CHEYENNE - When Dr. Tom Kraner performed his first surgery in Kabul, Afghanistan, his work was illuminated with a desk lamp held over his shoulder.

The conditions, he said, were "less than desirable."

But such is the plight of a nation that has been devastated by war for more than 40 years.

Kraner, a graduate of Cheyenne's Central High, first visited Afghanistan in 2004 during a three-week trip with Loma Linda University as a general surgeon consultant.

Loma Linda is a Seventh-day Adventist institution that specializes in health sciences and the Christian faith. The trip took Kraner to the nation's capital, Kabul, and the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital - the training hospital for the Ministry of Public Health for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

The program was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and was designed to train and educate resident doctors to provide care to the Afghan people.

Kraner returned to Afghanistan in 2006, where he has lived since, to continue his work. He oversees 30 to 40 resident doctors in the emergency room portion of the 200-bed hospital, reviewing their initial assessments of incoming patients.

But Kraner said the level of education for these doctors, coupled with a corrupted system, makes the job a difficult task.

He said the Afghanistan government outlined a program to offer free health care to all residents. The problem, however, is that many doctors charge money under the table and often refuse care until family and friends can gather enough money.

Still, Kraner said he has made some progress in his time within the hospital, including the installation of new technologies such as ventilators.

But beyond the frustrations within the hospital, Kraner said the hardest task has been living in the country itself.

"Just living there is the job," Kraner said. "It's an adventure."

But in the end, Kraner said his time there has helped the hospital to improve its methods of care.

"On the medical side, I've seen how much you can do with limited resources," he said. "It's worth it because I've impacted individuals."

Kraner said if his teachings and education trickles down to the following generation of doctors and administrators, he will have at least accomplished something.

"There's gonna be a few more people that will survive a critical illness because I was there," he said.

Kraner is scheduled to leave Afghanistan for good in June. He is unsure about what his future holds, but he said he is looking forward to a break.