Wave of help

Valley Life editor

Casey Wheeler's New Year's Day was a bit different than others - there was no college football on the television, no celebrations and no family dinners. His New Year's Day was filled with devastation, as he arrived off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia to help a region in despair.

Wheeler is a medic in the U.S. Navy, onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. On Jan. 1, his ship arrived off the coast of Indonesia, where a Dec. 26 tsunami left thousands dead and thousands more without food, water or shelter. Since then, Wheeler and his crewmates have been providing medical attention to the people of Indonesia, which has been a rewarding experience Wheeler said.

"My first day on the 'beach' was January first, we had a little over 40 patients come into our tent that we shared with a civilian relief organization and the Australians. Most of the people we saw were suffering dehydration or infection, with some fractures," Wheeler wrote in an e-mail interview.

"The damage we saw from the helicopters was impressive - there were huge fishing vessels sitting in the middle of intersections and the only intact buildings were the mosques. Every so often there would be a patch of trees in the midst of nothing," he noted about the destruction on the ground.

The presence of military personnel was welcomed by the people of Indonesia - any and all help was appreciated during a time of chaos and despair.

"We had heard that some of the people might be unreceptive to military, but that is far from the case, no matter what uniform is out there - German, Aussie, Indonesian or American," Wheeler wrote in his e-mail.

"They are all happy to see us. The world is here to help, and they understand that," Wheeler continued.

All Corpsman and doctors onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln rotate in and out of the beach, working with a multi-national collection of organizations to provide those with medical needs, and who are displaced.

"We all have to wait our turn but when we do get to go, we jump at it. We also are called upon to go on helicopters to outlying villages that are still isolated by the tsunami," Wheeler wrote.

It was on one of those helicopters that Wheeler was provided with an image that will probably last a lifetime.

"The most memorable impression I have are the people that we brought off the helicopters. All of these people - young, old, male and female - had some impressive injuries, but they still smile, the children especially," Wheeler wrote in his e-mail to the Frontiersman. "My most memorable would be a patient that the Australians brought onboard while they were refueling, and I was on the ship that day. His leg was amputated, and he was [unfazed] he could not stop smiling at us as we went about treating him and his fly off."

Now, the rebuilding effort has begun in Southeast Asia. Leighton Guisinger, a Palmer resident, is also onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Wheeler said, and he is working with the Engineering Division, which has been getting potable water back online for the residents.

"The big thing our ship has been doing is bringing food and water out," Wheeler wrote.

Wheeler, and Guisinger, don't know how long they will be in Indonesia, but while they are there, they are committed to helping others deal with one of the world's largest natural disasters.

"Today, I visited four villages. Before we can get off the helo we are rushed for food and water. You can see them start running to the landing zone as we approach and the whole village turns out," Wheeler wrote. "Today my translator and I were padded down by little kids searching for food.

"We found in one village a man that had been separated from his son when his son was brought to the hospital. There has been a number of families ripped apart, and everywhere you go there is another story of that.

"One woman was in our tent when she learned a family member was dead. That is the only time so far I have seen a tear shed. These people are amazingly tough in dealing with the situation," Wheeler wrote.