Two harrowing tours as a trauma surgeon in Iraq led to attempt suicide

Army surgeon struggles to heal from PTSD after Iraq tours
Fox News.com
By Cristina Corbin
Published November 11, 2013

Two harrowing tours as a trauma surgeon in Iraq led Tara Dixon to attempt suicide, but the 40-year-old former Army reservist says helping to save the lives of her fellow comrades was "worth it all."

"If I could go back there and not only help save those lives, but also return those military heroes back to their families, I would," said Dixon, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder following six months of service as a trauma and critical care surgeon on the front lines.

After completing medical school in 2000, Dixon said she was drawn to trauma surgery because "you had to know anatomy and physiology so well" and have the ability to "make split-second decisions."

"That appealed to me," Dixon told FoxNews.com.

But Dixon, who routinely treated gunshots and stab wounds before her deployment, was not prepared, psychologically, for what would befall her: having to save the lives of those she had grown to know so well and considered "family."

"It puts a different burden on you when you know every single person," said Dixon, fighting back tears. "I didn’t consider that before going over there. That was a very different aspect from what I had ever known."
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