21 DEC 2007 Suicide Bombing

"It’s a little after midnight, and I’m spent. I’ve operated for about 18 hours today. We had a sudden rush of patients after a suicide bombing in a city near us. http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4032612 We received several injured US troops, and they had us busy in the OR for a while. I also helped put an IV in to a baby who had been shot in the head. How did it happen? All I was told was that it was an accident. There are no accidents. Another troop was treated for intentionally hurting himself. He said he only wounded himself because he couldn’t drum up the nerve to kill himself. He was waiting in line for the OR, surrounded by the other troops who had been wounded while patrolling. Later when he was tucked into the ward after surgery, the commander visited the other troops to give them their Purple Hearts. They all have a period of recovery ahead of them."
Made A Difference For That One: A Surgeon's Letters Home From Iraq