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38 www.army.mil/publications HE saw the improvised explo- sive device just before the explosion. Staff Sgt. Brian Shar, a team leader on a convoy moving between bases near Baghdad, saw what looked “like a giant cartoon rock, about 18 inches wide, 11 inches tall.” The explosion removed both of Shar’s legs above the knee, caused nerve damage in one arm and serious internal injures. Advances in battlefield medi- cine helped him survive, and 100 years of experience caring for wounded war- riors helps Walter Reed Army Medical Center provide Shar and other patients with the best health care and rehabilita- tion technologies available. WRAMC celebrates its 100th an- niversary this month. From its start as an 80-bed hospital, Walter Reed has grown to a 247-bed medical center with 60 outpatient clinics and 16 operating rooms. It is the only Depart- ment of Defense medical-treatment facility with a clinic dedicated solely to wounded warriors and their families. As one of the world’s premier military medical facilities, it combines patient care, teaching and research. For Sol- diers like Shar, that expertise means the chance to walk again. Shar arrived at Walter Reed Sept. 23, 2007, after being medically evacu- ated from Iraq via Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany. Wounds like his often require multiple surger- ies, as doctors remove debris, bacteria and dead flesh in a life-or-death battle against infection. Shar endured several of these “wash-outs” and was released from in-patient care after about one month. Soon after his initial release, he suf- fered a setback, when severe back pain led to a trip to the emergency room. He was informed by a staff member that his wheelchair was leaking. In fact, the pain came from fluid collecting in his back due to shrapnel wounds. The fluid was flowing out of a wound and dripping to the floor. He was rushed to surgery, where part of his colon was removed. “They could have given me a co- lostomy bag and let my body heal, but they didn’t,” Shar said. “They removed the damaged organ tissue and hand- sewed me back together for six hours.” Shar spent another month as an in-patient recovering from his in- testinal injuries, and was released in late November. His goal was to walk by Christmas. “They had me up and walking within three months of being injured, when I was only out of bed for one of those months. The treatment here is great.” Shar walks into the Walter Reed orthopedic clinic on prosthetics called C-Legs, fitted and fine-tuned. Daniel Carroll, a WRAMC-certified pros- theticist, rotates the threaded post of a three-legged stand that looks like a miniature swivel stool. The platform rises and Shar rests the stump of his right leg on the stand. They are in an examining room in Capt. Ingrid Pacowski, Staff Sgt. Brian Shar’s primary care physician, goes over his medication list in a Warrior Clinic examination room. D. Myles Cullen Walter Reed turns 100 years old 38 www.army.mil/publications Providing a century of warrior care: Story by Craig Coleman and Kristin Ellis Craig Coleman
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