Two UW Medicine surgeons who served in the Army say the same sense of purpose continues to drive them today.
“One of the things we did was go down to the Iraqi hospitals and actually operate with Iraqi surgeons,” said Dr. Benjamin Starnes, a vascular surgeon at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.
One memorable case involved saving a baby girl whose name meant “proof of God.”
“We did a tracheoesophageal fistula repair on this two-hour-old infant, and she did beautifully. Those are the experiences you remember. We’re both very proud of our service, serving our country,” said Starnes.
Both Starnes and Dr.Niten Singh were lieutenant colonels in the Army. The sense of mission and purpose that carried both through multiple deployments over 30 years of combined service is now focused on patient care at Harborview Medical Center.
“The thing about Harborview is we’re a major trauma center, but if you compare it to Iraq at that time, it’s trauma on steroids. It’s just big trauma,” said Singh, a vascular surgeon.
Today away from war both veterans are grateful to be back to their families and surrounded by others who have served.
“At Harborview, when you look around and see on Veterans Day, people who are veterans, there are so many people who have served. There are so many people who have volunteered for their country, and I think to me, that is very special,” said Singh.
These surgeons hope people also remember who they call the “true heroes” too, the families left behind, the ones paying the bills, raising kids and worrying about their loved ones and service members.
