'USNS Mercy' continues helping tsunami victims

'USNS Mercy' continues helping tsunami victims

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post

The eyes of Moh. Iqbal, 12, sparkled as he spoke to his uncle
Zulkifli sitting next to him in one of the intensive care units
(ICU) aboard the USNS Mercy.

The U.S. Navy hospital ship has been specially deployed in
Aceh for the past three weeks to help treat tsunami victims.

"We have been here for 12 days, and he is much better now. We
are very thankful for that. I thought there was nothing that
could save Iqbal as other hospitals in Banda Aceh and Medan had
given up," said Zulkifli.

Iqbal was swept away by the tidal wave along with other family
members. He swallowed a lot of mud and dirty water, but he
managed to survive.

For Iqbal, Zulkifli is the only relative he has left, with his
father, mother, and brothers all perishing in the tragedy.

The hospital ship has been anchored several kilometers off the
western Aceh coast since Feb. 1.

One of the Mercy's press officers, Lt. Bashon Mann, said that
around 68 patients with various ailments, including broken bones,
lung problems, and burns, had been treated aboard the hospital
ship since Feb.5 while thousands of others have been treated on
land by the ship's medical crew in several areas of Aceh.

"We are currently treating 37 patients aboard the ship after
we sent home other patients. Not all of them are tsunami victims
because we have also received (general) patients from Aceh and
North Sumatra during this emergency phase. You see, people in
Aceh can't go to the hospitals in their areas because all them
were swept away by the tsunami," he said.

Bashon, however, explained that not everyone could be treated
aboard the ship as they need to be recommended by a doctor in
Aceh or North Sumatra.

Commanding Officer of the USNS Mercy Captain David M.
Llewellyn said that their medical officers often didn't
understand what the patients wanted, and they needed the services
of several interpreters. "However, when we touch them they can
feel our hearts, and know our sincerity in helping them," said
Llewellyn.

A volunteer doctor from the Hope project, an international
non-governmental organization committed to helping people after
disasters, David M. Systrom, said that the presence of the ship
in Aceh waters had been helpful.

Much equipment and expertise aboard the ship cannot be found
in other hospitals on the ground, including a CAT scanner, which
was very helpful in treating cases of head trauma and lung
injuries, said Systrom.

Converted from a supertanker in 1986, Mercy is one of the
largest floating hospitals in the world. Its primary mission is
to provide a surgical medical facility for the U.S military that
is flexible, capable and uniquely adaptable to support
expeditionary warfare. Mercy's secondary mission is to provide
full hospital services to support U.S. disaster relief and
humanitarian operations worldwide.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
Winkenwerder said that the ship would stay at least another
month.