Thomas Frank This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Stars & Stripes

   www.estripes.com/article.asp?s - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/11/2006   Last Visited: 9/11/2006

   "Our goal is to leave a legacy, not a vacuum," said Dr. (Col.) Thomas Frank, deputy commander of clinical services at Bagram Air Base's 14th Combat Support Hospital.
   ...
   Thomas Frank, deputy commander of clinical services.
   ...
   "Our goal is to leave a legacy, not a vacuum," said Frank.
   ...
   "The shock of dealing with children who are missing limbs - it's not standard fare for us or any doctors," said Frank, whose last post was El Paso and whose last mission was to set up a clinic in the New Orleans Convention Center after Hurricane Katrina.
   
   "I think all the medical staff is initially challenged. You never really get desensitized to the injuries of children," he said.
   ...
   Frank said U.S. soldier casualties in the past few months have increased, though most of the fighting has been in the south, where soldiers go first to a Kandahar military hospital before being sent to Germany or the U.S.
   
   In April and May, for instance, the hospital admitted 35 and 28 U.S. soldiers, up from 22 and 21, respectively, the year before. In June, 30 U.S. soldiers were admitted, the same as last year. In July, 38 U.S. soldiers were admitted.
   
   Frank said seeing the maimed children is the hardest part for doctors who've not chosen pediatrics. But seeing badly wounded or killed soldiers is terrible, too.
   
   "It brings your mortality home to you," he said, "and makes you realize how at risk everybody is."

2. 2. www.afghanistannewscenter.com

   www.afghanistannewscenter.com/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/7/2007   Last Visited: 12/14/2007

   Tom Frank summed up his recent deployment to Afghanistan as "easily the most rewarding year of my life."
   
   He talked of the contagious spirit of the Afghan people. He applauded the work of his fellow soldiers in the Fort Benning-based 14th Combat Support Hospital, an all-star collection of top Army medical personnel from across the globe. He spoke of training and mentoring Afghan medical students, both nurses and doctors.
   
   And he brushed aside the significance of the medal he'd been awarded, one in recognition of his "exceptionally meritorious service," much like a man shooing away a pesky fly.
   
   What the 45-year-old Tulane-trained surgeon didn't talk about is the horror that those like him see on almost a daily basis in a country ravaged by war.
   
   He didn't really have to. He'd already told that aspect of his job in a couple of letters home, epistles that were published by his hometown newspaper. That's where he talked about a land mine that tore the feet off an Afghan man, sending one of his feet into his abdomen.
   
   As the doctor tried to position the endotracheal tube, a large worm began crawling out of the trachea.
   
   "We no longer recoil at the sight of worms escaping the bodies of the dying or desperately ill," he said.
   ...
   "Sir," the soldier asked Frank, "have you ever known a doctor with one arm?"
   
   It was a legitimate question. The young man was to leave the Army in July, his acceptance to med school awaiting him back home.
   
   While Frank and the 14th CSH served in Afghanistan, the unit treated 3,000 casualties and performed 500 operations.
   
   But it was an event requiring no life-saving measures that will stick with the doctor for life.
   
   Last September, just a year after Frank and several members of the 14th had flown to New Orleans to treat Katrina victims, a hospital clerk in Bagram asked Frank if he could sign some death certificates at the hospital mortuary. In the middle of the room were three stretchers, each holding a body bag containing the remains of three GIs, two men and a woman.
   
   "They were driving down the road," he said.
   ...
   Frank, like the entire staff of the 14th, returned last week to Fort Benning, and later to their families and friends, content with knowing they'd done their best, yet saddled with the memories of war at its worst.

3. 3. treadmill » 2006 » September

   www.benytreadmill.com/2006/09/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/1/2006   Last Visited: 10/20/2006

   Thomas Frank, chief doctor at the 14th Combat Support Hospital, brought over a new treadmill designed to help diagnose coronary heart disease, 105 people who