Be Nice to Everyone
Last week we were alerted of an attack to a base near ours, and of the 13 wounded that would probably be coming in serious conditions. Realizing the acuity of the situation, a walking blood drive was activated, where we ask soldiers to donate blood to transfuse to those in surgery as the surgeons called for it. I stood into the ICU, which doubles as the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) overflow area, when a Lieutenant asked me to come and assist with the blood drive. Having done this several times already, I felt comfortable drawing blood from anyone. So I gathered my equipment and approached one of the soldiers that was ready. I introduced myself, and asked how I should address the Soldier: "Is it Sir, Sergeant....?" He replied matter-of-factly with "General". Even though I knew I had never met him, I knew he was the only Brigadier General on the FOB, so I felt more than a little sheepish. But life goes on, so I asked him to have a seat, and we continued on as I would with any other patient. We had a pleasant chat about his duties, unit, and even found out that he was going to meet his wife in Oahu for mid-tour R&R, just as I had done. As we concluded the blood collection, the Lieutenant asked me to show a lower enlisted Soldier the process, techniques, etc. So as the General sat holding his arm, I showed the Soldier how to clamp the bag, collect samples for testing, and document it correctly. As the General was preparing to leave with some of his staff that accompanied him, we got a picture, and then I went back to work.
The moral of the story: Be nice, because everyone is special, plus they just might be a General!
1 comment:
That's pretty cool. Glad there was a happy ending. :) That could have gone bad.
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