thedrifter
07-25-08, 06:29 AM
Muscatine native doctors Iraqi civilians
By Aaron Rooks for the Muscatine Journal
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — His face was distraught with nothing but fear and shock as U.S. Marines and sailors lowered him to the floor of Camp Taqaddum Surgical. He found himself in a strange place around a number of people he could not understand.
Despite all the chaos, Navy Cmdr., and Muscatine native, Pamela Harvey, who was serving in Iraq as an emergency room physician, knew that this man’s life laid in her hands.
Her patient, an older Iraqi civilian, probably never imagined he would end up where he did Feb. 24, 2007. He had only recently left a religious service when a suicide truck bomb exploded near the mosque in Al Habbiniyah, Iraq, severely injuring a number of Iraqi civilians.
Harvey did not expect this to happen either. She did not anticipate having this man’s life placed into her hands that morning. Nonetheless, she was ready.
“The opportunity to actually save somebody’s life … there’s no feeling quite like it,” Harvey said. “We were able to help (that Iraqi civilian), and he was able to go back to his family and the people who needed him.
“I’m just grateful that I’ve been put in a position in my life to be able to do that for people,” she added.
These seemingly horrifying unknowns and joyous outcomes have always been a big part of Harvey’s career. But this is not that surprising when you consider that she was only 16 when faced with saving a young child’s life.
Harvey knew her life was about to change forever when she heard “the infamous screeching of the tires” outside of the then-Muscatine General Hospital emergency room, where she worked as a nursing assistant. She knew that nothing good was ever on the other end of the screeching tires, and this case was no different.
“A man came running in the door with a 4-year-old boy that was dripping wet and limp in his arms,” she said. “He handed him to me in sheer panic and said ‘I found my son in the swimming pool.’ He had nothing other than terror on his face, and he just handed him to me in my arms.
“That little boy lived.” she said. “It was a young point in my life to get handed a child, who was at that point near gone. I think I knew from that point forward that I would be OK with whatever I chose to do in the healthcare field.”
And she was. Harvey continued on to achieve her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Iowa. She then became a U.S. Navy Nurse Corps Reserve Officer, and later achieved her master’s in healthcare administration and her doctorate in medicine, both from Des Moines University in Iowa.
Harvey’s former biochemistry and microbiology professor, Dr. Tom Mueller, who currently serves as the associate dean of admissions and student affairs at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine, remembers Harvey as a vibrant and enthusiastic student. Having been her professor for three consecutive years, he said her future always looked bright.
The medical officer of the Marine Corps, Navy Rear Adm. William Roberts, said Harvey is a prime example of the high-quality medical professionals the Marine Corps and the Navy seek.
“Cmdr. Harvey is a ‘poster officer’ in terms of commitment, military experience, trustworthiness and clinical competence,” Roberts said.
Harvey says she plans to someday return to Muscatine to continue her medical practice and help those around her.
“I know that my time in the military will have been, in all likelihood, the most personally and professionally rewarding years of my life,” Harvey said. “My experiences with the Marine Corps, both here in garrison and deployed, can’t compare to anything in the civilian world. You can’t replicate that experience.”
Cpl. Aaron Rooks is in the 2nd Marine Logistics Group at the Marine Corps Base at Camp LeJeune, N.C. Reach him by e-mail at william.a.rooks@usmc.mil.
Ellie
By Aaron Rooks for the Muscatine Journal
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — His face was distraught with nothing but fear and shock as U.S. Marines and sailors lowered him to the floor of Camp Taqaddum Surgical. He found himself in a strange place around a number of people he could not understand.
Despite all the chaos, Navy Cmdr., and Muscatine native, Pamela Harvey, who was serving in Iraq as an emergency room physician, knew that this man’s life laid in her hands.
Her patient, an older Iraqi civilian, probably never imagined he would end up where he did Feb. 24, 2007. He had only recently left a religious service when a suicide truck bomb exploded near the mosque in Al Habbiniyah, Iraq, severely injuring a number of Iraqi civilians.
Harvey did not expect this to happen either. She did not anticipate having this man’s life placed into her hands that morning. Nonetheless, she was ready.
“The opportunity to actually save somebody’s life … there’s no feeling quite like it,” Harvey said. “We were able to help (that Iraqi civilian), and he was able to go back to his family and the people who needed him.
“I’m just grateful that I’ve been put in a position in my life to be able to do that for people,” she added.
These seemingly horrifying unknowns and joyous outcomes have always been a big part of Harvey’s career. But this is not that surprising when you consider that she was only 16 when faced with saving a young child’s life.
Harvey knew her life was about to change forever when she heard “the infamous screeching of the tires” outside of the then-Muscatine General Hospital emergency room, where she worked as a nursing assistant. She knew that nothing good was ever on the other end of the screeching tires, and this case was no different.
“A man came running in the door with a 4-year-old boy that was dripping wet and limp in his arms,” she said. “He handed him to me in sheer panic and said ‘I found my son in the swimming pool.’ He had nothing other than terror on his face, and he just handed him to me in my arms.
“That little boy lived.” she said. “It was a young point in my life to get handed a child, who was at that point near gone. I think I knew from that point forward that I would be OK with whatever I chose to do in the healthcare field.”
And she was. Harvey continued on to achieve her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Iowa. She then became a U.S. Navy Nurse Corps Reserve Officer, and later achieved her master’s in healthcare administration and her doctorate in medicine, both from Des Moines University in Iowa.
Harvey’s former biochemistry and microbiology professor, Dr. Tom Mueller, who currently serves as the associate dean of admissions and student affairs at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine, remembers Harvey as a vibrant and enthusiastic student. Having been her professor for three consecutive years, he said her future always looked bright.
The medical officer of the Marine Corps, Navy Rear Adm. William Roberts, said Harvey is a prime example of the high-quality medical professionals the Marine Corps and the Navy seek.
“Cmdr. Harvey is a ‘poster officer’ in terms of commitment, military experience, trustworthiness and clinical competence,” Roberts said.
Harvey says she plans to someday return to Muscatine to continue her medical practice and help those around her.
“I know that my time in the military will have been, in all likelihood, the most personally and professionally rewarding years of my life,” Harvey said. “My experiences with the Marine Corps, both here in garrison and deployed, can’t compare to anything in the civilian world. You can’t replicate that experience.”
Cpl. Aaron Rooks is in the 2nd Marine Logistics Group at the Marine Corps Base at Camp LeJeune, N.C. Reach him by e-mail at william.a.rooks@usmc.mil.
Ellie