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FOREWORD EXCERPT BY BOB WOODRUFF
foreword
On January 29, 2006, I was riding on top of an Iraqi APC (armored personal
carrier), heading down a road in Taji, Iraq, that was supposed to represent a
success story of the war: a collaboration between US and Iraqi forces against the
insurgents. As the newly named co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight, I was
in Iraq to cover President Bush’s State of the Union address and to report on the
positive stories of the war—the hard work of the military to train and empower
local forces on the ground.
In an instant, an improvised explosive device (IED ) exploded about 20 yards from
the vehicle, and my life was changed forever, as well as that of my cameraman,
Doug Vogt. The force of the blast, a 155-mm shell, shattered my skull over the left
temporal lobe. Hundreds of rocks, packed around the IED , were blasted into the
side of my face. One rock, the size of a child’s marble, sheared my helmet chinstrap
in half and traveled through the left side of my neck, coming to rest on the carotid
artery on the other side of my head.
For the next 36 days, I would remain in a medically induced coma; but the quick
actions and amazing skills of the medics, military doctors, nurses, and assistants
would not only save my life, but also save my brain function following this lifethreatening
injury. Their experiences with such large numbers of those wounded
by IED s, most of whom would not have survived in previous wars, gave them the
confidence to make split-second decisions. In the medical barracks of Balad, the
doctors did not hesitate, giving me the chance for the best possible outcome.
One of the most amazing stories I heard later, which speaks to me of the dedication
of our men and women in uniform, is a story about the MEDE VAC pilots. After
the IED exploded, a gunfight ensued and the helicopter pilots were instructed not
to land. Unaware of who was on the ground and only knowing that someone
needed help, these pilots turned down the radio, ignored the order, and landed. I
was then taken to Baghdad, assessed, and then sent to Balad, where—within the
hour—my skull flap was removed and my brain began swelling. From Balad, I
was sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, a major way station
for wounded soldiers en route to the United States. Just 60 hours after my family
arrived there, I was ready to be transported again to neurosurgical care at the
National Naval Medical Center (also known as Bethesda Naval Hospital) outside
of Washington, DC.
It was there that I received top-notch medical care from an expert team of dedicated
military specialists. It was their skill, perseverance, team approach, and kindness
that created a platform from which to heal. In writing this foreword, I want to
applaud the efforts, bravery, and dedication of the American military. It is well
known that much of cutting edge medicine in civilian life comes from the valiant
efforts, ingenuity, and pure guts of the battlefield physicians in an effort to save
lives under extreme conditions. I am not a hero. I leave that to the men and women
serving their country in uniform who put their lives on the line every day for our
freedoms. After their wounds, their lives (like mine) are changed forever. What do
we owe these men and women? How do we measure our debt to them and their
families? What will be our legacy of how we treat those with long-term injuries—
such as traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and other
mental illnesses—that can require years of appropriate therapy as the brain heals
and the body regenerates?
George Washington, our nation’s first Commander in Chief, said, “The willingness
with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how
justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier
wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” Today, in the face of so many
injured returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are faced with a wave
of wounded, many of them young, all of them returning to a life vastly different
than what they left, and families who must learn to deal with a new reality. Are we
adequately meeting that charge from our founding father?
Once I passed through the acute stage of my injury, the real work began with
my long journey to heal during rehabilitation. Time, energy, commitment, and
dedicated professionals supplied the framework to help my brain heal. The love
and encouragement of family and friends provided my personal motivation to “get
my brain back.”
I hope that this book instructs deployed physicians in aspects of the care of initial
injuries. But may it also serve as a stepping-off point to focus on continuing that
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