Therapists help Iraqi patients gain independence

Published July 30, 2008
By Staff Sgt. Don Branum
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFPN) -- An Iraqi man whose leg was shattered two months ago can walk again thanks in part to a team of physical and occupational therapists at Joint Base Balad's Air Force Theater Hospital.

Moqdad lay on a raised bed in the middle of the occupational therapy and physical therapy clinic July 22. Nearby, a pair of crutches leaned against a wall, waiting for the Iraqi Marketplace employee to use them for the first time since leaving the hospital. He smiled and chatted with medical technicians as they wove bandages around the pins of a large metal brace known as an external fixator attached to his right ankle.

The physical therapists first saw Moqdad as an inpatient here, said Lt. Col. Lisa Smith, element chief of occupational and physical therapy for the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron here.

"We started therapy with him, trying to get him to walk again," said Colonel Smith, who is deployed from Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. "That was the big challenge for us."

Moqdad was accidentally shot in the lower leg, splintering both his tibia and fibula, said Emad, an Iraqi translator and the eldest of Moqdad's six brothers. Air Force surgeons repaired what damage they could and attached the fixator to Moqdad's limb to help the bones heal properly. Then, they released him.

When the hospital discharges a patient, staff members determine what follow-up treatment the patient may need, Colonel Smith said. In Moqdad's case, the follow ups included regular visits to physical therapy.

The OT/PT clinic sees about 300 inpatients per month, nearly 90 percent of whom are Iraqi patients like Moqdad, Colonel Smith said. Physical therapists focus on treatment of spinal and extremity movement dysfunctions, while occupational therapists work primarily with patients' hands.

Colonel Smith's staff works closely with the orthopedic clinic, which installed Moqdad's fixator, so the orthopedic doctors can focus primarily on surgeries.

"Because this is a trauma hospital, we see a lot of patients who would ordinarily go straight to the orthopedic clinic," Colonel Smith said. The OT/PT clinic assumes many of the duties of an orthopedic clinic stateside, including screening patients and treating injuries that don't require surgery.

While patients at a hospital in the United States get continuing treatment and advice on how to modify their environment to accommodate their disabilities, patients here don't have that luxury, said Maj. James Ronyak, an occupational therapist deployed from the 88th Surgical Operations Squadron at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

"We don't see our patients on an extended basis like we would back in the United States," Major Ronyak said, "but as much as we can, we try to help them get back to full function."

The therapists do as much as they can while their patients are in the clinic. The physical therapy team pulled a set of horizontal bars next to the bed's edge for Moqdad and helped him stand on his uninjured left foot. As he hopped gingerly along the bars, Airmen eased him onto the waiting set of crutches.

Moqdad carefully navigated the room, with Colonel Smith following close behind to make sure he didn't fall backward. Finally, he made it back to his bed and lay down as Airmen took the crutches and examined his injured leg.

Once Moqdad leaves the clinic, however, his continued rehabilitation is up to him.

"Continuity of care is important," said Tech. Sgt. Dan Wilson, a physical medicine technician deployed here from the 75th Medical Operations Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah. "We can't go out to the community, so we have to make sure we're giving him the resources to take care of himself."

"We give them whatever they need when they leave the hospital, including illustrated exercises, translated into Arabic," Colonel Smith said. "We go over the exercises ad nauseam with the translators and patients and tell them how important it is to do it."

Most Iraqi patients are grateful for the treatment they receive from Air Force therapists, Colonel Smith said. Moqdad was no exception, as he frequently thanked the medical team in Arabic during his therapy.

Moqdad's family also appreciated the hospital's medical care, Emad said.

"They're the best," Emad said. "Moqdad's very lucky. This is the best hospital in Iraq."

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