European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wien / discover neglect or abuse of a child i can use the system to get patients treated or. Maj Gail Johnson. Is file photo by Betty Bell staff writer d r. Maj Gail Johnson is a  has to be. Her Job As chief of the paediatric clinic at the . Army Hospital i Frankfurt brings her in Contact with injured children. She has to find out if they were injured accidentally or if they Are victims of abuse. She examines patients. She interviews parents. She tries to uncover the truth. I try to develop some feeling for what is a logical injury based on the parents Story Johnson said. I look for a pattern of injury. Old Marks and scars May give evidence that the child has had multiple injuries. I examine the child from head to toe not just for the bump on the head " aside from physical injury Johnson said she looks for the consistency of the Story. Parents Are interviewed separately several times and by different people working on the Case. Does the Parent change the Story does the medical history match How they say the injury happened a Mother gets angry throws her child against the Wall. Then the child is brought in for treatment because it fell Down we do a rays that might reveal a Skull fracture. Sometimes we discover a lot of brain damage which can result in celeb palsy she said. Spinal fractures show up on a rays As Bones that have been twisted. This does not happen from a child falling out of bed Johnson said. This is a classic injury in children under 2 years. It involves using Force against a child. These kinds of injuries  us into discussions with our orthopaedic doctors. There May be Blunt injury to the Abdomen where the child was stepped on or punched in the stomach. We be had some injuries that we be wondered about Here but were unable to come to a Good conclusion she said. Whenever a child under 2 comes in with a broken Bone social service workers Are brought into the Case. Some children Are brought in with immersion Burns from being dipped in hot water. Some people use this As a punishment for potty training Johnson said. When a child makes a mistake or has an Accident parents will hold the child Over a tub of hot water. The child s natural instinct is to protect himself by pushing away with his hands. So what we see is a stocking Glove Burn where Burns on the hands or feet appear like a stocking or a Glove. Burning is the worst kind of child abuse and discomforting for All of us who work with these cases Johnson said. Burning a child is a premeditated act. It s not a sudden overreaction where one might strike Accident or abuse uncovering truth out at the  witnesses Are very important in child abuse cases Johnson said. Last year a Young child who lived in the Frankfurt military Community was brought to the Hospital because of a neighbor s complaint to the local Case management team. His body was bruised and his skin had been badly burned. He was 3 years old. His Mother was about 23 or 24, pregnant and staying with friends in housing while the father was in the Field. She was very indifferent Johnson said. Her Story was she was Busy with another child when the boy turned on the hot water tap and climbed in the tub by himself. A 3-year-old does not accidentally turn on the hot water and step into the  he arrived at the Hospital with serious bacterial infections that developed from the untreated Burns Johnson reported. The Mother had burned the boy three Days earlier and then did nothing for him Johnson said. The child was also indifferent. And that seemed strange she said. Normally a 3-year-old will resist treatment. This child did t express any fear or pain from the intravenous injection or Needles. He did t cry. He just allowed us to work on him and did t react to us at All. It was As if he regarded it As More punishment. He also had other old Marks and bruises on his body. He had been a chronically abused  the boy remained at the Frankfurt Hospital for two Days while surgeons stabilized him for evacuation to the Burn Center at the Lan Stuhl Germany army Hospital. He died in route. The doctor who actually treated him was devastated when he died. We All were Johnson said. He seemed to be responding to treatment. His vital signs were All stable. We All Felt that if we had known about him sooner maybe we could have done  the Mother who was not subject to military Law was arrested by the German police tried and convicted by the German courts and is currently in jail. Johnson believes some of the abuse in military families is brought on by the stress of military life. The abuse tends to be of two types she said. One where the father is a disciplinarian and wants to use the military lifestyle on the child. This child normally makes it through infancy because the Mother protected it. But they begin to show up at about 6 years with bruises and Belt Marks. It s usually not life threatening but this child May grow up to be a  the other Type of abuse usually involves a Young Mother who has other children is away from family and close friends and whose husband is in the Field or is otherwise absent from the Home. I try to teach people How to take care of their children Johnson said. I want parents to know that we Are Here to help them and that we can get them Community care they need. That what s Good about the military system Johnson said. When i discover neglect or abuse of a child i can use the system to get patients  Page 16 the stars and stripes tuesday March 4, 1986