US Army on wounded Georgian soldier: “Miracle patient making strides”

The US army official webpage has dedicated a long story to Georgian Senior Lieutenant Iveri Buadze, whose survival and efforts to live have proven to be miraculous.

The story reads that Buadze “cheated death” at every turn and did what no one could have imagined.

One year later, he continues to amaze medical staff in Germany, at LRMC, in the largest American medical facility outside the United States.

Buadze was leading a team of Georgian soldiers with his Marine advisors on 6 September 2017 as they visually inspected vehicles prior to entering Bagram Air Field in Bagram, Afghanistan.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle in the line of vehicles detonated his explosives and Buadze sustained life-threatening injuries.

According to Buadze's neurosurgeon at LRMC, Army Maj. George Rymarczuk, Buadze arrived with multiple major injuries, including significant damage to his right leg and arm and penetrating trauma to his neck, chest and abdomen.

The force of the explosion was so strong that surgeons in Bagram had to remove a portion of his skull to relieve pressure from swelling and bleeding. Buadze later lost his right eye in addition to his right leg from below the knee.

I did not think he was going to survive or, if he did, I didn't expect him to have any semblance of a good quality of life."

This was just the first of many medical predictions Buadze proved wrong,” Rymarczuk said.

While Buadze remained in a medical coma for two months, his body's natural healing systems got to work and the LRMC medical team remained committed to Buadze's recovery. However, as the situation was critical, they contacted his family in Georgia.

His brother immediately arrived in Germany. He said that it was 21 September, the day the Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary, when he was praying at the bed of his brother and noticed that he had opened and closed his eye and move his mouth slightly.

Maria Duluc, a physical therapy assistant at LRMC, said she has never had a patient with such a strong drive or so few complaints about his pain, although she knows he must have felt it.

He would say to me, 'You are my commander, whatever you tell me to do, I'm ready,'" said Duluc.

Each time she asked Buadze if he wanted to do more exercises, he would typically grin and reply, "Why not?"

Life is very strange. I want to say, never give up. Keep progressing and life is good. My bad health is not finished but I will continue to fight. I will show everyone that nothing is impossible," said Buadze.

Read the full story here.