there are 14,000 Grievously Wounded G.I.'s. Are they Invisible?

[mopaul]

are we too sensitive to look at them? too guilty? are we ashamed of them for not giving the ultimate sacrifice? are they being hidden from us by the war pigs themselves who say they support the troops? they might as well be in flag draped coffins for all the visibility they have.

[Captain Hilts]

1. They chopper them into Bethesda and Walter R after dark.

You can hear them. But only after dark. The hospital personnel at Bethesda Naval told me that and my friends at Walter Reed confirmed that they do the same thing. And, no, they don't buy the 'we want to avoid traffic' line either.

It's a disgrace.

[Divernan]

2. How crowded are the facilities there?

In your everyday hospitals, the nurses are forced to work double shifts and have larger patient loads with sicker patients. So what's going on at Bethesda and Walter Reed? Are patients being discharged after minimal treatment to other, less specialized VA facilities? Are limbs being amputated which could have been saved had there been more vascular surgeons, who are allowed to take all the time they need for delicate repair work? or are surgeons being given such large caseloads that they only have time to amputate?

During Nam, I had a cousin who was a dentist for the
Army and he had to pull a lot of teeth which could have been saved but the Army wouldn't cover the costs for root canals and crowns.

[Captain Hilts]

3. VERY crowded. They had NOT PLANNED on having to use...

Bethesda Naval Hospital at all. So, they emptied out the cancer ward at Bethesda Naval to accommodate the guys.

The shift load is weighing heavily on the medical support staff in a Big Way. We were told by folks there that re-up rates had gone down and that divorce rates among medical personnel had gone up significantly.

I can't help but wonder that they'll really be tapping former medical folks on the shoulder and "inviting" them to come back for a spell.

Bethesda Naval actually recalled a 70 year old Catholic padre. The chaplain corps is also stretched very very thin.

That said - and I've visited wounded at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval - I have great confidence that these guys are getting the care they need. The military folks are looking out for their own. They've got good therapy, endless phone cards, cable television at each bed, and the guys with whom I have spoken (and their parents) feel that the military is doing a good job.

I talked to one marine who had taken a bullet to the face. He was also in a wheelchair for injuries unknown to me. His mother was with him and they both were very appreciative of the quality of care and quality of attitude of the medical personnel. That's consistent with all the patients/parents I've spoken to. There could be exceptions, but that's my experience.

One story. My friend and I were talking to a young marine who had been in Bethesda for close to a year. He'd lost half his leg and was about to go to Walter Reed to work on therapy related to getting a prosthesis . We told him that as he was representing the marines at an army hospital to make sure to give the army as much trouble as possible. He said he would and he would wear his USMC shirt every day. His mother was pushing his wheelchair. She looked at me and said, "my other son is going to Iraq in a week."

The spirit of the wounded is amazing. But I can't help but think they're being taken advantage of. I hate to think that, but I do.