SAN ANTONIO — Brittney Griner’s first cease when she arrives again in america shall be not her house in Phoenix, however the Brooke Military Medical Middle in San Antonio, Texas.
An official briefed on the plans mentioned a airplane transporting Ms. Griner from the United Arab Emirates was taking her to the U.S. Military’s Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio; it was scheduled to land Thursday night time.
The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not licensed to debate the plans.
The Brooke Military Medical Middle, situated on the bottom, has lengthy been a spot the U.S. authorities has despatched individuals who have to be debriefed or who require delicate medical care after going via an ordeal like Ms. Griner’s. The hospital treats each civilians and navy personnel who’ve survived torture or different trauma.
In February, Ms. Griner, a preferred W.N.B.A. basketball participant, was arrested at an airport in Moscow after customs officers mentioned they discovered vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil in her baggage. Her arrest got here shortly earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine and her case grew to become entangled with the warfare and worsening relations between Washington and Moscow.
She was convicted of drug smuggling and brought to one in all Russia’s most infamous prisons, the place former inmates have detailed horrible remedy, together with torture, beatings and compelled labor.
It stays unclear what accidents Ms. Griner could have suffered throughout her imprisonment in Russia. However the medical heart in San Antonio, which has about 450 beds and a few 8,000 workers members, has the assets to assist a affected person like Ms. Griner. It has constantly ranked high amongst its better-known friends, just like the Walter Reed Nationwide Military Medical Middle in Washington D.C.
On Thursday night, a small group of reporters and photographers have been gathering outdoors the middle for her arrival.
Earlier this 12 months, a former Marine from Texas, who like Ms. Griner was additionally launched from a Russian jail, was additionally evaluated on the heart in San Antonio. Trevor Reed was freed after an analogous jail trade, which was additionally negotiated by the Biden administration. His household had mentioned that, on the time, he had been displaying signs of tuberculosis and had been coughing blood.
Since 2001, the middle has performed an necessary function in offering medical take care of these wounded within the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq, in keeping with the middle’s web site. It additionally homes a rehabilitation facility referred to as the Middle for the Intrepid, which specializes within the care of sufferers who’ve sustained extreme accidents like burns or amputations.
It’s the place one of many few survivors of the Uvalde bloodbath, Arnulfo Reyes, a fourth-grade trainer, was taken after he suffered two bullet wounds to his arm and again. Mr. Reyes is now house recovering from his accidents.
The middle’s trauma unit cares for greater than 4,000 navy and civilian sufferers with trauma and tends to greater than 80,000 emergency visits a 12 months, in keeping with the middle’s web site. As well as, it serves as a coaching floor for each U.S. Military and U.S. Air Power medical college students.