Letters to the Editor
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Point of clarification ...
Denver Health Medical Center, where I used to work, is in fact located in Denver, not Boulder.
Anyway.
I'm a former medic and a veteran of Desert Storm, and I have to say I'm appalled at the effect the Iraq war is having on the military medical system. Although our record the last time around wasn't perfect (witness the repeated denials, lasting to the present day, that there is any such thing as Gulf War Syndrome) I can truthfully say that troops wounded on the battlefield in the last war were always treated promptly and fully for all their injuries. We certainly never tried to convince battle casualties that their symptoms were, so to speak, all in their heads.
I've said for a long time that bad wars make bad armies. This story is further proof.
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An old Greek saying...
"The Fish Stinks From the Head Down"
This is symptomatic of the complete failure of leadership shown by George W. Bush. He is a man uninterested in anything but personal gratification and raw power. From the Supreme Court to the armed forces and every American institution in between, the man has corrupted and despoiled it all. He will surely go down in history as the worst thing to happen to the United States. But as he said himself, he doesn't care about history, he will be dead.
Appalling.
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I'm So Fed Up
If, as artMonster says, Bush doesn't care about history, and he also claims not to care about public opinion, it's clear he must be made to pay for his apathy and cruelty NOW. Impeachment is too good for him. Even execution for treason, which I believe he deserves, would be too easy. He really does deserve to be met with the fates of some of our suffering service people, though I doubt he'd ever be denied the very best of treatment should he be met with a traumatic injury involving permanent disfigurement, intractable pain and loss of motor, sensory and mental function. But if it took away that godawful smirk and swagger of his, and got him out of the White House early I'd call it poetic justice.
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A small correction
This article is thoughtful, well-written, and infuriating. I'll let others expound on those points. Given how well it covers the situation, I'm surprised at a relatively basic error: The standard acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act is HIPAA. (It's pronounced "hippa.")
I know, I know, it's minutae. But little things like this can impact the overall credibility of the story, making it easier for those who would discount its claims to dismiss the piece entirely. I don't want to see that happen with this piece. It's too important.
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Speaking of minuate...
...that should be "Accountability" in my prior letter, not "Accounting." The story has the full name correct.
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Futility
I read this article because of their pictures. They seemed so alive with possibility. Hoping against all better judgment, I thought, "maybe this time there will be something good that comes out of it." But there wasn't anything to peg my hopes on, in the end.
I watch the faces of the dead flash by, after the News Hour, read the names and recite the towns from which they came. "So young," I think, "He was a shy one, but so proud to be in uniform," or "45, his children and his wife must be utterly destroyed by his absence."
How have I become so powerless to make things different? How can these horrors be happening on my watch?
When I used to read about wartime Germany -- the inhumanity of it -- I would always think, "Why didn't the good Germans do anything to stop it? There had to be a lot of good Germans. Why were they so silent?" Now I know how futile compassion can be, how all the marching and protesting and writing letters to congress and the news media can be so utterly useless.
When will it end?
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Accountability
The first thing the general in charge of this awful mess should do is make Col. Babbitt publically apologize to Spc. Wilson and then fire him. The second thing he should do is order every medical person at Walter Reed to BELIEVE whatever a patient says regarding their condition. Third, if the general cannot/will not do this, fire and retire him.
This is absolutely disgusting...too bad there has not been sufficient embarassment to the military to change it.
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Defend those who vlunteered to defend you.
I am the wife of a 30 year soldier. I have seen and learned more in our 27 years of marriage than most see in several lifetimes. I would not change 1 minute of our career.
With that said . . . I have had first hand experience with the Army Medical Care System and traumatic injuries. Some within my own family, and many others I volunteer to assist. I have seen amazing things, recoveries that are nothing less than miraculous. But I have also seen treatment that ranks with criminal malpractice. This is no different than an ordinary citizen faces. The difference is that soldiers are Government Property, they have no rights or options to seek alternate treatment or second opinions outside of the system. If you or I do not agree with a doctor's decision we change doctors. A soldier cannot change doctors and must continue the treatment as ordered or be charged.
The only voice a soldier has is that of the American people, those that he volunteered to defend. He cannot speak out, and his family, although allowed to speak, does not for fear of retribution. Unless war involves you "up close and personal" it is easy to become complacent and choose not to look at those things that are painful. The American people need to become the voice for our soldiers. Defend them, honor them, respect their service. Help them!
Each time your loved one leaves, you prepare yourself for the possible loss. Few have even the vaguest idea of what life is like for those who are injured, but survive. Imagine being 19 and newly married, your husband of 3 months deploys to Iraq and returns a few months later a quadriplegic. Your immediate concern is his recovery from his injuries which can be up to 24 months at a major medical facility like Walter Reed. Then you may have 3-5 years moving around the country to different VA facilities to retrain for the specific disabilities. All the while living in a hotel type environment, helping care for your loved one 24 hours a day. All of your daily needs being funded out of your husband's disability paycheck. When the system is satisfied the injured soldier has reached the end of their ability to improve, you return to a civilian life, the remainder of your lives together going from one VA appointment to another, always scraping to survive.
Defend them, honor them, respect their service. Help them, speak for them!
I can assure you that soldiers do not what your pity, they also do not respect violence or disrespect to the country that they serve. We have a unique system of government that allows our voices to be heard. If you choose to speak out, speak with voice that the world will hear and respect.