Only few minutes separates the Shehid Lêgerin hospital from the front line in Tel Tamir, the hospital which more than 100 medical staff works in. They are distributed on shifts throughout the week and throughout the day: surgeons, technicians, nurses, paramedics and drivers working to bring casualties from the front line to the hospital, and from the hospital to other cities if needed.

 

The proximity of Lêgerîn hospital to the front and the dedication of the crew has been critical in saving hundreds of lives.

 

Last night we received a 32-year-old wounded man with large shrapnel (10 cm, 12 cm) in his abdomen .

Paramedics were able to reach him and stop the bleeding, bringing him to the hospital in less than 20 minutes. The surgical team received him in the operating theater, where the fragment was removed with difficulty. During the surgery all the blood bags that matched the blood type of the injured were used and we ran out of blood at the end, so the team leader who is also co-director of the Kurdish Red Crescent donated her blood as it was matching the blood type of the injured.

 

Many organs of our patient were damaged: blood vessels , intestines, blood and kidneys, but at the end his life was saved.

 

Certainly if the hospital was several kilometers away or if there was a shortage of the blood, the injured person would have lost his life due to bleeding.

 

Not only this patient but dozens of serious cases such as this are arriving to Lêgerin hospital, and are rescued with the same dedication and skill.

 

Finally we would like to mention that this hospital was built with the help of our friends in Italy to support the people of Tal Tamir after the Islamic State blew up the only hospital there several years ago. And we named the hospital after our dear colleague, Argentine doctor Lêgerin (Elena Sanchez), who was always together with us and always present at the right time and place.

 

Thank you Lêgerin