Good News
I have some good news to share. It really has no direct impact on my life, but I found this information so moving that I had to share. You see, I'm at this convention / training / professional something or other. In case you don't know, I'm in a quasi-medical profession. Actually, I personally am an IT person. But it's medical software.
Most of the people at this event are hardcore medical folks - doctors, nurses, med-techs, and other medically licenced professionals. I really am the odd man out. I have to learn as much as I can about the medical stuff to make sure the software works right. For most of the sessions I get to sit through wonderful lectures on plasma fractionation, risks of xenotransplantation, leukocyte reduction, alloimmunization to HLA, and mesenchymal stem cells. I'm sure you can imagine just how enthralling these sessions are. And being an IT person - I just hang on every word with anticipation. Anticipation for the break, that is.
Today we had a session that was different from the rest... it was about the practical applications of all of the other stuff we've heard about. We had a Lieutenant Colonel speak to us about advances in medicine in combat situations. He practices medicine in theater. He was speaking about his own experiences. I gotta tell you, there were a lot of very gory pictures. I wasn't prepared for some of these pictures. I've seen some pretty horrible tings in real life - I saw a decapitated body and the body of a person who was dragged by a car going 65 miles per hour on an interstate. But these live - up close and personal events were nothing compared to the pictures we saw today.
But the LTC had some good news in the midst of this horror. You see, because of the extreme advances in medical care - the percentage of personnel killed in action has been cut in half! Isn't that good news. During World War II 23.7% of all casualties were killed in action. During the Vietnam War it was still 21.3%. In Iraq and Afghanistan the percentage of casualties killed in action is 12.5%.
Now, don't get me wrong... 12.5% is still too high. I don't want to lose a single person. But think about it like this... all of the injured we saw today survived their wounds. Every single one of them made it to a Level 4 Definitive Care Facility. Every single one of them! The LTC... the doctor... the man... was visibly moved as he spoke. It was a great moment.
Most of the people at this event are hardcore medical folks - doctors, nurses, med-techs, and other medically licenced professionals. I really am the odd man out. I have to learn as much as I can about the medical stuff to make sure the software works right. For most of the sessions I get to sit through wonderful lectures on plasma fractionation, risks of xenotransplantation, leukocyte reduction, alloimmunization to HLA, and mesenchymal stem cells. I'm sure you can imagine just how enthralling these sessions are. And being an IT person - I just hang on every word with anticipation. Anticipation for the break, that is.
Today we had a session that was different from the rest... it was about the practical applications of all of the other stuff we've heard about. We had a Lieutenant Colonel speak to us about advances in medicine in combat situations. He practices medicine in theater. He was speaking about his own experiences. I gotta tell you, there were a lot of very gory pictures. I wasn't prepared for some of these pictures. I've seen some pretty horrible tings in real life - I saw a decapitated body and the body of a person who was dragged by a car going 65 miles per hour on an interstate. But these live - up close and personal events were nothing compared to the pictures we saw today.
But the LTC had some good news in the midst of this horror. You see, because of the extreme advances in medical care - the percentage of personnel killed in action has been cut in half! Isn't that good news. During World War II 23.7% of all casualties were killed in action. During the Vietnam War it was still 21.3%. In Iraq and Afghanistan the percentage of casualties killed in action is 12.5%.
Now, don't get me wrong... 12.5% is still too high. I don't want to lose a single person. But think about it like this... all of the injured we saw today survived their wounds. Every single one of them made it to a Level 4 Definitive Care Facility. Every single one of them! The LTC... the doctor... the man... was visibly moved as he spoke. It was a great moment.
posted by Liz at 9:25 PM
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