Local Marine injured

Local Marine injured

Lance Cpl. thomas "Cody" Surber.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
A Martinsville Marine is headed home after being wounded when his squad was hit by an explosive device in Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Thomas “Cody” Surber, 20, of the Marines Corps 2/8 Echo Co., 4th Platoon, was on foot patrol with his fellow Marines in the Al Anbar province region of Iraq on Oct. 22 when the attack occurred, according to his parents, Steve and Lorie Surber, also of Martinsville.

Casualties of war on the funny pages

Casualties of war on the funny pages
Soldiers’ stories ring true in ‘Doonesbury’
By Gene Weingarten
Washington Post

Iraq war vets Brian Anderson, 25, left, and Latseen Benson, 26, with cartoonist Garry Trudeau in April at Fran O’Brien’s Steak House in Washington.
Washington Post photos
Garry Trudeau, shown in his Manhattan, N.Y., studio with a collection of Beatles figures, says he’s been unfairly accused of having courage.
In the banquet room were men who were blind, men with burns, men with gouges, men missing an arm, men missing a leg, men missing an arm and a leg, men missing an arm and both legs, men missing parts of their faces, and a cartoonist from the funny pages.
We were at a steakhouse just a few blocks from the White House. The restaurant was hosting a night out for casualties of the current war, visiting from their hospital wards.

Wounded troops, families to get new hope and aid

Wounded troops, families to get new hope and aid
Web Posted: 10/26/2006 10:12 PM CDT
Scott HuddlestonExpress-News Staff Writer
Terrie Johnson passes the Center for the Intrepid, now near completion, and sees hope.
Her son, 19, had both legs amputated after being wounded in April in Kirkuk, Iraq. But one thing working in her favor has been having a place to stay, at the Fisher House at Brooke Army Medical Center.

An intimate look at war amputees' journey

An intimate look at war amputees' journey
Sunday, October 15, 2006
MIKE FRANCIS
C asualty counters already know the gruesome, underreported toll of the war in Iraq: For every U.S. serviceperson killed, about seven or eight others are wounded. Thanks to advances in battlefield medicine and armor, more of the wounded survive now than would have survived earlier wars.
Yet we don't hear as much about the wounded, despite the smattering of news stories from places like Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center, where amputees undergo therapy. The Defense Department doesn't report statistics for the wounded in the same way it does for those killed, nor do reporters spend as much time studying the slow-moving dramas of people trying to reassemble their lives. That's why a book that takes a long, intimate look at the issue is welcome.

America Supports You: Cartoonist Writes Second Book for Troops

America Supports You: Cartoonist Writes Second Book for Troops
Sgt. Sara Wood, USA, American Forces Press Service2006-09-27

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2006 – The award-winning creator of the Doonesbury cartoon strip visited the Pentagon today to meet with wounded servicemembers and sign copies of his second book in a series chronicling the recovery of a wounded Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran.
Garry Trudeau wrote the book, “The War Within: One More Step at a Time,” as a follow-up to his book, “The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time,” which tells the story of comic strip character “B.D.,” a National Guardsman who lost his leg during the battle of Fallujah in Iraq and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. The second book follows B.D.’s return to civilian and family life after leaving the hospital and his process of dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Life in the Amputee Ward - Free Podcast

Life in the Amputee Ward
Time magazine’s Michael Weisskopf lost his hand while he was covering the war in Iraq. In Blood Brothers, he tells us about his stay in the amputee wing of Walter Reed Hospital, and the wounded soldiers he got to know there.

"Extremity War Injuries: State of the Art and Future Directions

Introduction
Andrew N. Pollak and Jason H. Calhoun J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: viii0. [Full Text] [PDF]

History and State of the Art:
Extremity Injury in War: A Brief History
Adrianne Noe J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S1-S6. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Levels of Medical Care in the Global War on Terrorism
Mark R. Bagg, Dana C. Covey, and Elisha T. Powell, IV J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S7-S9. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Combat Orthopaedics: A View From the Trenches
Dana C. Covey, J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S10-S17. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
The Scope of Wounds Encountered in Casualties From the Global War on Terrorism: From the Battlefield to the Tertiary Treatment Facility
Michael T. Mazurek and James R. Ficke J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S18-S23. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Definitive Treatment of Combat Casualties at Military Medical Centers
Romney C. Andersen, H. Michael Frisch, Gerald L. Farber, and Roman A. Hayda J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S24-S31. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Missile Injuries of the Limbs: An Iraqi Perspective
T. A. Hamdan J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S32-S36. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Extremity Trauma Research in the United States Army
Brett D. Owens, Joseph C. Wenke, Steven J. Svoboda, and Daniel W. White J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S37-S40. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Wound Management: Session I:
Moderators’ Summary: Wound Management (Session I)
Andrew N. Pollak and Romney C. Andersen J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S43-S44. [Full Text] [PDF]
From the Battlefields to the States: The Road to Recovery. The Role of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in US Military Casualty Care
Joachim J. Tenuta J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S45-S47. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Timing of Débridement of Open Fractures
Andrew N. Pollak J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S48-S51. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Débridement of Extremity War Wounds
Gavin Bowyer J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S52-S56. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Timing of Wound Coverage in Extremity War Injuries
Randy Sherman, Shahrad Rahban, and Andrew N. Pollak J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S57-S61. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Standard Wound Coverage Techniques for Extremity War Injury
Anand R. Kumar J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S62-S65. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Shrapnel Management
Amos Peyser, Amal Khoury, and Meir Liebergall J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S66-S70. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Wound Management: Session II:
Moderators’ Summary: Wound Management (Session II)
Mark R. Bagg and L. Scott Levin J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S73-S74. [Full Text] [PDF]
Scope of Wounds
Thomas G. Crabtree J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S75-S76. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Treatment of Blast Injuries of the Extremity
Marko Bumbasirevic, Aleksandar Lesic, Milorad Mitkovic, and Vesna Bumbasirevic J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S77-S81. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
The Contaminated High-Energy Open Fracture: A Protocol to Prevent and Treat Inflammatory Mediator Storm–Induced Soft-Tissue Compartment Syndrome (IMSICS)
Lawrence X. Webb, Barnaby Dedmond, Dan Schlatterer, and David Laverty J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S82-S86. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Skin Substitutes as Alternatives to Autografting in a Wartime Trauma Setting
Francis X. McGuigan J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S87-S89. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
New Developments in Flap Techniques
L. Scott Levin J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S90-S93. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Antibiotics and Infection:
Moderators’ Summary: Antibiotics and Infection
Jason H. Calhoun and H. Michael Frisch J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S96-S97. [Full Text] [PDF]
Antibiotic Prophylaxis: Current Recommendations
Paul D. Holtom J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S98-S100. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Treatment of Acute Infection
Laura Prokuski J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S101-S104. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Treatment of Chronic Infection
George Cierny, III and Doreen DiPasquale J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S105-S110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Stabilization of Long Bones:
Moderators’ Summary: Stabilization of Long Bones
Michael T. Mazurek and Andrew R. Burgess J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S113-S117. [Full Text] [PDF]
Far-Forward Fracture Stabilization: External Fixation Versus Splinting
Matthew R. Camuso J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S118-S123. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Conversion From Temporary External Fixation to Definitive Fixation: Shaft Fractures
Paul J. Dougherty, Craig Silverton, Yener Yeni, Scott Tashman, and Robb Weir J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S124-S127. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Conversion From External Fixation to Definitive Fixation: Periarticular Injuries
David B. Carmack J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S128-S130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
External Fixation Versus Conversion to Intramedullary Nailing for Definitive Management of Closed Fractures of the Femoral and Tibial Shaft
Gregory J. Della Rocca and Brett D. Crist J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S131-S135. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Blast and Penetrating Fragment Injuries to the Extremities
Yoram A. Weil, Rami Mosheiff, and Meir Liebergall J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S136-S139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Management of Segmental Bone Defects:
Moderators’ Summary: Management of Segmental Bone Defects
Roman A. Hayda and Michael J. Bosse J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S142-S144. [Full Text] [PDF]
Accelerated Fracture Healing
J. Edward Puzas, Jeff Houck, and Susan V. Bukata J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S145-S151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Tissue Engineering Solutions for Traumatic Bone Loss
Steven A. Goldstein J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S152-S156. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Response of Musculoskeletal Cells to Biomaterials
Barbara D. Boyan and Zvi Schwartz J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S157-S162. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Management of Segmental Bony Defects: The Role of Osteoconductive Orthobiologics
Michael D. McKee J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S163-S167. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Distraction Osteogenesis
J. Tracy Watson J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S168-S174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Vascularized Fibula Graft for the Traumatically Induced Long-Bone Defect
L. Scott Levin J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S175-S176. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Amputee Care:
Moderators’ Summary: Amputee Care
Douglas G. Smith and Robert R. Granville J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S179-S182. [Full Text] [PDF]
The United States Armed Forces Amputee Patient Care Program
Donald Gajewski and Robert Granville J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S183-S187. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Amputation Is Not Isolated: An Overview of the US Army Amputee Patient Care Program and Associated Amputee Injuries
Benjamin K. Potter and Charles R. Scoville J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S188-S190. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Heterotopic Ossification in the Residual Limbs of Traumatic and Combat-Related Amputees
Benjamin K. Potter, Travis C. Burns, Anton P. Lacap, Robert R. Granville, and Donald Gajewski J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S191-S197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Horizons in Prosthesis Development for the Restoration of Limb Function
Roy K. Aaron, Hugh M. Herr, Deborah McK. Ciombor, Leigh R. Hochberg, John P. Donoghue, Clyde L. Briant, Jeffrey R. Morgan, and Michael G. Ehrlich J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S198-S204. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Factors Influencing Outcome Following Limb-Threatening Lower Limb Trauma: Lessons Learned From the Lower Extremity Assessment Project (LEAP)
Ellen J. MacKenzie and Michael J. Bosse J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S205-S210. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Future Directions:
Extremity War Injuries: State of the Art and Future Directions. Prioritized Future Research Objectives
Andrew N. Pollak and Jason H. Calhoun J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2006 14: S212-S214. [Full Text] [PDF]

Author tells overlooked story of Iraq war in new book

Author tells overlooked story of Iraq war in new book
By Ron Wynn
October 18, 2006

Author and journalist Michael Weisskopf already planned to write about the plight of soldiers returning home gravely wounded from the Iraq War when he began covering it for Time magazine in March 2003. But nine months later Weisskopf became part of the story he wanted to cover. Hearing something land in the Humvee he was riding in as an embedded reporter, Weisskopf tried to heave it out of the vehicle. The object exploded in his hand.Michael Weisskopf’s right hand was amputated and he was sent to Ward 57 at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment, becoming the first journalist ever treated there. His new book Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57 (Henry Holt and Company) presents not only his story but also that of many others gravely wounded in battle in graphic, poignant and painful detail.

PTSD- Troubled veterans surge to centers

Troubled veterans surge to centers
But French Quarter suicide just the start of a grisly tale of murder, mutilation
By WALT PHILBIN

A network of community-based walk-in veterans' treatment centers is under increasing pressure as more and more former troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have come looking for help.
A report to be issued today from the House Veterans Affairs Committee's Democratic staff says that nearly a third of all Vet Centers have seen the demand rise for outreach and other services.
The report surveyed 60 of the 207 Vet Centers operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It found that the number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have sought help for post-traumatic stress disorder doubled - from nearly 4,500 to more than 9,000 - from October 2005 through June 2006.
The number of veterans with other types of possible mental health and readjustment problems also doubled, and in some cases tripled, the report said.

iAmputee blogger comment: Anyone have time to start a iPTSD blog?

A family's long road back from war (w/ photos)

A family's long road back from war
By Dianna CahnOctober 22, 2006

Katrina Liebel never met Staff Sgt. Pabon. But his name will always stick with her. His was the voice on the other end of the telephone on Feb. 13."Private First Class Kenneth Liebel was seriously injured in Iraq," he said. He sounded like he was reading a telegram ...Chaos, Katrina realized, had just enveloped her family.All she could do was stay calm and pull answers from a man called Pabon. Would Kenny be OK? Could he die? Was he missing anything? She couldn't believe she asked that.

In this article: Kenny Liebel

A word from your blogger

iAmputees Blogger: In the previous article it was stated that there are more than 3,000 (three thousand) amputees. I am going to write to the reporter to see where he found that data. Until then, consider it suspect.

Wounds of War -Video/Photo included

Wounds of War: Advances help amputees cope
By Eric Reinagel Meadville Tribune
You must have Quicktime installed to view this video

From his wheelchair, Jay Fondren of Killeen, Texas, lifts 2-year-old son Micah off the floor and into a booster seat in the family dining room.
The maneuver is difficult because Fondren is missing his right thumb as well as both of his legs.
“You hold that side,” he instructs Micah. “All right, push down. There we go.”
“There we go,” parrots Micah as he twists into an upright position.
The task is routine for Micah. He’s too young to remember his father before an improvised explosive made dad one of the more than 3,000 amputee soldiers of the Iraq War.

TOY DRIVES: She helps collect gifts for injured Marines and sailors and their families

Watch author of Blood Brothers on CSPAN

http://www.q-and-a.org/Program/?ProgramID=1098
Michael Weisskopf discusses losing his hand in a grenade attack while covering the war in Iraq and he spoke about his fellow amputees on "ward 57" at Walter Reed Army Hospital. The injury happened while the guest was in Iraq writing for Time magazine in Dec. 2003.

Iraq vets in House battles

Iraq vets in House battles
BY RICHARD SISKDAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Led by a woman who lost both legs in combat, a squad of five Iraq war vets is at the forefront of the Democrats' push to take back the national security issue - and the House - from the GOP.
Marine Reserve Maj. Van Taylor, who fought behind enemy lines during the 2003 invasion, is the only Iraq veteran running as a Republican. He is challenging longtime Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.).

In this article: Army Maj. Tammy Duckworth

Prospect of regeneration tantalizes scientists

Prospect of regeneration tantalizes scientists
They seek to flip switch on genes to regrow body parts - really
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, October 22, 2006
By RONALD KOTULAK Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO – Buoyed by recent genetic breakthroughs, researchers at Northwestern University and across the country say they hope to achieve a feat long thought to be impossible: enabling people to replace damaged body parts or even regrow missing limbs.

War vets lead Democrats' charge

War vets lead Democrats' charge
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/10-06/10-22-06/08world-nation.htm

War vets lead Democrats' charge By Richard Sisk , New York Daily News WASHINGTON — Led by a woman who lost both legs in combat, a squad of five Iraq war vets is at the forefront of the Democrats' push to take back the national security issue — and the House — from the GOP. Marine Reserve Maj. Van Taylor, who fought behind enemy lines during the 2003 invasion, is the only Iraq veteran running as a Republican. He is challenging longtime Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Tex. The five vets running as Democrats could help the party gain ground against the GOP's traditional advantage on defense and national security.

War Wounds - NYT

War Wounds


By NATHANIEL TRIPP
Published: October 22, 2006
On the night of Dec. 10, 2003, Michael Weisskopf, an embedded journalist on assignment for Time magazine, was riding through the streets of Baghdad in the back of a Humvee when a small, dark object landed on the seat beside him. For reasons he still finds inexplicable, he picked it up. He was trying to toss it away when it exploded, obliterating his right hand and inflicting serious shrapnel wounds on him and several men riding with him. Weisskopf’s life was transformed. In “Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57,” he recounts the struggles of three other amputees, as well as his own, as they try to put their lives back together.

New research effort to translate basic science into faster bone healing

New research effort to translate basic science into faster bone healing

Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center have received a $7.8 million grant to speed the conversion of basic bone science into new treatments that prevent arthritis, improve fracture healing and save limbs. In one case, the research aims to confirm preliminary findings that a handful of patients, previously confined to wheelchairs by fractures that would not heal, were able to walk again after receiving a drug treatment that finally healed the bone.
The award is the first of its kind, a Center of Research Translation (CORT) grant in orthopaedics from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. It is part of a larger effort by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fast-track basic scientific findings into meaningful clinical treatments (translational research). With this latest grant, the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the Medical Center becomes the best funded of its kind in the nation in terms of NIH research dollars, according to a new ranking for the most recent NIH fiscal year.

Candidate Duckworth sounds call to aid injured vets

Candidate Duckworth sounds call to aid injured vets
By Rick Maze
Veterans meeting in Chicago to study how the government can better help young veterans received an inspirational call to develop a 50-year plan for aiding those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan from an Army National Guard pilot who lost both legs in Iraq.
Maj. Tammy Duckworth, who is running for a seat in the House of Representatives, said veterans like her who have survived wounds that would have been fatal in past conflicts will need long-term support and the aid of cutting-edge technology — and she said the government owes them as much for their sacrifice.

In this article: Maj. Tammy Duckworth

MARINE'S NEW DRILL

MARINE'S NEW DRILL
AMPUTEE SHOWS HIS STEPS
By ED ROBINSON
October 17, 2006 -- Marine hero Sgt. John Jones put on his dress uniform last night so he could "cut some rug" with his stunning wife, Amber-not bad for a double amputee.
Jones, 29, who lost his legs in a land mine explosion in Iraq last year, was one of the honorees last night at a fund-raising dinner for the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, at the Time Warner Center.

In this article: John Jones

REVIEW | Blood Brothers

REVIEW Blood Brothers
Soldiers of misfortune
But these wounded men, including the author, find the strength to endure.
By CURT SCHLEIER
Special to The Star
In the winter of 2003, Time magazine senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf went to Iraq as part of a team preparing the magazine’s year-end man-of-the-year issue, honoring the American soldier.

Shattered limbs, shattered lives

Shattered limbs, shattered lives
A former embedded reporter writes about the psychological struggles of war amputees
By Cheryl Truman
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Michael Weisskopf still wonders about the grenade.
He saw it for only a few moments that night in December 2003, while he was sitting in the back of a Humvee, on patrol with a platoon of the Army's 1st Armored Division in Baghdad, Iraq. He picked it up and realized it was hot. Then everything changed.
Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57 (Henry Holt, $25) is not really a book about war, but about war's unseen aftermath: the shattered bodies of soldiers, the lives they have to reinvent around their missing limbs.

Horseback rides give injured soldiers therapy

Horseback rides give injured soldiers therapy
Gait gets wounded to regain strength, muscle endurance
October 12, 2006

BY NICOLE GAUDIANO
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

After a therapeutic riding session at Ft. Myer, Va., military base, instructor Mary Jo Beckman, second from left, reaches for the crutches for Army Spec. Nick Paupore of Traverse City, who began riding therapy after shrapnel from an armor-piercing bomb clipped his leg. Today, his above-the-knee amputation requires him to move his hips more to walk on a prosthetic. Riding helped with that, but it also forced him to keep a straight posture and develop his core muscles. (Photos by HEATHER WINES/Gannett News Service)
Why ride?
Horseback riding improves balance and strength, therapists say. When people sit on a walking horse, their bodies are being moved as if walking normally and being strengthened to walk independently.
Therapeutic benefits of riding include:
• Improved stability from strengthened abdominal and lower back muscles.
• Proper posture alignment.
• Increased strength and endurance.
• Improved balance, enabling more efficient use of prosthetic limbs.
• Development of equilibrium reactions in the trunk by sitting on a continuously moving surface.
• Improved coordination and rhythm of rider's pelvic area.


*************************
Army Spec. Natasha McKinnon
Guiding Minnie, a white mare, around a corral at Ft. Myer, Va., McKinnon's upper body rocked in tandem with the horse's gait as if the soldier were walking. The repeated exercise has helped her develop the strength, endurance and balance she needs to walk on a prosthetic limb since losing her lower leg in Iraq last year.

Belvoir runs in Army Ten-Miler

Belvoir runs in Army Ten-Miler

10/12/06
By Julia LeDoux Special to the Eagle
Runners from the group “Back from Iraq” including Army Materiel Command employees from Fort Belvoir gather before the race began in front of their Hooah tent Sunday. (Photo by Marny Malin)
Teams and individuals from Fort Belvoir joined runners from across the country, and the world at Sunday’s 22nd Annual Army Ten-Miler.
It took Maj. J.T. Nolan, who served as captain of the Back from Iraq team made up of Army Materiel Command employees, 85 minutes to finish the race.

**************************
PFC James Stuck
Spc. Joseph Keck

Marine amputee describes ordeal

Marine amputee describes ordeal
by Kris Wise

This photo of Cpl. Chris Santiago in Afghanistan was first published in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel and is now featured on a Web site set up by his friends. The Marines working in Cpl. Chris Santiago's squad used to wonder whether they might be untouchable.
Two months into their deployment to Iraq, which followed two long tours in Afghanistan and the Mediterranean, the unit had suffered no casualties and no major injuries.

Cpl. Chris Santiago

Data Suggests Vast Costs Loom in Disability Claims

Data Suggests Vast Costs Loom in Disability Claims

By SCOTT SHANE
Published: October 11, 2006
Nearly one in five soldiers leaving the military after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan has been at least partly disabled as a result of service, according to documents of the Department of Veterans Affairs obtained by a Washington research group.

The number of veterans granted disability compensation, more than 100,000 to date, suggests that taxpayers have only begun to pay the long-term financial cost of the two conflicts. About 567,000 of the 1.5 million American troops who have served so far have been discharged.

More US soldiers keep limbs

More US soldiers keep limbs
From correspondents in San Francisco
October 10, 2006
A 2004 SHOOTING and roadside bomb injury in Iraq left US Marine Sgt Oscar Canon, 25, with a gaping hole in his thigh the size of a baseball - a wound should have cost him his leg. Yet today he can walk and run again.
"In previous wars, this patient would have undergone an amputation," said Dr Amy Wandel, a plastic surgeon who operated on Canon at the US Navy Medical Centre in San Diego.
************************
Sgt Oscar Canon

Wounded Marine Suffers Setback

Wounded Marine Suffers Setback
LCpl Derrick Sharpe is in critical condition after a bombing in Iraq.
Tuesday, October 10, 4:49 p.m.By Jon Meyer

A Marine from Columbia County who was wounded while serving in the Middle East is still fighting for his life.
Lance Corporal Derrick Sharpe, 19, of Berwick was injured last month in Iraq.
His mother had to make the heart-wrenching choice Monday to have his leg amputated, or he wouldn't make it. Kimberly Sheets said it's the toughest decision she has had to make but she can't bear to lose her son.

New medical treatment eases war injury pain

New medical treatment eases war injury pain
By Randy Griffith, CNHI News Service
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Improvised explosive devices or IEDs in Iraq are causing an alarming loss of limbs and some of the most painful injuries known to medicine.

But a pioneering medical method developed two years ago at the John P. Murtha Neuroscience and Pain Institute here is helping wounded soldiers better cope with their suffering than in previous wars.
The technique uses an electric needle to pinpoint the nerves emitting pain from a badly mangled arm or leg, then blocks the pain by injecting a non-addictive anesthesia into the nerve center.

WOUNDED IRAQ VETS: PLASTIC SURGEONS AID SURVIVAL

WOUNDED IRAQ VETS: PLASTIC SURGEONS AID SURVIVAL, REHAB10/09/06 2:05 PDT
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)
Two veterans seriously wounded in Iraq were on their feet today to praise plastic surgeons gathered at a conference in San Francisco, saying that doctors not only saved them from death or amputations but also helped restore their quality of life.
The personal reflections of U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Oscar Canon, 25, and fellow Marine Sgt. Douglas Hayenga, 23, followed a pictorial presentation by military plastic surgeons on modern wound care and the reconstructive plastic surgery techniques developed recently to save limbs and restore functionality.

Plastic Surgeons Healing Wounds Of Iraq War

Plastic Surgeons Healing Wounds Of Iraq War

Mike Sugerman
(CBS 5) SAN FRANCISCO Military doctors on Monday demonstrated the results of some brand-new plastic surgery techniques born out of the first procedures used to reconstruct the bodies and lives of American soldiers returning home from World War I.People get facelifts and nosejobs today because their grandfathers and their brothers in arms were ripped apart in war.

Injured GIs Remain Positive, Accept Army 10-Miler Challenge

Injured GIs Remain Positive, Accept Army 10-Miler Challenge
By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2006 – Two Army combat veterans who both lost something dear in the war against terrorism say they are determined to keep on battling, and proving it as they prepare to run the Army 10-Miler race tomorrow.
In December 2005, Spc. James Stuck was wounded by an improvised explosive device blast in Kirkuk, Iraq. His right leg was later amputated at mid-shin. Spc. Joseph Keck, an Afghanistan veteran, lost his lower left arm just below his elbow after being injured in an IED explosion near Kandahar in July.

*********************
Spc. James Stuck
Spc. Joseph Keck

Military Orthopaedic Wound Management and Amputee Care Best Practices Established

Military Orthopaedic Wound Management and Amputee Care Best Practices Established

Extremity War Injuries Symposium publication prioritizes combat-related musculoskeletal research.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB via PRWeb) October 5, 2006 -- Today the number of American soldiers wounded in action in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds 9,700. This is a different kind of war, and so are the wounds it creates. More than 50 percent of the wounded have suffered musculoskeletal injuries, many made more challenging by the effects of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or vehicle-borne improvised explosive devises (VBIEDs), which are distinct from domestic injuries. Traditional wound management guidelines simply fall short.
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.jaaos.org./" alt="Link to website">Our military counterparts are doing an outstanding job of treating these severe injuries, and we need to help them by directing research to provide them with some answers about how to better manage these injuries as soon as possible. To address this need, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) have issued a special edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: "Extremity War Injuries: State of the Art and Future Directions."

Bittersweet relief for soldier's mother

Bittersweet relief for soldier's mother
After months of worry, woman welcomes home son who lost leg in Iraq

By RICK CLEMENSON, Staff writer
Thursday, October 5, 2006

TUPPER LAKE -- Joshua Jones wanted to keep his mother, Debbie, informed about his daily routine in Iraq.
He would call her before his tank unit -- the Crazy Horses -- went on 48-hour missions in the field. He never told her the nature of his duties, and she didn't want to know. She'd stay up at night nervously waiting for him to call and say he had safely returned to base.

"Every time you'd hear about an American soldier getting hurt in Iraq, you'd die nine lives wondering if it was yours," his mother said.

In this article: Joshua Jones

Medical Articles about Amputation

October's Articles
The NLLIC is now providing results of a monthly search on amputation and related topics from National Library of Medicine's PubMed© on the web. The purpose of this list is to highlight professional literature on the subject of amputation. If you would like to receive this list via email, contact Molly Moore at library@amputee-coalition.org.
Search topics include cancer, congenital limb deficiency, diabetes, dysvascular disease, outcomes research, prosthetics and orthotics, rehabilitation, surgery, trauma and secondary conditions such as pain, obesity, and smoking.
Abstracts with links to NLM's PubMed© are also available on the ACA web site's online library, an invaluable resource for amputees, medical professionals, and others with limb loss that are seeking specific information. Use the keyword search "PubMed" to find all related articles