Close Up
UB physician saves lives in Iraq
James Budny, photographed at the Balad Air Base in Iraq, returned in August from a three-month tour of duty in the country with the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps.
When James L. Budny, M.D. ’74, signed up for military duty as a physician in the aftermath of 9/11, his decision often met with consternation or disbelief.
“People ask, ‘Why did you do that at your age?’” says Budny, now 60 and president of the medical-dental staff at Kaleida Health and clinical associate professor of neurosurgery and radiology in the UB medical school. “My response is Why not? There’s a need—it’s a matter of doing what has to be done.”
In August, Budny, who holds the rank of lieutenant colonel, returned from a three-month tour of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps. It was his first overseas posting. While there, he endured scorching temperatures, dust storms and sporadic incoming mortar fire to serve as one of two military neurosurgeons in the country. Working with a larger team of surgeons at the U.S. military hospital at Balad Air Base, Budny delivered “damage control neurosurgery” to the wounded. He also assisted general surgeons on a variety of procedures.
Avuncular and plainspoken, Budny doesn’t see himself as a hero or even deserving of special recognition. “The people who really deserve the credit are all those young men and women who have been there for a year or 15 months, who have been there multiple times,” he says.
When mass casualties arrived at the hospital, Budny and other members of the medical team rushed to save lives with maximum efficiency. “Our job was to meet the casualties at the front door, decide on who needed surgery and do the surgery.” When 38 people were brought in one day, “every single patient had been evaluated, triaged and taken care of within 30 minutes,” he recalls. Blast wounds were by far the most common injury; 90 percent of the patients were Iraqis.
Perhaps the most uplifting experience, Budny says, was the treatment of Rani, a 6-year-old girl who arrived at the hospital early in his tour.
“She came in with a serious gunshot wound to the head. She had been shot by an Al Qaeda type because her father is an Iraqi police officer. We didn’t expect her to survive—but we plugged away. Eventually, she was discharged to the Iraqi health care system.
“Just before I left Iraq, Rani returned to base for a follow-up. She was walking and talking—there was some weakness in her arm and her speech wasn’t perfect. But her chances of making a good recovery are pretty darn good. She was an amazing save.”
The toughest parts of his tour, says Budny, were the children he and his team could not save. “And every American serviceman we lost hurt, every one.”
Often his days on base were punctuated by boredom, since the number of casualties, both military and civilian, has declined dramatically since the surge began. In fact, says Budny, the improved situation in Iraq is something the American public doesn’t hear enough about, largely because of what he terms “selective reporting” by U.S. news media.
“Markets are open. Hospitals are open. It’s a country trying to get out of the horror of war,” says Budny. “Right now, quite honestly, it’s ours to lose. It’s the endgame.”
Since returning stateside, Budny has slipped “seamlessly” into civilian life. He and his wife, Pamela, M.S. ’80, B.S. ’69, enjoy their country retreat in Wyoming County, while following the careers of their two sons, both physicians. His hobbies tend toward the outdoors and include a “fanatical” pursuit of fly-fishing. (He loathes golf.)
Would he go back to Iraq? For Budny, whose personal action clearly matches his patriotism, the answer is “Yes, no question.”
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