DOCTOR BACK IN ARMY AT 48.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
``We live in extraordinary times under extraordinary circumstances. Our soldiers are risking their lives daily. The Army has asked doctors who can wear a uniform to step forward at this great time of need. I have seen the need, and I am stepping forward.'' - Dr. Robert Hale You look at the pictures from his year with the Army Reserves in Afghanistan, digging bullets and shrapnel shrapnel Originally, a type of projectile invented by the British artillery officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), containing small spherical bullets and an explosive charge to scatter the shot and fragments of the shell casing. out of shattered shat·ter v. shat·tered, shat·ter·ing, shat·ters v.tr. 1. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. 2. a. young faces before reconstructing them, and you know why Dr. Robert Hale will never be the same again. Why he hasn't been able to leave the images of those faces behind after returning last September to his comfortable life in Woodland Hills, where he has a successful oral surgery practice and is president of the 1,300-member San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Dental Society. Why he's giving it all up at age 48 - leaving behind his wife and their two sons - to join the U.S. Army. The pictures tell the story. Heartbreaking heart·break·ing adj. 1. Causing overwhelming grief or distress. 2. Producing a strong emotional reaction: heartbreaking loveliness. , graphic photos of wounded young soldiers and Afghan children. When you've lived with them, cried with them, worked in a MASH M ° A ° S ° H bitter farce on bungling bureaucracy in a Korean Army hospital. [Am. Cinema and TV: Halliwell, 474–475] See : Bureaucracy M°A°S°H unit to reconstruct their faces, how do you come back to a life of pulling wisdom teeth and implanting dental work? You don't. At least, this remarkable doctor can't. Being in the Army Reserves, where he was decorated with two bronze stars Bronze Star n. A U.S. military decoration awarded either for heroism or for meritorious achievement in ground combat. Noun 1. , wasn't enough. Next month, Hale will report for duty as a lieutenant colonel at Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. , Tex. He will teach other oral surgeons Oral surgeon A dentist who specializes in surgical procedures of the mouth, including extractions. Mentioned in: Tooth Extraction what to expect, how to improvise im·pro·vise v. im·pro·vised, im·pro·vis·ing, im·pro·vis·es v.tr. 1. To invent, compose, or perform with little or no preparation. 2. . How to use their traditional training to repair conditions they can't yet imagine. Then he'll wait his turn in the rotation for deployment to Iraq, where he plans to finish the job he started in Afghanistan. ``He's a remarkable man,'' said Army Maj. Michael Crandell, commander of the Army's Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Health Care recruiting team. Crandell signed up Hale in the reserves after 9-11 and handled the paperwork for his transition into the regular Army. Hale had left the reserves at age 40 after having served 17 years. ``Our troops deserve the best health care possible, and people like Dr. Hale are the best. To give up a successful private practice for his country is a huge sacrifice.'' There really wasn't much choice, Hale says. Not when you go to bed every night knowing there is a soldier or child in the Middle East who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and desperately needs the gift you possessed to reconstruct their faces. ``Your life changes forever,'' he said Monday from the Woodland Hills office of Dr. James Jensvold, who is sharing office space so Hale can see his few remaining private patients before heading off to the Army next month. ``In private practice, everything is about the money,'' Hale said. ``In the Army, it's everything but the money.'' His wife, Sue Ellen, says she and their two sons, Tyler, 12, and Austin, 10, fully support his decision even though it means the family's income will drop by about two-thirds and Hale will be in a dangerous part of the world. ``The boys know Dad's doing something very important for his country. We knew Afghanistan was a life-changing event for him, and that whatever happened after he came home had a reason beyond our control. ``It's why some doctors go into medicine. Not for the money. It's truly a calling. Bob has that calling for his country.'' The Hales have sold their Woodland Hills home, and are staying with Bob's parents who live nearby. Sue Ellen and the boys will follow Bob to San Antonio in July. ``Bob's the kind of guy that if you walked into his office with a serious problem and had no money, he'd help you,'' said Jackie Bell Jackie Bell (born October 17, 1939 in Evenwood, County Durham) is an English former football player. He played as a wing-back for Newcastle United between the years of 1956 and 1962, making 117 appearances and scoring 8 goals. , executive director of the San Fernando Valley Dental Society. ``He's all heart. He gave up the golden egg of dental practices Noun 1. dental practice - the practice of dentistry practice - the exercise of a profession; "the practice of the law"; "I took over his practice when he retired" when he went to Afghanistan. It was huge.'' But it all means nothing now, Hale said. He found there are more important things than a successful practice. He learned that those first few weeks looking around the 325th Army Field Hospital - a former Soviet air base just outside Kabul. There were 25,000 special-forces troops, United Nations workers, Afghan soldiers and other coalition forces stationed in the area. Hale was the only oral surgeon. He saw 15,000 patients in three months. He looks at pictures of some of the most seriously injured - pictures too horrible to describe with words. ``The insurgents Insurgents, in U.S. history, the Republican Senators and Representatives who in 1909–10 rose against the Republican standpatters controlling Congress, to oppose the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the dictatorial power of House speaker Joseph G. Cannon. wrapped the shrapnel in concrete for maximum damage,'' he said, looking at a picture of his hand operating on the war-damaged face of a 10-year-old. The next picture is of the boy's father, flown in by U.S. helicopter to be with his son. The look on the man's face breaks your heart. ``It took a couple of weeks after I got there to become numb numb (num) anesthetic (1). numb adj. 1. Being unable or only partially able to feel sensation or pain; deadened or anesthetized. 2. ,'' Hale said. ``You're so busy, rebuilding hundreds of faces.'' The only time he openly cried with his fellow doctors was the day last August a helicopter landed with his replacement, a female doctor. ``I shook her hand, and began telling her about all the patients waiting for her. I must have had a pretty sad look on my face because she told me to get on that plane and go home.'' And that's what Robert Hale did. Came home and felt lost. ``I was home, but my mind was still there,'' he said. You look at the pictures and you know why. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Dr. Robert Hale, president of the 1,300-member San Fernando Valley Dental Society, is serving in the Army with the support of his wife, Sue Ellen, and sons Tyler, 12, right, and Austin, 10. (2) Dr. Robert Hale served for a year in the Army Reserves in Afghanistan, helping reconstruct faces damaged by warfare. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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