Richland Doctor Operates on Civilians, Trains Afghan Surgeons

YouNews™

Story Published: Feb 21, 2008 at 7:13 PM PST

By Rudabeh Shahbazi

Video

Ask people living through war on their home turf, and they'll tell you civilians are the most vulnerable and overlooked population.

The people of Afghanistan are among the poorest in the world. Entire generations have never known peace, after more than 30 years of war and invasion in their country.

One Richland man is crossing oceans, putting himself on the front lines in a fight for life.

“I think civilians are the majority of the injured in a war,” said Dr. Lewis Zirkle, Jr. an orthopedic surgeon who founded the organization SIGN. He's traveled to dozens of countries, training surgeons and operating on people caught in the crossfire.

“The civilians are the ones who are caught between the two forces. They really have no stake in the war," said Zirkle. "They don't have an advocate. They're often hurt when others around them may have been the target, and they have no one around to take care of them when they're hurt.”

Despite all his travels, Zirkle says Afghanistan was a whole new experience because of the extreme conditions

“It was a real emotional trip for us because we saw what the people had to endure,” he said. “The poverty there was the worst we've seen in terms of physical and emotional poverty.”

SIGN's CEO, Jeane Dillner, goes with Dr. Zirkle on many of his trips, and was with him in Afghanistan.

“They really appreciated that we would come so far,” she said. “It showed that Americans have compassion for them and they could tell we were sincere about helping.”

Dr. Zirkle could take his life in many directions-- but none would be as fulfilling to him as the work he does now. In fact, he's phasing out his private practice is the Tri-Cities so he can spend even more time abroad.

So far, he's never diverted a trip because of the danger, even to the battlefields of Iraq.

“The fact that we are able and have the ability and capacity to help people is thanks enough,” said Zirkle.

Current Weather

Current Temp 45 °F

Fair

Video

More Weather

Current Weather

More Weather

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.