Baghdad ER – What an eye opener

Last night in the late hours I was flipping through the channels before bed and stumbled upon this HBO documentary called Baghdad ER. I thought it would be doo to check out because I love documentaries and I love ER television shows. It would be a perfect match.

So I curled up with my favorite blanket and waited to see what this was all about as the credits rolled with the story slowly beginning. Then it all kicked in. They showed the area this medical base was in. Everything was in a half-mile radius of the hospital because it wasn't safe to go out any further. They had a gym and some apartments but little else. It was stark to say the least. It reminded me of M*A*S*H only on steroids with all its concrete and steel buildings, dusty, dirty and depressing.

The camera's roamed the insanely busy ER with soldiers being brought in bloody, beaten and some dead. Within the first five minutes you see a doctor take an arm that was blown off and toss it into the red biohazard bag that was like a trash bin. He just threw this amputated arm away like it was a piece of crumpled up paper destined for the trash. The nurse twirled the bag like a hefty bag, cinched it and threw it away with all the other discarded medical supplies, limbs and clothes, I am sure going to some sort of incinerator.

It was like a giant slap in the face. I mean you know this is a war going on over there and for me, they shouldn't be there to begin with, but like one doctor said "I hate this stupid war, we don't even need to be here, but as long as we are here I will be here to help these soldiers who need it." He was married, his wife was his head OR nurse, an OR that he said was open 24/7 and never stopped. He made a bad joke preparing a solider for the ER about amputated legs and shoes. There was a slight chuckle and they all apologized because they knew it was wrong, but if they didn't laugh once in awhile they would go insane from the horror of it all.

Later on in the show they explain I.E.D. or Improvised Explosive Devices. These are bombs these Iraqi's make and put in their car and blow up the people. But lately they said, the Iraqi's are strapping these bombs to their bodies and walking in to crowds to blow up more people. The carnage was ruthless. The blood was like rivers. It was so surreal to me.

Then they brought in two Illinois (my home state) National Guard soldiers, there was supposed to be three but their friend didn't make it. I didn't know them, I didn't even know the names of the small Illinois towns they were from, but I felt small connection since they were from Illinois. Here they were, these two big burly, tattooed soldiers cut, burned, broken and bleeding and all they could think about their buddy who didn't make it. Their armored vehicle was literally torn in half and the guy who didn't make it was stuck in the middle. One of the guys was trying to hold back the tears but the Chaplin said it was ok to cry and he let it all out. It was weird, almost like he was waiting for permission to cry. Then he was wheeled over to his other buddy who was also having a hard time dealing with it and he said he can't close his eyes without seeing his buddy who had no face anymore (because it was ripped off). The two strong soldiers laid their naked, covered in blue hospital blankets holding hands and crying like two infants.

It ripped my heart out. Every scene was like a new page in discovery of injustice of the War caused by George W. Bush.  These innocent kids, because that is what they are, KIDS 18-19-20 years old carrying heavy artillery in camo flack jackets and helmets that can't even save their lives.

These doctors, they were drained of all energy but they kept moving, kept fixing these beaten broken bodies. One doctor was cutting the flesh from this one soldier like he was carving the Thanksgiving Turkey, it was all in preparation for an above-the knee-amputation. Just like the arm in the opening, they cut it off and threw it away like yesterdays newspaper.

I don't know anyone in Iraq, but I am sure I know someone who knows someone or even has a loved one over there and I can't even fathom how hard it would be to try to get used to that. On occasions, if the soldiers weren't too hurt, the nurses would give the soldiers cell phones to call home from the ER. They would call their family, girlfriend, wife, mom, dad whoever theyhad to talk to and tell them that they were hit by an IED but were going to be ok. One soldier couldn't call even after he was fixed because he had no arms anymore.

I have never been for this war, or any war for that matter, but I have so much respect for these people over there fighting a fight they shouldn't even be fighting, putting their lives on the line for their country.

I could write forever about this show, this war, our worthless President, but it wouldn't accomplish too much. I just hope the people who are "pro" this war might have seen a glimpse of what I saw on that television show last night. I am sure they might re-think their stance.

No matter how you feel about what is going on over there, these soldiers, doctors, nurses need all the support and praise they deserve.