Word: salah
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...three were still bleeding copiously on arrival at about 8:15 a.m. Salah was unconscious, Abu Karam barely awake. But although they could not have known it, they were very, very lucky. Theirs was the first (and, it turned out, only) bombing of the day in Baghdad, and they were the only seriously injured victims. This meant they would get the undivided attention of the ER team. "On other days we have had 20, 30, even 50 people here," says Emad, "and in the confusion, patients can die from simple things, like blood loss...
Another stroke of luck: the hospital had just received a fresh supply of blood, which was vital for Salah, who had lost so much that he needed a transfusion. By the time the rest of the TIME Baghdad staff was alerted and arrived at the hospital, the ER workers had done what they do best: stopped the blood loss and patched up the wounds. The ancient X-ray machine revealed that Abu Karam and Salah had many pieces of shrapnel lodged in their bodies, but there were no serious internal wounds...
...absence of any other diagnostic equipment, however, the doctors had underestimated the seriousness of the injuries to Salah's left arm. "It looks superficial, and we have stopped the blood loss," said Emad. But he was unable to see that Salah had suffered two torn nerves, damaged tendons and, most dangerous of all, two torn arteries. The only blood flow to his arm was coming from collateral circulation, from minor blood vessels and capillaries in the skin. Left in that condition, the hand would have been irreparably damaged in two or three days...
...private clinic. The floors are cleaned more often than at Yarmouk, the air-conditioning works, and there are fewer flies. Harthiya also has more modern equipment. Working in more salubrious conditions, Dr. Raed Abbas, a private surgeon, was able to diagnose the full extent of the damage to Salah's arm. But the best he could do was repair one artery. It didn't look likely that the arm and hand would regain full function, he said, but it was all he could do. "Your friend," he said, "has already been luckier than anybody else in his position. At this...
...turned out, we had a few other options. With the help of a medical-evacuation agency, TIME airlifted Salah to Amman, Jordan, where he underwent extensive reconstructive hand surgery. Abu Karam was released from the hospital to convalesce at his home in Baghdad. Because of the lack of medicines and equipment at the ER, both men are still at risk for secondary infections. But they are in the care of their families and are expected to recover. They were the fortunate ones. Waleed, the university student, suffered brain trauma from the shrapnel to his head and remains at the Yarmouk...