Deployment of Lawrence Rothenberg, MD, Attracts Media Attention
When you''re one of too few radiologists to volunteer for the Army Reserves, you have a story that should be told. When you also happen to be in your mid-50s and you''re deployed to Kuwait, your story does get told. Lawrence Rothenberg, M.D., was profiled in the Palm Beach Post on Aug. 18, one day after he left home to begin his 90-day deployment as an Army lieutenant colonel.
Rothenberg, a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist as well as a radiologist, took his family by surprise when, after 9/11, he joined the Army Reserves after reading an ad in a radiology journal. He was 55 years old. Rothenberg told the Palm Beach Post that he can''t pinpoint exactly what motivated his decision at the time; he learned of the desperate shortage of radiologists in the Army and just knew he could help.
Esther, Rothenberg''s wife of nearly 31 years, recalls laughing when her husband first told her of his decision. "After I finished laughing, I realized he was quite serious." Esther had a feeling from the start that her husband''s skills would be needed outside the country. "He probably hates that I am always right," she says now.
Though he was the oldest trainee, Rothenberg survived the 2-mile runs, the chemical warfare training and all the other physical challenges that made up basic training in Texas earlier this year. Nonetheless, his deployment to Kuwait—his first military deployment—might be his biggest challenge yet. He has left behind his family and his practice in West Palm Beach, Fla. In his absence, his son, one of his four children, will marry.
"I did not really expect a 3-month deployment overseas," Rothenberg writes from Camp Wolf in Kuwait, having completed the first two weeks of his deployment. "Indeed, I asked the powers-that-be to use me in the United States and deploy a youngster here. The Army is, however, desperately short of radiologists and I was sent where I was needed. It is a major financial sacrifice but, of course, there are some things more important than money."
Rothenberg writes that his days at the Armed Forces Hospital and a Camp Doha clinic are spent interpreting plain X-rays and "waiting for something to happen," since the demand for Army medicine in Kuwait is not high at the moment. Things may get busier for him soon, however; he recently asked the hospital commander to call on him if his experience as an internist and gastroenterologist can be helpful.
In the meantime, Rothenberg struggles to adjust to the heat, which has been exceeding 120 degrees. "Even with air-conditioned tents, conditions are brutal," he writes. "Aside from the temperature, the biggest problem is the jet lag; my body is still on eastern standard time, eight hours earlier than here." Fortunately, getting along with his new—and often younger—colleagues has not been a problem. "Army physicians and soldiers are unfailingly courteous, professional and willing to help out the new boy on the block," he reports.
If all goes as planned, Rothenberg will return home in early December. Until then, he and wife Esther keep each other going with frequent e-mails and phone calls whenever possible. "My entire family and I are very proud of him, as we are of all the men and women who serve in the armed forces," says Esther. "May God bless them one and all and keep them safe from harm."