Today's Must Read...

Nurses don't wait until October to celebrate Make a Difference Day - they make a difference every day!

~~~~~Author Unknown


Just a few moments ago, I posted a link to The Sandbox (Garry Trudeau's Doonsbury mil-blog site) on my facebook page.  While there are a few of my friends who will click that link, I wanted to post it again here so that there may be a few more that will read Clara's words... 

I've long been a fan of Nurse Clara Hart.  Her gripping heart wrenching stories make you truly understand the horrors of what our Wounded Warriors endure.  Today, The Sandbox posted one of hers that brought tears to these tired blue eyes of mine.  I had to share far and wide. 

Oh, and Yes, you might want to have a box of tissues handy as you read.

Name: RN Clara Hart
Stationed in: a civilian military hospital in the U.S.
Milblog: From Our Perspective

“Does this guy have legs?” came the question.
“Um. . .yeah, I think so,” was my response.

My coworker and I were in the midst of setting up for incoming wounded arriving from Afghanistan. It wasn’t a surprising query, because lately most of our WIA troops have been coming in minus their legs. I can remember when a patient without legs was a cruel oddity. Now we look and say “Oh, he’s only lost his legs.” As cold and cynical as that may sound, we are seeing such an increase in triple and even quadruple amputees that we have developed a tendency to downplay the loss of a young man’s legs.

The wounded arrive in numbers I haven’t seen since Fallujah; the sheer magnitude and severity of wounded warriors flooding in is overwhelming. But have you heard this on the evening news? CBS did an awesome two-part story on wounded Marines this past week, but it's rare that you see anything about our troops on mainstream media.

Recently while caring for an injured soldier I asked him why he joined the military. His answer: “Because I didn’t want another man fighting for my family’s freedom.” As 2010 comes to a close I want to remember some very special men; men who fought for their families' freedom.

M.S.
A man with many friends, one of whom tried desperately to visit him. In an email posted on the wall of his hospital room this particular friend wrote, “I’m trying really hard to get there but I don’t have enough money for a plane ticket right now. I looked online and found out you’re only 12 hours away by car but I can’t rent a car because you have to be 24 years old. But I’m gonna try dude, I’ll come up with a way to get there. I love you M. Hang in there and stay strong.”  M.S. died before his friend could come and see him.

 ~~~~~

To finish reading about those men who Clara remembers for giving their all protecting their families and our freedoms, please click on the Sandbox link above.  Those men she has remembered in words are but a few who have died fighting the fight in Afghanistan.  May we never forget 'Our Guys' and their families sacrifices, nor the debt we as a country owe them. 

From our lips to God's ear:  Dear God, protect and bestow blessings upon them all, the wounded and the care providers as well as the families.  Give them the strength to continue this fight, to persevere and overcome the obstacles they will face in the coming days and years.  May they always know and feel that WE are behind them, willing and ready to lend a hand when they need it most.   ~Amen.  



And so it goes......