Gul Mohmed is one of the injured children from Kandahar
recovering in the 452nd Combat Support Hospital Intensive Care Ward. His
injuries resulted from a series of explosions that ripped through the east side
of the city Juan. 6. Photo by Staff Sgt. Keith Thompson, USA
(Click
photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available.
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The victims were mainly children from the nearby Abdul Ahad Karzai primary
school, named after the president's father, who was assassinated by Taliban
agents five years ago. Many were transferred to medical facilities at Kandahar
Air Field, while others were evacuated to Bagram.
"We received 11 victims total – all of them being children," said Capt. Mary Jo
Literski, a nurse with the 452nd CSH out of Milwaukee, Wis. "For our facility,
that's a large number of casualties all at once."
Literski said most of the injuries were shrapnel wounds from the explosion,
many of them requiring surgery. "The shrapnel only makes a small puncture mark
when it goes in, but then it does a lot of damage on the inside. So most of
them needed abdominal surgery to get the shrapnel out and repair the damage to
the internal organs," Literski said.
She said that without the medical care provided at the U.S. hospital, many of
the children would have died.
"(In Afghanistan) there is a medical system, but it's very limited," Literski
said. "Their surgical capabilities are almost not available."
Although the hospital gets casualties from Kandahar often, the large number of
children has prompted visits from media and service members concerned with the
children's welfare, Literski said.
She said several service members have come to the hospital to visit the
children and bring them gifts.
"The kids in general are very gracious of the care that we give them," Literski
said. "Initially, they seem frightened because they don't understand the
language and they don't understand what we're doing. After sometimes hours and
sometimes days, you can see the difference in the children in how they react to
you – how they trust you," she said.
The children are not the only ones who benefit from the services provided by
coalition forces, since the health care providers get a lot of satisfaction
from helping patch up the victims of a country in turmoil, Literski said.
Karzai condemned the attack as an "act of cruelty and barbarism," and said it
would only strengthen his resolve to fight terrorism in Afghanistan.
(Army Staff Sgt. Keith Thompson is assigned to the 4th Public Affairs
Detachment.)
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