With the end of Ramadan last week came the 3 days of Eid al Fitr. This celebrates the end of the month of fasting. Quite festive with lots of eating, visiting and showing off new clothes. Many of the soldiers were given leave to see family. Many returned in ambulances due to rollover accidents. Typically, not wearing seat belts. Also riding in the open beds of pickups. Also not wearing helmets when appropriate. Also, not the best roads. The rollovers are attributed more to hurrying to get back rather than recklessness. Also, alcohol is forbidden so the only possible drugs used would be illegal ones. Hashish and opium are rampant in Afghanistan.
The photo shows a skull fracture, the dark line down the middle. This fellow is actually doing quite well. Awake, oriented, moving everything. Others: one has a paralyzed left arm; one needs his face surgically realigned; one almost died but we stabilized him and got him off to a neurosurgeon but with a very poor prognosis (fixed pupils and abnormal reflexes indicating brain damage).
The next Eid holiday is for the annual Hajj pilgrimage in mid December. The Hajj is a once in a lifetime event but everyone enjoys the holiday. We've been warned that we should expect more motor vehicle accidents.
We also saw assorted broken bones. I will recommend a surgeon mentor for next year. Oddly, the only double fracture we saw was a soccer player. Another player fell on him and broke his thigh and shin! He will recover just fine.
2 comments:
Do you only treat the military or do you treat civilians as well?
What sort of rehab do they have? What are their living conditions after they are released?
We treat all comers; health care is a national system and all citizens may go to any hospital. The Army hospital is several miles from the main local city of Herat so most go to the city hospital. However, they try to get here since the locals have heard of the "American doctors" at the Army hospital and believe that they get better care. The skull fracture is actually a member of the Afghan National Police (ANP).
We do rehab in the hospital. Soldiers and police return to their units for follow-up care. Civilians in the cities have access to office care. However, many live in dirt hut villages (see my blog on the Med Cap in early September) and must depend on their extended family for care.
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