Small World

Compassion – one of EPMGs values – is exemplified in Todd Beel, MD, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital physician and retired Captain from the United States Naval Reserve.  While stationed in Afghanistan, Dr. Beel provided medical care to a medic whose base was attacked by the Taliban.  His mother, an employee at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, shares her story.

Dear Mr. Casalou [CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor],

I have a short story to tell, it's about how small the world really is.

My name is Janie Bowdish. I used to work in the ER.  I now work on Mother/Baby, 3 North.

My son was in the US Army as a medic. On June 19, 2012, his base was attacked by the Taliban. It was a green-on-blue attack, which basically means that the people that the Army was training turned on them. Three bases were attacked at the same time. My son’s base was attacked and my son was critically injured.

It was a terrible phone call that I received. My son critical, intubated, too unstable to move. The waiting game began. In February, National Geographic started airing a show called ‘Inside Combat Rescue’. They caught my son’s rescue on tape and broadcast it in March 2013. 

I knew that it would be a tough show to watch. My son sustained four gunshot wounds, was in critical condition, but never lost consciousness. I watched as my son was moved from the gurney to the bed, and I realized that the doctor holding his hand was Dr. Todd Beel. I jumped up and said, "I know him! I use to work with Dr. Beel at St Joe". I was stunned. Seven thousand miles away, and I knew the doctor that helped save my son’s life.

I do not know how to express what I felt when I realized that my son was in the hands of a doctor that I knew and respected. I was with my son from June 22, 2012 thru October 2012 at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. My son is doing great, regaining strength daily.

I want to let you know that Dr. Beel is a hero in my eyes. 

It really is a small world.

Sincerely,
Sarah (Janie) Bowdish