The injuries that nurse Josh Adams sees in the emergency room at Lawrence Memorial Hospital are a far cry from those he recently spent a year treating in Afghanistan.
At LMH he more often deals with cuts and bruises - not gunshot wounds and missing limbs.
"It's the most heavily littered land mine area in the world," Adams said of the war-torn mountain nation. "People are stepping on land mines all of the time - not the U.S. men but Afghanis. I'd say 80 percent of our patients were Afghans."
An Army reservist, Adams was called to duty in December 2003. After training, he was sent to a former Soviet air base at Bagram, 45 miles north of the capital, Kabul.
"We arrived in the middle of the night, and you can't see a thing," Adams said. "We're 5,000 feet up and its freezing :. They say 'follow me' and you don't know how far you're going to go."
Lawrence Memorial Hospital nurse Josh Adams, 26, of Lawrence, administers a shot to Lisa Krische, 20, of Lawrence, during his Thursday afternoon rounds at the hospital. Adams recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan.
The region around the air base was littered with land mines left behind by the Soviets, Adams said, and the land remains dangerous.
"Kids would have third-degree burns, limbs blown off. It makes you wonder if and when we leave what's gonna happen to them," Adams said.
There was no wheelchair accessibility or a civilian medical system for caring for the injured, Adams said. Afghanis live a difficult life - no running water, no electricity. He said the Afghans he dealt with were hardworking, humble, helpful people who were finally finding some peace.
" I think, given the opportunity, they're gonna have a good chance to turn their country around," Adams said.
But he also said he's only been back since late April, and he's not yet removed enough from the experience to assess it.
"I don't have a complete picture. Maybe when the war's over I'll think about it," he said.
Sgt. Josh Adams, of Lawrence, rides in a helicopter while in Afghanistan.
Working in a war-torn country gave Adams a different perspective on his job as an licensed practical nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
"When someone was hurt over there, they were really hurt. You can't fake those injuries. In America, people come into the ER with a scrape, and I think that's not a real injury. I never take it out on my patients. Sometimes when I go home and think about the day, I think that scrape wasn't that bad. But that's the great thing about America. We can see doctors quickly about anything, and I hope that exists in other places."
Adams is studying to be a registered nurse. He said he loves being a nurse and being a part of the military even if that means he could be called back to duty at a moment's notice.
"No one prays for peace like a soldier," he said.
Comments
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mssking1 (anonymous) says…
and you were speaking to who??? certainly not Mr. Adams.......get a life and a heart--the man just got back from a war zone, putting his life in danger for his whole country--even stupid people like you
craigers (anonymous) says…
I am glad there are soldiers like him in Iraq. Way to go Sgt. Adams, we all applaud you.
kshaff03 (anonymous) says…
The world is a better place because of Mr. Adams. It is because of people like Mr. Adams that you can make such blind-sighted rediculus comments.
mssking1 (anonymous) says…
doomcity, if we are so bad why are you here---go back where life is sweet and the earth untouched by humanity
Hong_Kong_Phooey (anonymous) says…
kpippen: Doom obviously doesn't have the ability to spell correctly either.
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
missmagoo (anonymous) says…
doom you don't even deserve that freedom that people like mr. adams fight to give you
princess (anonymous) says…
out yourself doomcity if you are such a big man. you have been on here for less than and week and already no one wants you here. troll.
trolls only want to be talked to. ignore him and he will go away.
either that or his talk of blowing things up will attract the attention of the admin who will turn over his IP to the proper authorities and we'll all get to make fun of his "perp walk" photo when it is printed in the ljw.
craigers (anonymous) says…
And Doom was no more.
craigers (anonymous) says…
Not on this webpage. They merely censored what doom was saying and they pretty much decided that nothing he said was of value.
princess (anonymous) says…
You are naive italiancrew.
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
Dear sgt. Adams, I am writing in hopes you are still reading this. thank you! you went where I could not, you faced dangers which I could not! courage is not the absence of fear but going ahead and doing the right thing despite fear and fearful circumstances. if I see you at LMH, I would only wish to shake your hand. I sincerely hope that you are relaxing and decompressing. eat a good steak, examine pretty flowers, or whatever. thank you for being my american hand of caring to the Afghanis!
punkrockmom (Nikki May) says…
Hey, that's the nurse that helped us when my daughter had stitches. Gosh, I love how small Lawrence is sometimes. Anyway, this guy was great with my daughter and I keep telling people about Nurse Josh. I found this article so interesting.
goarmy (anonymous) says…
You're my one and only, and I'm so proud of you, and thankful for everything you've done. I love you, really really. :-)