German Soldiers Angels Update From Landstuhl
Blackfive blog
A few weeks ago, you might have met Willie Aufmkolk as Someone You Should Know. Willie is a wonderful German lady who wanted to help our wounded troops coming to Germany for medical treatment. Wounded from Iraq are sent first to Landstuhl (Germany) before coming back to the states to Walter Reed, Bethesda, or Balboa (among other facilites).
I am very grateful to all of you who have sent donations and supplies to our wounded troops. I am also very thankful for amazing people like Willie who take care of our troops overseas.
If you have donated to Soldiers Angels, soldiersangels.com The Wounded Project soldiersangels.com or Wounded Warriors woundedwarriorproject.org and wondered if you are making a difference, well, just read on:
A snap-shot from our trip to Landstuhl during the fightings in Fallujah
Every time I come to the US Hospital in Landstuhl and to the Fisher House and meet our wounded heroes I am impressed by the courage and bravery of men and women who fight the war against the terrorism and for other people freedom.
On the 12th November 2004 Rudi, Patties sister Nita and I we brought the wounded 53 backpacks from the Soldiers Angels to LRMC and make a bedside visit together with Kathy from the Fisher House. There are over 90 % from the patients are current veterans of OEF and OIF, soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines! They all are there. Today I read the wounded from the invasion in Fallujah hits to 412! There you have a steady stream of wounded US Soldiers from the Fallujah offensive in Iraqi. So we must see the 53 backpacks were only a trop in the ocean! In the last days the news told us that about 70 US soldiers and more injured daily in Fallujah. This city is 40 miles from Baghdad and the most of them are flown from Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, to the biggest US military hospital here in overseas.
A lot of Angels have donated their time and money to bring the wounded a backpack. Paul and Berta, CA; Cheryl, CA; Karman, MA; Janette, SC; Stephanie, NC; Georgia, Co; Mandy, NC; Dee, CA; Jennifer and Christopfer, GA; Carol, TX, Paul, Susan and Sarah, FL, Megan OH; Patti, CA; SGT Lee B. and a lot of other Angels.
There was no empty bed! We all could see that the bed capacity at the hospital has been increased since our last visit to handle now the 30 until 50 wounded who are coming in daily. We all went from room to room in five wards of the hospital to visit soldiers being treated for injuries. They are ranging from broken bones and minor injuries to missing legs and severe skull injuries. A lot from the wounded were sitting in wheelchairs or they were in their beds. Often you could see they were full of pain but their spirit was high.
They were happy to receive backpacks from the Soldiers Angels. They have nothing if they arrived from the battle to Landstuhl. Our backpacks was filled with handmade blankets, T-shirt, underpants, socks, items for personal hygiene, get well cards, candies and more.
We have seen one young man he was carry with his bed over the ward he has lost both eyes! I have never seen before so much nurses carry wounded with their beds over the floors from the operating room to the sick rooms on the wards.
Not any bed is empty – it is only empty if anyone is on surgery or the nurses change the linen. Nita and I we both had candies and chocolate with us for the staffs. The nurses looked so over worked! They all work so hard, they were so busy and were coping well with the heavy workload.
Kathy Gregory from the Fisher House had a box of homemade candies with her donate from our Angels Laurie from Berlin. The candies we put in the TV-room on the wards or given out to wounded lying in bed. So that every wounded can take on. For the TV- room we had with us special bags with paper, envelopes, pencils, everything to give the wounded the opportunity to write a letter to their love ones home. The few toy`s we received by the donation we have given the Fisher House for the kids from their guest families.
One wounded female soldier was sitting on her bad and was full of pain and the Chaplain talk to her, she was not doing fine. One older wounded could only take a breath by himself he needs a machine for doing this. We are always glad if we can bring backpacks directly to the wounded and if we have the opportunity to go for a friend to visit his comrade we are proud to do this.
So a Lt. USMC asked me to go for him to a comrade he was in Fallujah, “one of my Marine just got hit and he will be there in Germany soon, his name is Cpl. O. and there is also a marine there from …..with a lot of shrapnel wounds, I don`t have his name, can you look for him, too.“ Sometimes we have the luck that they are still there. Sometimes they are off for medical treatment to the States to other hospitals, such how are here!
Our Angel Kara, sent me an e-mail, “… a good friend of ours has been injured as is in Germany. He is with my husband’s unit, his name is Capt. .. At the moment he is on ward …... Would you mind visiting him for us?”
We have found him and he is a wonderful guy I must say, he has a wife and three kids are waiting for him! His wife and Kara our Angels has not the opportunity to come to Germany to visit him. So we have given him from both “a big hug” and told him that his wife and the kids are being well taken care of. He was very surprised that someone has visited him. He was in a very good mood and was looking for more medical treatment in a naval hospital in the States...
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