February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Lt. Col. William Roy of the Vermont National Guard has been helping train the new Afghani National Army after the post-Sept. 11 war.
During his first two tours of duty — he is returning to Afghanistan this November — Roy became friendly with an Afghani army captain. The captain had helped U.S. Special Forces fight the Taliban. Roy discovered he was facing a new, tough battle — the captain’s teenage daughter, Nargas, was suffering from a debilitating illness and needed help.
“We had the battalion surgeon take a look at Nargas,” Roy said last week. “She had a heart valve defect. We guessed her age at about 15, because over there, not everyone knows their exact age.”
Nothing could be done in Afghanistan, continued Roy, expressing quiet delight at the outcome of the story. Nargas is making a full recovery after heart surgery in New York and will return to her home soon.
But first, Roy found Fr. Brian Jordan after searching on the Internet and emailed him in New York. Jordan, an FDNY chaplain who had worked at Ground Zero, has an interest in Afghanistan, which he visited earlier this year. Once he heard about Nargas, he helped Roy set the wheels in motion.
There were several hurdles to overcome, including getting visa approval for Nargas and her grandfather to come to the U.S., as well as finding a hospital that could treat her. But once Jordan heard about the case, said Roy, he found the people who could help.
People like Kevin Minihan of Polen Construction in Brooklyn. Minihan, a Limerick man, discovered that Michael Dowling, the president of North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital, where Nargas had her operation, was also from Limerick.
Nargas was so ill when she arrived in New York that the doctors at North Shore postponed her July 19 operation so that they could cure several other diseases — parasites and such like — before they would operate.
It was Sept. 9 before she had her operation, which has been a complete success.
“She has gained 20 pounds already,” Roy said, grinning.
Asked why he wanted to help, Roy became serious again. He recounted how a horse had kicked his own eldest daughter recently, although she has made a full recovery. But when he heard about Nargas, he knew exactly how her father must feel seeing his daughter ill.
“It made me think, you know, if you didn’t do something,” Roy said, pausing for a moment, “she was going to die.”
“He’s not a bad guy for a Protestant, eh?” joked Fr. Jordan, who also refused to take credit for helping Nargas.
Though a young life has been saved, none of the men involved in getting help for Nargas feel like they have done anything other than their duty.
“I’m just a bit player in the whole scheme of things,” Roy said.