From Multi-National Force Iraq:

Capt. Keri Mullens (left), brigade surgeon, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., begins treatment on 5-year-old Dhuha Khalid Abed's legs. Dhuha was brought to Patrol Base Murray by her father Khalid Abed (pictured on right) Dec. 4 to receive treatment for second and third degree burns she suffered while playing with her brother around a pot of boiling water. Photo by 2BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.


PATROL BASE MURRAY — The day after treating 307 local residents at a coordinated medical engagement in Al Buaytha, U.S. Army medics were back on the job again at Patrol Base Murray, treating a 5-year-old girl for burns on her legs, Dec. 4.

Dhuha Khalid Abed was playing with her brother near a pot of water being heated on an electric heater when the accident occurred, Dec. 1, said Khalid Abed, Dhuha’s father. The pot spilled onto Dhuha's legs, causing second- and third-degree burns to her thighs.

Abed said he received aid from local Soldiers on the ground, including creams and dressings for the wounds. Seeing his daughter still in pain days later, he decided to take her to Patrol Base (PB) Murray for additional help.

Medics from the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., assessed the injury and cleaned the wounds.

"Right now we are more worried about secondary infections," said Sgt. Eric Ironsmith, from Shreveport, La., 1-30th Inf. Regt. aid station medic.

Because the burns removed the top layer of skin from her thighs, Ironsmith said Dhuha is more susceptible to infections. That crucial skin layer blocks potential disease.

To help reduce the chance of infections, medics scrubbed the skin, removed dead tissue around the wound, and applied an antibiotic cream to the injuries.

Despite the severity of the burns, Lt. Col. Hee-Choon S. Lee, 1-30th Inf. Regt., battalion surgeon, said there was hope for the girl. Because the burn did not completely wrap around her legs or occur near a joint, Lee, a native of Larton, Va., said a recovery was possible.

"I've seen many children out there with burns," he said. "There is quite a bit of hope for her."

Although she may receive scarring on the legs and potentially need skin grafts as she grows, Lee said with proper care the injury can be kept at bay. Lee said it was satisfying knowing he was able to do something for the girl.

Dhuha will still need additional visits and follow-up treatments, Ironsmith said. Lee provided Abed with a note allowing him to bring his daughter back to PB Murray over the next few days and instructions on how to care for the burns at home.

"It is good to know there is someone to take care of me and my family," Abed said upon being released with his daughter, adding he hopes local doctors and the clinic being planned in his home in Arab Jabour are just as helpful and nice as the American doctors.

To help the community, which currently lacks a clinic, American Soldiers are working with U.S. State Department embedded provincial reconstruction teams to construct a building for use as a clinic and get the necessary personnel to staff the facility, Lee said.

In the meantime, Lee said he and his fellow medics will continue to help local residents in need of assistance.

"I hope that the community realizes the American presence here is a good thing. We are here to help," Lee said.

(Story courtesy of Task Force Marne Public Affairs)

In Other Recent Developments Here:
BAGHDAD — Baghdad’s top Iraqi Police officials and members of the 18th Military Police Brigades’ Provincial Police Transition Team gathered at the Iraqi Directorate of Police Headquarters here to witness 707 new Iraqi Police Officers graduate and perform a training demonstration, Dec. 4.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Acting on a tip from Concerned Local Citizens, Coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in the neighborhood of Madyriah, Nov. 30.

Labels: 1-30 Infantry Regiment, 3ID, children, Good News, medical assistance, medics, Patrol Base Murray, US Army