DavesDigest

The brave soldiers that fight our wars not only engage in a battle that can impact their lives, but the lives of others, especially their family members.  After reading sections from Testament of Youth it is clear that there are many wounds in war.  Wounds may be physical and emotional.  Wounds will impact others, especially those that are close.  Wounds affect the nurses who care for the wounded.  Wounds affect the children, who can don’t realize why their daddy is plugged in to machines with tubes and big white band aids wrapped around his arms and legs.  The care takers of our soldiers see all of this first hand and have an ability like no other to have an impact on the lives of many. 

Nurses, whether in the field of battle or in the hospital, are there to treat the wounded first before family members can see the injured.  Just like in WWI with nurses such as Vera Brittain, nurses today are healing the wounded soldiers from Iraq.  Healing the wounded must be difficult.  I can’t imagine seeing some of the stuff that nurses see.  The blood, the pain, and the cries are not something that everyday people see in their jobs. 

As Britain wrote, “Many of the patients can’t bear to see their own wounds, and I don’t wonder.” 

Caring for the wounds must take someone special, someone strong, and someone brave like the soldiers who they care for. 

After reading a post from a RN Clara Hart titled The Faces I realized the impact of nurses and how they’re heroes too.  Hart describes caring for a wounded soldier in the ICU.  She was immediately touched when she was introduced to the children.

She wrote, “As we talked I looked at the children. I could see the fear and uncertainty crowding their small faces. I asked if I could bring in a DVD player so they could watch movies. Eyes filling once again with tears, Sarah (the mother)  thanked me, telling me over and over how much she appreciated the help. 

Caring for wounds is just a job for some, but for others it’s a passion. Caring for the loved ones closest is just as important.  I think nurses are a gift from God called “Angles.” 

The Faces by Clara Hart

The Sandbox

1/28/08

I chose to add the news feeds of BBC World News and Common Dreams because of my interest in reading articles from different perspectives.  These news feeds also look at political issues in a more general sense versus taking a political side.

For my military blog I chose to subscribe to The Sandbox.  This blog is very popular so there are continuous posts by soldiers and there accounts of the war in Iraq in addition to their personal perspectives of war.   Next, I chose a U.S. Air Force Podcast because I of my interest in the Air Force.  Also, I have a friend that is serving in the Air Force so I thought it was appropriate to add the feed to my google reader.  

In addition, I chose to add a feed about American Forgein Policy because it is relevant to another class in the history of warfare theme.  Lastly, I added a feed that concerning the race for the upcoming 2008 Presidential elecections because of my interest in learning more about the canidates and their positions on certain topics as well as the status of the race.