Winged Scalpel

Description

In this fast-paced narrative, ex-SAS surgeon Richard Villar provides ‘a very personal insight into the difficulties, dangers and occasional virtual impossibility of providing medical aid to disaster areas and war zones. He shares his remarkable experiences in the aftermath of three major earthquakes – Kashmir (2005), Java (2006) and Haiti (2010) – as well as in the Libyan civil war (2011). Readers are given a no-holds-barred introduction to a world which the vast majority will have only scant knowledge of. The author describes what happens on the ground before a full aid program swings into action. Arriving in a stricken area with the infrastructure destroyed, his small dedicated team can take nothing for granted; water, power, shelter and the rule of law are likely to be non-existent and disease and shortages of food and water ever present. They meet challenges that the rest of us can only imagine and are under intense pressure to help, comfort and sustain overwhelming numbers of trauma struck men, women and children whose worlds have been turned upside down. Winged Scalpel is not only a riveting read but highly instructional and informative. From his own point of view, the author’s experiences prove that ‘you can take a man out of the SAS, but you cannot take the SAS out of the man’ Content: Dedication Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Chapter 1 -- Nightmare KASHMIR 2005 Chapter 2 -- Shame and Upheaval Chapter 3 -- Seat 28A Chapter 4 -- I See Helicopters Chapter 5 -- Meetings, More Meetings Chapter 6 -- Panjkot Valley Chapter 7 -- Manohar Chapter 8 -- Too Many Casualties Chapter 9 -- Missing and Unidentified Chapter 10 -- Vodka is a Real Man's Drink Chapter 11 -- The Body in the Woods JAVA 2006 Chapter 12 -- Multiple Disasters Chapter 13 -- The Makeshift Hospital Chapter 14 -- Politicians Do Not Like Me Chapter 15 -- Surgical Disasters HAITI 2010. Chapter 16 -- The CallChapter 17 -- The General Chapter 18 -- Aftershock Chapter 19 -- A Sleepless Night Chapter 20 -- The Psychologist Chapter 21 -- Tents Need Poles Chapter 22 -- I Want to Go to America LIBYA 2011 Chapter 23 -- The Arrival Chapter 24 -- Tataouine Chapter 25 -- The Mysterious American Chapter 26 -- War Changes You Chapter 27 -- Border Crossing Chapter 28 -- Roadblock Chapter 29 -- Unsung Heroes Afterword -- Homecoming.