WSLS News Staff
Published: March 26, 2008

A Virginia National Guardsman from Roanoke helps save Iraqi girl’s arm.

The Guard says Captain Jon Brillhart from Roanoke treated the girl for a severe burn in the field, and that helped prevent an infection that could have forced major surgery.

According to a news release from the Guard, back in November 2007 soldiers from the 2nd Squadron 183rd Cavalry based out of Portsmouth found a an Iraqi Bedouin family with a daughter named Fatma. The little girl had severe burns to her right arm and hand, from falling into the family’s cooking fire.

Captain Brillhart treated Fatma by removing dead skin (a process called debridement of the eschar). The process proved to be a long and painful.

Captain Brillhart says in the news release that Fatma never flinched, and that she is an extremely brave little girl.

Bedouins move around, so the Guard soldiers lost contact with Fatma and her family for several months. Captain Brillhart feared that he did not have enough time to give Fatma adequate treatment, and her arm would get infected and have to be cut off.

Then sometime in the middle of this month (March), the Bedouin family moved back into the area that the 2nd Squadron covers in Iraq. They made contact with Captain Brillhart’s squadron, and he re-examined Fatma. Captain Brillhart found her arm had completely healed, and showed only some signs of slight scarring.

Captain Brillhart said in the news release, “I am thankful for the opportunity to positively impact this little girl’s life and family, and I know the rest of the soldiers in the squadron feel the same as I do.”

The 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry has been patrolling the Southern Iraq and Northern Kuwait border since October of 2007. The Guard says the squadron is one of the few that operate on both sides of the border. About 500 soldiers make up the squadron. They’re expected to return later this Spring.