For Soldier Disfigured in War

[Ringel05]

, a Way to Return to the World

Specialist Joey Paulk awoke from a coma in a Texas hospital three weeks after he was burned nearly to death in Afghanistan. Wrapped in bandages from head almost to toe, he immediately saw his girlfriend and mother, and felt comforted. Then he glanced at his hands, two balls of white gauze, and realized that he had no fingers.

His swollen lower lip hung below his gums. His left lower eyelid drooped hound dog-like, revealing a scarlet crescent of raw tissue. His nostrils were squeezed shut, his chin had virtually disappeared and the top half of one ear was gone. Skin grafts crisscrossed his face like lines on a map, and silver medicine coated his scars, making him look like something out of a Terminator film.

Every severe injury is disfiguring in its own way, but there is something uniquely devastating about having one’s face burned beyond recognition. Many burn victims do not just gain lifelong scars, they also lose noses and ears, fingers and hands. The very shape of their faces is sometimes altered, forged anew in heat and flame.

But he found his way to a program at U.C.L.A. Medical Center called Operation Mend that provides cosmetic surgery for severely burned veterans at no cost — and the operations fundamentally realigned his face, restoring not just the semblance of his former visage, but also a healthy chunk of his self-confidence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/us/for-soldier-disfigured-in-afghanistan-a-way-to-return-to-the-world.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[Truthmatters]

we owe these Heros a lifetime of support

 

[Truthmatters]

U.S. - Image - NYTimes.com

 

[Truthmatters]

We also owe the families of the people who gave EVERYTHING for us like his company leader

 

[Truthmatters]

U.S. - Image - NYTimes.com

he is beautiful

 

[California Girl]

From the OP link

The story of Mr. Paulk’s cosmetic and emotional revival says much about the ways private philanthropy can complement the overtaxed military and veterans health care systems. Now in its fifth year, Operation Mend has provided free cosmetic surgery to more than 50 badly burned veterans of the current wars. The program estimates it spends $500,000 on each of its patients.

But the story also underscores the difficulties of bringing private care into the military world. Though Operation Mend’s founder envisioned the program as a model for public-private cooperation in treating wounded soldiers, it remains one of only a few such ventures, which include Center for the Intrepid rehabilitation centers and Fisher Houses for military families.

Part of the problem, said Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the outgoing Army vice chief of staff who has embraced Operation Mend, is that many military doctors remain uncomfortable referring patients out of their system, which they view as a protective cocoon for troops and their families. But that attitude is changing, said General Chiarelli, who is pushing for a private program similar to Operation Mend for treating traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Our problems are so big, we have to reach out beyond ourselves,” he said.

What a great charity. It's going on my donations list.

 

[usmcstinger]

Our Veterans deserve the best health care. If the needed care its outside the VA or the private hospital affiliated with it, then the VA should send the Vet to a hospital that specializes in the needed care.
Many VA Hospitals are affiliated with a top class hospital. The VA Hospital in Manhattan is connected the NYU Medical Center ( rated in the top 5 Hospitals in the USA). Unfortunately, VA hospitals affiliated with lower rated Hospitals gain no advantage.

 

[Katzndogz]

Getting horribly disfigured by having his face burned off didn't slow JR Martinez down. Had he not had this horrible thing happen to him, he's be an auto mechanic in Riverside.