Seven years after teen taken to Walter Reed, she's still there

Kyrgyz woman longs for a home of her own, outside the walls of Walter Reed

By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 26, 2010; 7:42 PM

Lyudmila Sukhanov has spent the past seven years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as a patient and a prisoner of sorts

But with Kyrgyz cooperation vital to the United States, saving Lyuda, as she came to be known, was not only humane but also strategic, a goodwill gesture directed at a vital but skittish ally. The request to medevac her received the blessing of the commander of U.S. forces in the region, Gen. Tommy Franks, and then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In early 2003, a C-17 military transport plane braved dangerous conditions to airlift Sukhanov first to Germany and then to Washington.

Seven years of Walter Reed
Lyudmila Sukhanov, 26, has spent the past seven years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as a patient. She has had 18 major surgeries and nearly died several times after a series of botched intestinal operations in her country. In early 2003, U.S military officials arranged for Sukhanov to be treated by doctors in Germany and then at Walter Reed.