02 February 2007

U.S. Military Volunteers Help Burn Victims in Afghanistan

Partnership for a Better Life

 

Dusty Gaunt of the U.S. National Guard applies dressing to a young girl's burns. (Victoria Willoughby/DoD)

A familiar call echoed through the U.S. Army burn clinic at the Forward Operating Base Solerno in Afghanistan.

Hospital staff and volunteers rushed to receive two young Afghan sisters badly burned in a heater explosion at their home.

The two sisters lay on a white table side by side with second- and third-degree burns covering their shivering bodies. The youngest, about 4 years old, had burns on her face, head, arms and hands and was in a desperate battle for her life.

Kristopher Weaver prepared a solution for cleaning her burns. John Bailey scrubbed the child's burns in order to remove dead skin, allowing for good skin to begin pushing its way to the surface.

The older sister was expected to recover, but would need continuous monitoring for prevention of infection and for complications.

Dusty Gaunt carefully applied a topical ointment to the girl's burnt extremities, which promotes healing and regeneration of the skin. Gaunt is a former emergency medical technician who enjoys volunteering so much he is considering going to nursing school when he returns home.

"The recovery rate we have ... rivals the rates of hospitals in the United States," said Ronald Payne, head of the hospital's emergency services.

Because Afghans use butane or fuel heaters to heat their homes during winter, accidents such as these are common.

U.S. doctors are teaching their Afghan counterparts treatment techniques for caring for burn victims.

"We are teaching them how to diagnose the different stages of burns, to remove harmful burn tissue ... perform skin grafts and conduct surgical intervention," nurse Elizabeth Vinson said.

Three Afghan doctors trained at the burn center have done so well they have been selected to staff a new clinic. The new facility will include a treatment center for burn victims.

"Teaching is extremely important. It is 70 percent of the entire mission," said Payne. "Without volunteers we couldn't do what we do."

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)