FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, Jan. 16, 2007 -- An all too familiar call echoed through the Forward Operating Base Salerno burn clinic and medical staff and hospital volunteers scrambled to receive two young Afghan sisters badly burned in a heater explosion at their home.
"A heater in their home had a malfunction and it exploded, burning all four of the children and burning down the entire house. Two of the children are fatalities and the other two survivors are here being treated."
Staff Sgt. Ronald Payne |
The girls were rushed into the clinic by the medical and volunteer staff who quickly took steps to assess their condition and begin lifesaving procedures.
“We get children like this all the time,” said Staff Sgt. Ronald Payne, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the department of emergency services with the 14th Combat Support Hospital. “A heater in their home had a malfunction and it exploded, burning all four of the children and burning down the entire house. Two of the children are fatalities and the other two survivors are here being treated.” The two sisters lay on a white table side-by-side with second and third degree burns covering their shivering bodies. The youngest, about four years old, had burns all over her face, head, arms and hands, and is in a desperate battle for her life.
Spc. Kristopher Weaver, a volunteer who works in the information management office with the 219th Area Support Group from the Indiana National Guard, prepared solution for cleaning her burns.
The hospital volunteers all have a different Mission Occupation Specialty and offer their assistance in any capacity needed by the hospital staff. Assisting Weaver is Chief John Bailey, assistant base fire chief, who assumes the daunting task of scrubbing the child’s burns in order to remove dead skin, allowing for good, live skin to begin pushing its way to the surface. Bailey began volunteering regularly two months ago, along with six other firefighters from the FOB Salerno Fire Department. They come in on their days off to help out at the burn center. As a firefighter, he is accustomed to responding to medical emergencies, but he enjoys the experience working with the burn center gives him in addition to the change of working in the medical arena. “We’re the ones who pull people out of fires and this gives us a different view of what happens when we hand the patient over to medical personnel,” said Bailey. “We see what the patient goes through, and being a part of the treatment process gives me a different outlook. My favorite part of volunteering is not seeing the patients anymore because they’ve gotten better and gone home.” The older sister, about six years old, sustained second degree burns on her chest, arms and legs. She is expected to recover but with continuous monitoring for prevention of infection and complications. She is being cared for by volunteer Army Staff Sgt. Dusty Gaunt, Noncommissioned Officer in Charge of the firing range as well as the Material Handling and Equipment NCO with the 219th ASG from the Indiana National Guard.
Gaunt carefully applied a topical ointment to the girl’s burnt extremities which promotes healing and regeneration of the skin. He is a former emergency medical technician who enjoys volunteering so much he is considering going to nursing school when he returns home.
Patients who are admitted to FOB Salerno’s burn center receive excellent care and a better than average recovery advantage. “The recovery rate we have here at FOB Salerno rivals the rates of hospitals in the United States, which is very good,” said Payne.
Much of the success of patient’s recovery is due to the contributions of the volunteers who generously donate their time and energy to help casualties like the Afghan sisters. “The area in need of help the most is the burn center which has been operational for about two months,” said Maj. Elizabeth P. Vinson, head nurse with the 14th Combat Support Hospital.
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