War veterans care for peacetime victims

  • Published
  • By Maj. Ann Peru Knabe
  • 440th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Within 48 hours of Hurricane Katrina slamming the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, Capt. Frances Robertson was ready to go save lives.

She reported for duty at 6 a.m., realizing the gravity of the situation, and promptly called her mother and asked her to watch her children, warning her it might be several days before she came home.

During the next two days, Captain Robertson flew several aeromedical evacuation missions out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, La., rescuing critically ill patients who clung to life as conditions at the airport deteriorated rapidly.

Assigned to the 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron here, Captain Robertson is just one of hundreds of Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard Airmen who jumped at the opportunity to serve their country by saving hurricane victims.

"These are amazing Citizen Airmen," said Col. Delbert Lewis, 433rd Operations Group commander, referring to the 433rd AES. "Ninety-eight percent of these volunteers were activated for Iraq or Afghanistan, and here they are volunteering again."

On her first flight in, Captain Robertson took a "shopping order" from medics on the ground at the airport. The list included fresh water, intravenous fluids, litters and narcotics. A short time later, the C-130 Hercules took off from New Orleans with 44 acute care patients stacked five litters high.

It was difficult to diagnose many of the patients.

"Because people were responding with great urgency in a crisis situation, most of the patients lacked accurate medical documentation," Captain Robertson said. "We tried to create some facsimile of a manifest and diagnosed needs on the spot as best we could."

Acute-care patients included quadriplegics, people with organ transplants, those suffering from respiratory failure and patients on kidney dialysis. They ranged from small children to the elderly.

Because of the tight space on the aircraft, the aeromedical team needed to remain flexible and agile. When one patient's oxygen level plummeted to 79 percent -- ideally it should be close to 100 percent -- Captain Robertson deftly climbed on top of the litters to retrieve an oxygen mask. Weighing less than 100 pounds, the reservist earned the nickname "Spider Woman."

A young boy with cerebral palsy was terrified when the plane engines started. Captain Robertson tried everything to calm the boy, fearing he would hurt himself by sitting up and hitting his head on the litter above him. When all else failed, she took an unconventional approach and asked the boy's mother if she would hold him instead of having him lie on the litter. Miraculously, the child settled down on his mother's lap and was peaceful throughout the rest of the flight.

Later, as patients deplaned, Captain Robertson talked to her key contacts at the base.

"Amazingly, all the bureaucratic red tape was removed from the process, and I walked out with everything on the wish list for New Orleans," said the nurse. "People came together, and we were able to deliver critical supplies to the airport on our next flight in."

Other medics report stories of heroes and hope on every flight.

"Certain things touched my heart," said Capt. Jennifer Clar, a nurse with the 146th Airlift Wing based in Channel Islands, Calif., who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Normally I am always composed and professional, but for some reason I was completely touched by an old man who clung to his little dog. It just hit me; this is all he has left -- only his dog. The man had lost everything else in life. I had never cried before on a mission,” Captain Clar said.

On another flight, a patient with a mental illness screamed in fear at every little noise and bump. Medication did not help, and she started to scare other passengers with her fearful shrieking. When all else failed, Tech. Sgt. Raymond Caldwell, a medical technician with the 146th AW, laid next to her on the floor of the C-130 and held her hand the rest of the flight. His compassion had a ripple effect, and as the woman's screams silenced, the rest of the passengers sighed in relief.

Captain Robertson said there was the heart of a hero in every mission.

"We were dealing with people who have lost everything, but we had professional medical crews that cared more than anything," she said. "This is the face of the Reserve, and this is the face of the total force." (Courtesy of AFRC News Service)