Soldier helps save Iraqi girl's arm

Medical care provided by a Virginia Army National Guard Soldier in Iraq was a major factor in a preventing an infection that could have cost a young girl her arm.

Capt. Jon Brillhart, a physician's assistant assigned to the Virginia National Guard's Portsmouth-based 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry, treated an Iraqi Bedouin girl's injuries in late 2007. In mid-March, he was able to evaluate her injuries and determine she had recovered from the burn injury to her arm.

In November, Soldiers from the squadron discovered an Iraqi Bedouin family with a daughter, Fatma, with severe burns to her right arm and hand. From what the Soldiers could learn, the child had fallen into the family's cooking fire and caught herself with her right arm.

The Soldiers contacted Brillhart, a native of Roanoke, who came to Fatma's location to make an assessment. He determined, without immediate treatment, the child's arm would become infected and have to be removed. Brillhart's treatment consisted of debridement of the eschar, or removal of dead skin, a tedious and extremely painful process.

"Fatma never flinched," Brillhart said. "She is an extremely brave little girl."

Unfortunately, the family moved on and the unit lost contact with Fatma and her family. For several months, the unit had no clue as to what the end result was for her arm. Brillhart said he was afraid he had not had time to provide adequate treatment and Fatma's arm would ultimately get infected and have to be removed.
Recently, Fatma's family moved back into the unit's area of operation in Iraq and made contact with members of the squadron. Brillhart inspected her injuries and, except for some slight scaring, no evidence of the burn injury could be observed.

"I am thankful for the opportunity to positively impact this little girl's life and family. I know the rest of the Soldiers in the squadron feel the same as I do," Brillhart said.

The Virginia Army National Guard's 2nd Sqdn., 183rd Cav. arrived in Kuwait in early October with the mission of acting as a security force in their area of operations. The squadron is one of a very few units that operate daily on both sides of the border in northern Kuwait and southern Iraq.

As part of its security force mission, the squadron provides an area response force, a quick reaction rorce for coalition base camps, conducts convoy vehicle searches and route security and reconnaissance in southern Iraq to prevent interdiction of convoy routes. Approximately 500 Soldiers are assigned to the squadron, with most coming from Virginia's Tidewater region. The unit is expected to return in late spring.