled children and adults at the al-Rhama Disabled Association in al-Kut, Iraq, April 18. “I was shocked by the large number of children,” said Col. Walter Arévalo, commander of the Cuscatlán Battalion. Many of the wheelchair recipients suffer from conditions such as epilepsy, heart disease, migraines and eye and skin disorders, said Arévalo.
Hussein Kase, a 12-year-old who received a wheelchair, is mute and suffers from a skin condition in addition to being paralyzed. The chair will give him mobility, said his father Kas Salaman. “I’m very happy about this gift,” Salaman said. “It will help him move and be able to play with the other children.”
More resources are needed to increase the quality of life for these individuals, said Arévalo. People had traveled from as far away as Basra, he said, to receive assistance. “It is important for us to run this type of activity,” Arévalo said. “We like to be able to give hope to the people.”
In addition to the wheelchairs, the Salvadoran soldiers distributed 125 packets of food and school supply kits.
Salvadoran Soldiers from the Cuscatlán Battalion X rotation distributed 125 wheelchairs, food packets and school supply kits at the al-Rhama Disabled Association in al-Kut, April 18.
by Tami Hillis
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
FOB KALSU, Iraq (April 25, 2008) – At about 12:46 p.m., Jan. 10, everything changed for one Iraqi Army special forces platoon leader. While on a joint mission with coalition forces, the 8th IA Division Soldier was struck by an improvised explosive device as he crossed a pedestrian footbridge on the east side of Route Minnesota in the Chaka Four Region. First Lt. Mohy Ali lost his right foot and sustained trauma to his right wrist in the attack.
A little more than three months later, Soldiers from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, are helping the 42-year-old soldier get his life back to normal, one step at a time. Capt. Jacob Turnquist, the 4th BCT surgeon, identified a clinic near the Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, where Mohy was originally treated, that specializes in getting prosthetics for Iraqis. The IA Surgeon General’s Office Prosthetics Clinic is run by Iraqis, with American civil affairs support. Turnquist contacted the clinic and spoke with Chris Cummings, a retired Army medic and a prosthetist in the prosthetics clinic. Cummings, who is also an adviser for Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq, assisted the unit with the process.
The next step was linking Mohy up with coalition forces in his area, which was done through Staff Sgt. Alfonza Chatfield, a medic with the 31st Military Transition Team, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, in al-Hillah, Iraq. Mohy was escorted to the Green Zone, Baghdad, on April 21 by Chatfield, an 18-year veteran and Georgia native, to the prosthetics clinic. Cummings checked Mohy’s limb to ensure it had healed properly. Cummings then manually measured different parts of the limb. Next, with the use of a computer-aided design program, he created a three-dimensional view of Mohy’s limb on a computer. Between the manual measurements and the program, Cummings generated a close representation of the limb. With the information gathered from this first trip, Cummings will create a prosthetic foot for Mohy, which will be fitted during the next visit.
“I’m a commander and I want to get back with my soldiers,” Mohy said. “I want to be able to walk and run again.”
Chris Cummings, a prosthetist in the IA surgeon general's office prosthetics clinic in Baghdad, runs some tests on 1st Lt. Mohy Ali's limb during an initial visit on April 21. Mohy, an IA soldier, lost his foot during an IED attack on Jan. 10 while on a joint mission with Coalition forces. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis).
