1st Lt. Terri Gurrola, medic in Company C, 203rd Forward Support Battalion, casts the leg of Hussein, a 15-year-old Iraqi boy, April 9, at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq. Hussein lost his leg in an improvised explosive device incident four years ago. Photo courtesy of 203rd Brigade Support Battalion


Soldiers fit 15-year-old for new prosthetic leg.

By Sgt. Natalie Rostek
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team,
3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, April 17, 2007 — Medics from Company C, 203rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, gave a little hope to a local Iraqi boy when they provided him with a new prosthetic leg, April 9.
Hussein, the 15-year-old son of a local vendor, lost his leg in an improvised explosive device incident four years ago. He was treated and fitted for a prosthetic leg at a hospital in Baghdad. Since that time, due to normal adolescent growth and the harsh environment in Iraq, Hussein has outgrown the now worn-down prosthetic.

According to Maj. Cynthia Majerske, battalion surgeon for the 203rd Forward Support Battalion, kids should have their prosthetics replaced once a year, teens once every two years.

"The challenge is the conditions you take for granted back in the (United States.) Here, it is one more challenge to face." said Majerske, who is attached to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team from Fort Bragg where she is a physical medicine and rehab physician. "The prosthetic I would have proscribed is a silicone sleeve with a locking pin, but due to the harsh conditions here I want to give Hussein an exoskeleton design with a hard outer casing."

Majerske said she wants Hussein to have something he can easily take care of on his own, because it's more difficult in Iraq to take the leg to a medical professional for adjustments.

"It was very rewarding to do this for Hussein," said Sgt. Jae Min Yandon, medic in Company C, 203rd Forward Support Battalion. "The father was so thankful."

Yandon said the vendor has another son with the same problem and is trying to make arrangements with the 203rd medics for surgery.

Labels: 203rd Forward Support Battalion, FOB Hammer, Good News, Humanitarian Aid, Iraq