Army Spc. Mark Ryan Climaco Caguioa

MaryAnne from Soldiers Angel Germany pointed me out to Mark's story last week and I told her I would write about it after reading into it more, here are my thoughts.

Corporal Caguioa was the son Filipino immigrants, raised in Stockton and graduated from Bear Creek High School class of 2002. After high school, he worked at a sushi chef before enlisting in the Army in 2005 and deployed to Iraq in October of 2006.

On the 4th of May 2007, he lost both of his legs from an improvised explosive device and later lost his left arm. According to the news reports I’ve read, he also had some major head injuries and was given 6 units of blood. He later died on the 24th of May and President personally went and offered his condolences to his family the day following.

This is where the story gets strange, multiple Asian and Filipino news papers started coming out with stories about Cpl Caguioa receiving the wrong blood type. What bothers me here isn’t the story that someone received the wrong blood type but the way that it was released. So far, I’ve read 7 stories about it and 5 of them say that he was B positive and received O positive blood (which is actually the proper procedure, O being the universal donor) and 2 that say that he was O positive and received B positive blood (which is generally considered a bad thing). But having the 2 different stories out means that one side or the other is totally wrong. It's a black or white deal, yes or no in this case. If you don't know the answer, then don't publish till you do.

If this story told to the press was released by Mark’s family, I could understand that. They would have access to Mark’s medical file but the only way the military is going to release that information is following an investigation. Have you ever seen a military investigation lasting less then a week? I think the news media involved here should have waited before jumping the gun. Publishing in haste without proper editorial review labels your paper a tabloid which is one step away from blog, at least you get paid for what you write.

Here's a link to the stories on Mark

Mark had some massive injuries and it would have been a miracle if he survived even a few years ago but military medicine has taken up the miracle business lately if you haven't noticed. We save people would have been written off and the idea that we didn’t do all that was possible for Mark is wack. Even with doing everything under the sun, people aren’t machines, medicine isn’t like replacing out a worn out belt or bolt. There is a reason they call what I do practicing medicine because we do practice, each day we're learning more about the human body. We can’t know or see everything that is happening inside but we try. If we did, there would be no death or aging and the common cold and HIV would be things you read about in a history book. We’re damn good but we’re not even close to reaching the limit of what’s possible. And in cases like Mark, I think he was at that limit.

Privacy is a big deal in the medical community, one of the quickest ways for a corpsman to get busted down is to break patient confidentiality. I’ve seen some fairly interesting things in my line of work but make it a point not to talk about it to others, not in person nor on the blog. In a case such as this, if there was a someone who talked to the press about a patient, using his real name about a patients medical history. That person likely has some heavy brass breathing down his neck and believe me, I don't feel sorry for them one bit. This is a serious business that we're in, part of being professional is that we play by the rules and don't make them up as we go. Having your name published as the source for that medical information about a patient? I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes man unless that was your job as a public affairs guy to give out that information as an official statement from the hospital.

Rest in peace Mark, my prayers go out to you, your family and fiancée Megan.

Fox, where good TV goes to die

I watched every episode of Drive with puppy dog on the edge of its seat thrill, wow, Fox has came out with a great show! I was looking forward to a Monday night of TV goodness, watch Drive at 8 then Heroes at 9. But the big wigs at Fox (who are known for murdering great TV) have once again drove a stake into the heart of this show and killed it off after only 3 episodes. Like Firefly, it will soon go the way of the DVD.

I guess on a positive aspect, it will give me more time to blog or spend quality time with my lovely wife but it does make me awfully sad. Poor Nathan, two amazing shows shot out from underneath him, who hates him at over there? Damn you Fox! I hope you fall line up falls flat on its face!

Thanks for the hat tip Lee.

PTSD Questions

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been receiving emails from people asking about PTSD and if I know any of my Marines who are willing to talk about it. First thing is, I’m not going to give out medical information on any of my patients. Not that most of the ones that I know mind talking about it, it’s a matter of me keeping my job and out of jail. I can let them know that someone is interested and pass on the information though and I don't mind you asking

Most of the PTSD cases that we run into in the airwing side are an entirely different ball game then the stories you would find if you were to ask the average ground pounder. Our usual supects for airwing mental issues come from separation anxiety, problems back home, adjustment disorders and issues that come from sending people to a war zone who should have never made it past MEPS.

My advise to all of these people is to go to the source, I have some fine fellow milbloggers in my sidebar who have been though the ringer and have blogged about it. Blown by IED’s? Check out Liz (as she put it "got my happy ass blown up" on Dec 4th 2004, scroll down), Rebel Coyote (one of the first milbloggers blown up), Chuck (who's has been getting chopped up on a weekly basis), Solder’s Life (was incountry for 3 months) and the latest one JR Salzman (who was just hit a couple of weeks ago). If their stories don't bring what we're doing home, then you're heart is made of stone. Want to see the baggage of PTSD can do? This is Your War put's that into prospective and Combat Doc has also blogged about it (H/T Madtom even though I read him enough to know). There are probably more people on my side bar who have blogged about it but if you haven't noticed by the size of my blog roll , it would be a full time job keeping daily tabs on everyone.

These guys are the experts and have been in the "shit", most of my time was spent putting band aids on boo boos, handing out meds and filing paperwork, plus keeping everyone around me happy. The only time I saw blood flying and people screaming around me was done flying CASEVAC or at the main hospital working on total strangers, I can honestly say, not a single one of my guys died under my watch. It makes a big difference on your mental out look if you know your patients or not.

The Crash in Iraq

Earlier today I heard on the news that a CH-46 went down in Iraq and everything stopped as I searched the news for details. My first trip out to Iraq, I flew in 46’s flying CASEVAC and it’s a small community, if you do it long enough, you get know everybody. With 7 deaths in the crash, it wasn’t likely a troop transport run which means it’s was probably a CASEVAC mission.

Word’s not out yet with names or the unit the aircraft belongs to and that won’t happen till the families notified. I’m selfish, hoping that I don’t know any of the dead, saying goodbye is one of the hardest things to do. This one hits way too close to home, it could have me a dozen times over. Six crashes in 18 days, it's troubling news to myself and other corpsman who I work with. We're all part of the Marine aviation community and chances are, we will be heading back out there again before too long.

A picture worth a thousand words

Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain NewsThe night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted."

Go read the rest of Final Salute.

(hat tip Bianca)