I was genuinely surprised when I read a news item on the Internet last September about the high percentage of American troops who have received spinal injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan. This WebMD HealthDay Reporter story indicated that one in nine of our military personnel, or 11%, who had been wounded in battle between 2005 and 2009 incurred spinal injuries.
The source of my surprise upon reading these figures has to do with my own need to be at my local VA Medical Center once a month, every month, for a very minor procedure which nonetheless keeps my renal function operating smoothly. There is a spinal cord injury center at my VA, so on my monthly visits, I roll through the SCI section to say hello to fellow veterans I’ve known over the years.
Once in a while, I see a young man there who must have served during the above-mentioned five year period. But it’s a rare sighting for me. Most frequently, I run into old-timers like myself. As I read more deeply into this article, I realized that it was battlefield medical care that probably enables our soldiers to walk away from spinal injuries.
I received my spinal cord injury stateside in 1967. Fellow Marines took me carefully to a civilian hospital that was very close to the site of my injury. This hospital refused to treat me because I was in the military. It was three hours beyond my injury before I received any treatment. But, that’s the way it was then. The urgency of immediate care is known far and wide today.
The WebMD article also notes that there are 4.4 spinal damage injuries per 10,000 troops deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. On the other hand, there are 15 limb injuries per 10,000 troops in the Middle East wars. This explains to me why I’m seeing a lot of amputees at my VA Medical Center.
Strangely, to me anyway, the one in nine troops with spinal injuries from the current conflicts is the highest published statistic for Iraq, Afghanistan or any other American conflict. The very existence of battlefield medical care is clearly helping many American service members to walk away from spinal damage received in battle. I just pray that this advancement doesn’t make it more attractive for future USA leaders to jump into wars which might be avoided through diplomacy.
I have heard or read somewhere that in general, advances in medical knowledge doubles every five years. This is an amazing testimonial to those persons in medical science, as well as to the institutions around the planet that train and teach them. At my age, I’m not that into the quest for a cure for spinal cord injury, but I believe that it will happen one day.
Maybe then we can begin the quest for a cure for war.
Terry Moakley
Chair of the VetsFirst Committee