A medic with a heart of gold

Camp Nathan Smith's gate really is Forrest Gump's chocolate box.

No matter what amount of training we received, nothing has prepared us from the day-to-day surprises we will encounter through our 7-month endeavour.

This morning, our first unexpected scenario took place in the form of a 3 year-old Afghan boy with semi-infected 2nd degree burns located somewhere which prevents him to have a comfortable seat. Coming along was his 7 year-old brother who explained us, in broken English, that the boy had burned himself a few days ago by accidentally sitting in hot milk. The lack of medical services preventing him from receiving proper care, the older sibling took it upon himself to bring him to us, Canada's (heavily armed) humanitarian presence in the province.

The boys at the gate reacted quickly, amidst the mild chaos an unexpected scene always brings. Proper calls were made to the proper instances. Then, nothing, since a handover, being a transition between two organizations, curiously never takes advantage of a greater number of people on the ground. The PRT's medics being already busy with a slight diarrhea outbreak, one Master Corporal N. decided that a child's health was worth challenging established rules about military medical priorities. Packing on his humongous medic pack, he went to the front gate, adminstered proper care to the child, whom he sent home with a fresh butt and a candid smile.

Soldier on!