thanks are in order

last night i recieved some mail from my cousin Bryan and his huge family in Indiana. thank you so much for all the goodies. The pictures and cards that the kids wrote and drew are now hanging on my wall above my bed. The coffee is wonderful and had a cup this morning. Let all the kids know that my Platoon and the children of Iraq say thanks for the candy.
The other day we were out on patrol and stopping by different houses to drop off generators. The mother of a child asked if i could look and see if i could help at all. i dont think i was prepared for what i was about to see. The child was brought out and set on the floor laying down, completely limp, i was told that the little girl was 10 years old and doesnt eat anything just liquids. It looked as if the little girl had spinal meningitis, the girls muscles were in complete atrophy because of the complete inability to grow muscle and inability to move. Malnourishment and a hard working heart was all that this child had. there was nothing i could do. it was absolutly heart breaking. The little girl had been living like that for 10 years now...im not sure if it was spinal meningitis but it looked similar. im no doctor. then the Iraqi commander asked if i could look at two other children 3 houses down as a favor to them. i agreed and walked in on a brother and sister with what looked like severe Autism. the little girl was completly incapasatated and the brother showed little movement. again i could not do anything to help. This is a bi-product from cross breeding of the families...a tradition from the olden days when it was common place for incest. just the way they did things back in the day... we left and i didnt say much for the rest of the day. It took a toll on me seeing kids like that... its never easy.
We went on patrol a few hours ago in incredable heat. If you want to know what Iraq feels like put a blow dryer in front of your face or open the oven when its cooking...its horrible heat and it really hasnt gotten to its full potential yet. Temps are expected to hit mid to high 130's...crazy i know. we took a quick rest in a house today to get out of the heat and the temp inside this house was 121 degrees. i never knew i could sweat that much.
Things are going ok here not too much to talk about. lots of patrols a day for me lately about 3 or 4 is average...not too much to report ill have some pics up here soon. Take care everyone