4 FW Airman provides medical care to Afghanis

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joshua Jasper
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Children line the streets during the short ride to the village. Adults with noticeable disabilities and young children who may have never have had professional medical assistance look curiously at the visitors. Despite this lack of professional medical care, one of those visitors has been making a positive difference for local villagers.

Tech. Sgt. Joy Flumerfelt, a medical technician, is deployed here from the 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and is currently working with the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.

Although her main concern is the care of deployed servicemembers, she also provides medical support to local communities. Since arriving a little more than a month ago, she has treated nearly 100 villagers.

"We function as providers, so we can practice medicine to a greater degree than medics can," Sergeant Flumerfelt said.

Thanks to this capability, she has the opportunity to regularly help provide medical assistance to local communities.

"Since I started, the villagers seem to be a lot more receptive to medical care and are supportive of Americans in general," Sergeant Flumerfelt said.

The conditions she treats have ranged from a simple rash to broken bones and tumors, as on a recent trip to a nearby village.

"I examined an old man who had a massive tumor across his brow," the sergeant said. "The tumor was open and had taken his sight on one side. It was hard to imagine how painful it must have been for this man, who had been plagued with this illness for three years. I have been talking with the plastic surgeon on base to see if we can get him the medical assistance that he needs."

Sergeant Flumerfelt said the villagers are very appreciative of what she does for them. So much that she hasn't seen one villager yet who hasn't thanked her for the assistance that she has provided.

"I am amazed at how simple a life that these people live," Sergeant Flumerfelt said. "It makes me realize how easy it can be to take the medical care that we receive back home for granted. I am happy to give these people the assistance that they need, and I look forward to helping many more before I go home."