Thursday, July 19, 2012

** Former Massachusetts combat medic arrested for assault on fellow veterans following his wedding

** South Carolina medic finally goes home from hospital after contracting flesh eating disease following twins’ birth

UNITED STATES NEWS

** A former Massachusetts combat medic was arraigned Monday on assault and battery charges after he allegedly pummeled three fellow veterans at his wedding reception. The Associated Press (July 16) said Gloucester resident Philip Brooks, 32, was taken into custody Saturday in North Andover. According to the news service, Brooks had gone downstairs at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) banquet hall when he suddenly launched into a tirade. Allegedly screaming about the lack of appreciation for those who have served in Iraq, Brooks then proceeded to attack a trio of older veterans. He was persuaded to leave the site by his wife, but arrested later at an area hotel.

** A South Carolina paramedic is finally going home from the hospital after she contracted flesh eating disease following the birth of her twins. The Asheville Citizen-Times (July 17) said Lana Kuykendall’s odyssey began May 7 when her children were born in Atlanta. Recovering at home in Piedmont, Kuykendall told the newspaper she noticed a painful lesion on her left thigh shortly after. Within a week she had returned to hospital only to be given a diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis. After 18 procedures to rid her body of the bacteria, as well the installation of a breathing tube, a feeding tube and skin grafts, she was finally given the all clear. All told, Kuykendall remained in intensive care for 38 days. Despite the lengthy recovery, however, she says she has very little memory of her ordeal. Transferred to a rehab centre in June, her doctors told the newspaper she still faces months of recuperation ahead.