- Plastic surgeon, Gaspare Tagliacozzi, Circa 1580, Bologna, Italy
As you probably already know many of our soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming back with injuries and disfigurements that not too long ago would have killed them in no uncertain terms. Thanks to the advancement of medical technology these brave young men and women are surviving. But they come home to face their families and friends with shattered bodies, faces and souls. How does one mend that kind of devastation?
Ronald Katz, a philanthropist, UCLA alum and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Board/Executive Committee Member said, "These are our soldiers, these are our countrymen, these are our neighbors. If they're injured, whether you approve of the war or don't, it's our responsibility to take care of them." And then, he put his money and enormous persuasive talents to work in 2007 to create OPERATION MEND - HEALING THE WOUNDS OF WAR at UCLA with Dr. David T. Feinberg/CEO, UCLA Hospital System and Associate Vice Chancellor and Dr. Timothy A. Miller, Chief, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Vietnam War veteran.
Together these three men have created a program in partnership with Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) that gives our damaged and disfigured soldiers access to the best treatment and reconstructive surgery available, all free of charge. The uncompensated costs associated with each patient's care are estimated at approximately $500,000.00. The expenses include patient evaluation, plastic and reconstructive surgeries, transportation, housing at Tiverton House, care coordination and other patient services.
Each soldier and his family are assigned a local "Buddy/Host" family to help them navigate their time in Los Angeles as well as provide a solid support system. My father had made a financial donation and commitment to Operation Mend and my mother had signed us up to be a Buddy/Host family. My mother enlisted me as "The Baker". I gladly agreed. That is how I came to know Louis Dahlman and his wife, Laura.
By the time I met Louis he had already endured a nineteen hour surgery to try to reconstruct his jaw that had basically been blown off. I think he was 21 at the time of the incident. Louis was coming to UCLA to begin his journey with Operation Mend...his first surgery there was sixteen hours, on his next trip the second surgery was nineteen hours...numerous grafts from his legs were necessary both times making recovery a tricky and complicated process. I was, and still am, completely in awe of the incredible and unwavering courage, commitment and dignity of this young man and his family. The sacrifices they have made to keep the rest of us safe is positively mind boggling. My eyes and heart got opened up to a world I otherwise had no real connection to. Louis and Laura, as well as others like them, have become my heros.
My brother, David, had been concerned that my baking would make Louis feel bad because he would be very limited in his eating or unable to eat at all after the surgery but my mother and I insisted that it would be a nice gesture to have homemade baked goods available. If Louis couldn't eat them then surely Laura and the rest of their family could...maybe it would soothe their worried souls even a little bit. Listen, when you're Jewish, food is almost always the answer to any situation!
I decided to make my Grandma Rose and Aunt Irene's famous pumpkin bread plus I added a bunch of chocolate chips. It's a moist, soft, flavorful cake that has become just about everyone's favorite. Well, one of the first things Louis ate when he was finally able to eat something was that pumpkin bread and boy did he LOVE it...so did Laura by the way. I think I can safely say that they have both become pumpkin bread addicts!
It is my unbelievable privilege and honor to know Louis and Laura as fellow human beings in this journey we call life. It is my additional joy to be able to continue plying them with my grandmother and aunt's pumpkin bread not to mention anything chocolate because Louis LOVES chocolate!
I hope you are having a great and glorious day...
xo Nanci
P.S. Louis and Laura are expecting their first baby in January 2011...how cool is that?!
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