LT Doc

Day One-Hundred and Twenty-Nine

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 16:11:00 +0000

22 December 2006
I am home!!!! Praise God for such a successful and safe deployment—the last one of the USS Saipan! We have manned the rails. We have heard the cheers from our loved ones. We have waited for the ship to be moored. Now I get to go find my amazing husband in the crowd! I am so thrilled to be home!

Day One Hundred Twenty-One

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:55:00 +0000

13 December 2006
It is unfortunate that I have stopped writing as many entries as I used to. I guess I have had a hard time reflecting back on some of these mundane days as time goes by on this ship. I also have struggled quite a bit with my attitude. This GMO (general medical officer) life is getting to me, I think. Complaints about colds, minor joint pain, skin rashes, and paperwork for periodic health assessments, transfers, separations, retirements, special duty, etc. can get so old, boring, and very annoying. All I want to do is save a few lives, diagnose some real illnesses, and patch some people up! I have been looking so forward to residency to learn about and treat actual sick patients that I have lost track of where I am right now: I am making sure that the US sailors are in good health so they can do their jobs aboard this Naval vessel. When I take the time to focus on them, I find patience and even joy in all these people. Such personalities, backgrounds, and talents! I need to swallow my pride of being a “just” a GMO and thrive where I am at. Every morning I pray that God will give me patience and proper perspective of what I am doing. I know others are praying for me, too, and I can feel God’s hand on my life. I am such a blessed person! God has been gracious to remind me of this truth.

One blessing He also bestowed on me was a wonderful port visit to Greece. We “parked” in Piraeus and took the metro into Athens. Laura and I stayed two nights in a wonderful hotel next to the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, at the base of the Acropolis. We ate well and put some miles on our shoes as we spent a full day wandering around different ancient sites and going through the shopping district (Plaka). Of course, we loved hearing Greek spoken everywhere and looking at all the signs which are in a different alphabet. Greece is part of the EU so we used euros again (I used up what I had left from Italy—when we were headed to the gulf), and most signs were translated into English and almost everyone spoke English. Small pedestrian streets hosted hundreds of little stores and restaurants. The bakeries were full of baklava. Small storefronts sold everything one could imagine. Olive oil, olives, and Uzzo (a licorice type liquor rumored to contain heroin) were sold everywhere. Since the Olympics, the area of town we were in still seems to take on a very touristy feel. A lot of places seemed to have undergone a quick upgrade that does not seem to quite cover all the years of filth and being rundown. I am sure that it is quite an improvement, though, and I really enjoyed my visit to Athens. I look forward to returning and visiting the many numerous islands.

Day One-Hundred Twelve

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:28:00 +0000

4 December 2006
This morning I set my alarm to wake me at 4am. The Broncos were playing Sunday Night Football and I needed to see how our new rookie quarterback was going to do. It ended up not being that great of a game—we had 5 turnovers and lost. Oh well, Seattle did not do that great either—Hassleback had a hard time putting plays together and Sean Alexander did not show off how good he really is. It was kind of fun, though, laying in bed, sipping coffee that I made in my little coffee pot, and watching the game with my Christmas lights giving a soft glow to my room. It was also cold (the temperature dropped dramatically has we headed north through the Red Sea yesterday and last night). I got to snuggle in my blankets like most people do in December.

The rest of the ship was busy at that crazy early hour. We had just entered the Suez Canal when the game was starting. During the game, I went out to take a lap on the flight deck and watch the sunrise. It was fridged! The cold air was shocking! It has been so long. Unfortunately, the sunrise was not the greatest—the air was a bit hazy. But as I peeked my head out all day between seeing patients, the haze disappeared and the horizon line sharpened up. The contrast between the tan sandy land, the blue sky, and the green water of the canal was beautiful. It was probably made all the more beautiful since the canal and its landscape is the passageway home—away from the tormented Gulf and toward the country we love. Ah, yes…it was nice to watch the land go by on such a glorious day. The air warmed a bit as the sun rose, but the winds picked up. The wind off the ship is funny. It makes my clothes sound like flapping flags and billows them up so that I look twice my size. Plus my hair would not stay out of my face no matter which way I stood, so I decided my pictures were going to have to be mostly Gretchen-less. It was a wonder to reach the end of the Suez shortly before dinner. The Mediterranean opened up before us, welcoming us to the Western world again—a world where this ship does not feel quite as despised and our guard can be lowered (but just a bit). The opening to the Med also was a symbol that we really are on our way home. There is no denying that now! I felt it in every sailor that I greeted today. The sunset over Egypt was brilliant and memorable. Now every sunset I see will be in front of the bow of the ship, which means we are headed west towards home! I am so excited!

Pinning!

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 22:40:00 +0000

I have only a few more weeks to go until this deployment is over. Hurray! It is winding up and I will be home just in time to spend Christmas with Kaalan. I am so excited. I have been doing fine. I just was pinned as a Surface Warfare Medical/Dental Officer. In order to get this "qualification" and thus wear the pin designating me as such, I had to study for a while, go to different places on the ship, watch certain operational evolutions, and memorize a ton of Navy aviation/ship/weapons/engineering/damage control information.

All that hard work finally paying off!

I am then tested on this information by sitting for a "murder" board--several officers sit around and ask me various questions for an hour. I get my final qualification by sitting for the actual oral board--the CO, XO, and department heads asked me more questions (but only for a half hour this time. They figure I know most of the info if I did well on the murder board). I had this board this morning and got "pinned" at lunch. Good times! It is nice to have this done. I really enjoyed learning all the information by going to the numerous spaces around the ship. It is nice to know about the place where I have lived for the past four months (and worked for the past year and a half)! What Can Brown Do For You?

Day One Hundred One

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 20:46:00 +0000

23 November 2006
Happy Thanksgiving! It was holiday routine on the ship today. I started my day at 0300 with a call from my corpsman (I had duty overnight). A sailor was suffering from a kidney stone. After squaring him away with an IV and pain medications I went back to sleep and did not wake until 0830. I could not believe that I had slept that long without waking to any bells and whistles.
We had a nice church service in the hanger bay and then had brunch. I took a short snoozer after I ate and then went to the flight deck for an all officers photo. The Turkey Trot was the next event—several people showed up. I was unable to run because my knees still hurt so I walked the trot. It was fun. I still got a great workout because the winds off the bow were about 30 knots. It was something! In the afternoon, I took some time to read one of my books called “Captivating” (which is wonderful).

Then came Thanksgiving dinner. It was incredible! Ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, sweet potatoes, shrimp, fresh roles, lots of deserts, and more! So much food and it was all great!
After dinner I spent some time emailing and then had my Woman’s Bible Study. The study has been such a blessing to me. It has been so fun reading and studying the Bible with other ladies on the ship. I think a lot of them want to continue meeting when we return back to port which I would love. We are going to start a new study soon, and I am praying about which one to start.

So this Thanksgiving holiday on the Saipan was great. Lots of friends with whom to celebrate. It has ended too soon. I am currently waiting for a phone line to call Kaalan and hopefully reach some of my family. Kaalan is not working today (I think either he or I have had to work the past few years of Thanksgivings). He gets to have dinner with our friends Kelly and Nathan. Knowing Kelly, it was going to taste wonderful! One of these days, Kaalan and I will get to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Perhaps next year?

Day One Hundred

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:41:00 +0000

22 November 2006
I have been out to sea and away from home for 100 days. Wow! It was a very nice day. It is getting cooler out. Highs are in the 80’s now and very tolerable. I had to run my PFA today. The Physical Fitness Assessment consists of sit-and-reach, sit-ups, push-ups, and a mile and a half run. I had to fast over lunch since we ran at 1300 (I did not feel like having a side stitch for the entire run). By that time, the sun was awfully hot; though, the air was not too bad.
I was a bit worried about the run. After going out for a run last Sunday (for all of ten seconds) my knee made me quit because it hurt so bad. This time, I took a Motrin and did fine (except my mouth was so dry because of the heat. I was a bit afraid of swallowing my tongue it was so sticky!). I am currently icing my knees and wondering how sore I am going to be tomorrow because of doing push-ups until my whole body was shaking (which made also me laugh and then I could not stay up any longer and I did a dramatic crash onto the mat). After a quick shower, I then gave my once-a-month cardiovascular health class. I have made all those who have high cholesterol come. The Navy’s new requirement is every sailor must have his or her cholesterol screened every 5 years. We have had to test many cholesterol levels this past year and a lot (perhaps one third) are elevated. Because of that, I implemented this cholesterol lecture (Thanks, Mom!) and then schedule those with really high levels and other cardiac risk factors to see me personally after attending the class. It has worked well. I had no idea that so many people did not have a clue about good and bad fats and cardiac risk factors. Thankfully, I grew up in a house in which a good diet was ingrained into my lifestyle (using butter is still very decadent and reserved for special occasions! Thanks, Mom!) Hopefully a couple of my sailors will think back to that lecture they had to attend and make healthy decisions in the future.

So, I did not include one event in my last entry that occurred during my time in Dubai. I still think and fret a little about it but am getting over it. During the second night at our hotel, I woke up around 0100 with my palms itching. Itchy palms! Yes! I could not believe it. I went to the bathroom, put lotion on my hands and went back to bed. They were still itching and burning a little. As I laid there, I realized that my lips did not feel right either. They also burned like they were really chapped and was made worse then I would rub my tongue across them. Weird, I thought. I must be in some sleepy haze where pain is ultra intensified. I tried to ignore everything until I realized my lips were actually larger than they ought to be. I got up and went to the bathroom again were I discovered Angelina Jolie lips as well as a chin that was solid as a board (it was taunt with fluid). I noticed, too, that I was itching my belly. I took a look and sure enough, I had a bright red rash all over my trunk with a few hives on my flanks. Wow, I thought. I had never had those! So this is how uncomfortable they are! Then, just after I discovered my bright red and itchy belly, my throat started itching. This is not good, I thought. Thankfully, I had Benadryl in my first aid kit that I carry in foreign ports. I took one and then sat on the floor (in my very nice and spacious bathroom) to see what my body was going to do next. Everything still itched including my head, my arms started developing the rash, and my lips grew a little larger. I could not believe that I was experiencing such a major allergic reaction! Over the next hour, I pondered on what the heck I been exposed to. I had never had such a reaction in my life! And if I had been exposed to something, why had it taken 4-5 hours to illicit a reaction (we had been back in the room around 2200)? I could not figure it out. I got up to reassess myself in the mirror. I adjusted my head to the light just so to take a look at my throat. So that is what felt so strange! My uvula (the hangy-down-thing in the back of your throat) had become twice its size. Crap! I thought. How much worse is this going to get? I wish that I had an EpiPen! I thought a little longer about taking another Benadryl (I was surprised the first one did not knock me out cold!) and could not decide…but then I realized that my tongue was beyond my front teeth. That is not where it usually sits in my mouth! Crap! I took the second Benadryl and sat on the floor again. This time I felt my pulse raising as I concentrated on figuring out if my air was going in and out of my lungs like it should. Yep! Except, it seemed a bit labored, but then again, I felt like I was about to start panicking. I did not want to go to the hospital in Dubai! I have plans tomorrow! I am the doctor on the ship. Doctors aren’t the ones who get sick and go to hospitals! I had to talk myself down and then started talking to God. The next hour I prayed and thanked God for my full life (and prayed my tongue would not get any larger). I also realized just how precious life can be and how easily my health and even life can disappear. I thanked God for them and was reminded to not take them for granted. I also learned that my patients who have the same reaction will need frequent reassurance and empathy. That I was now able to give. Such were my thoughts and prayers in my swollen, early morning, Benadryl stupor!

Several hours after it all began, my tongue returned to normal, my itching subsided, my hives were nearly gone, and my lips had not enlarged further. I decided to crawl back in bed. We were waking in a little less than two hours to call the ship to muster. I would check on my progress then. When we woke, I informed the girls of my situation. They did not have to hear much from me. One look at my face and listening to my voice, they knew I had something wrong. Apparently my uvula decided to continue to swell while I slept, so I had a “hot potato” voice. My lips were still rivaling Angelina’s. Thankfully, though, no itchy palms or belly! I kept trying to swallow my uvula and kept gagging on it whenever I talked. Yuck! My Benadryl controlled mind put me back to sleep again. I woke a few hours later and met the girls by the pool. My voice had returned to normal but the lips still were full (but luscious I should say). What an experience! I could not get myself to take another Benadryl because my head was still so cloudy, but I improved as the day went on. By lunch my lips were about normal and by late afternoon, I no longer felt the need to swallow my uvula. That allergic event is one that will haunt me because I will never know what I reacted to. Such a weird experience! But everything turned out fine, and I did not have to experience Dubai’s hospital (of all places I have been abroad, however, Dubai’s American Hospital would have been the one to be at). Now I have a dramatic story to tell and one to obsess a little about. What happened to me that night? I have just recently stopped going to bed thinking about waking with itchy palms; though, I am wary about eating anything that I had that previous day in Dubai. So the lessons I now carry away with me: 1. health is a gift not to forget about and 2. carry epinephrine in your first aid kit.

Portstop Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 03:09:00 +0000

Here are some pictures of my recent time in Dubai:
Natives of the desert
Sunset on my "desert safari"
Indoor skiing and sledding. Can you imagine doing that in the desert?

Day Ninety-Seven

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 20:01:00 +0000

19 November 2006
I cannot believe that I have allowed so much time to go by without an entry! I guess that it is good thing that time has been flying. This past week and a half has included two port stops which has definitely been a lot of fun and has aided to the time going by quickly.

We first got to try out our sea legs on land in Bahrain. It was just an overnight stop to drop equipment off, but we were able to have on-base liberty, which ended at midnight. How much I would have loved to go to one of those wonderful restaurants like the last time we were here, but I had no complaints about the base. It is so nice. Valerie and I went shopping in the NEX and commissary to restock up on essentials. For me the essentials included a few CD’s, Gatorade, coffee, granola bars, tape, and cards. I spent plenty of time wandering around looking at everything. I then ate a very yummy hamburger and fries in the food court (the burgers on the ship are just not worth the calories). After dinner, we went to the Officer’s Club. It consists of a large room with tables, a computerized jukebox, a pool table, and of course a bar. By the time Val and I got there, most of our fellow officers were fairly well lit up. It makes for some decent laughs for a while but then got a bit boring trying to have any sort of conversation with people who were acting pretty stupid. I never have to buy my own drinks in places like that because there are so few females and everyone wants to be nice and treat me to a drink. I am such a lightweight that can easily get a bit “lightheaded” and cross-eyed if I drink more than one and a half drinks. I have learned that after I drink my one very much anticipated beer, a second one has to stay in my hands at least half full or people will keep making sure I have something to drink. I like my fellow officers; they are kind even when drunk. Ha!

We then arrived to Jebel Ali a few days later. Jebel is in the United Arab Emirates and right next to Dubai. Talk about a bleak region of the world! It was flat, sandy, and had a few dusty bushes sticking out here and there. Everything was a shade of tan there just as it was in Bahrain. The weather was decent. I think around high 80s to mid 90s in the sun. Nothing intolerable. November is a very nice time to visit this region of the world. I celebrated my 31st birthday the day we arrived by staying at a wonderful hotel with Laura and Valerie. The Grand Hyatt is indeed grand and was absolutely lovely! The lobby was huge and stunning with marble and a lovely and outrageous chandelier. It had many restaurants and over priced stores in a huge “atrium” that had beautiful water pools and greenery. The hotel room had a huge bathroom complete with full sized tub and separate shower. We had plenty of room even with our 3 oversized twin beds with down comforters. Our window overlooked the immense grounds that included several pools, tennis courts, and running track. Beyond the hotel grounds, you could see Dubai creek that allowed the only large about of natural greenery that I had seen in the region growing along either side. Of course, Valerie and Laura did not let me pay for a thing for my birthday. We had drinks and salads in the lounge of that beautiful lobby and then had Lebanese food in a place called Atwar. We ate rich food out on the balcony of the hotel. We then went to get different deserts at a bakery located in the gardens of the atrium. I was spoiled. Who says that your birthday might be boring when you are on deployment?

I really did have such a great birthday. I was made to feel special starting the evening before when I call Mom and opened the packages she sent me. Wow! Such fun gifts from her and my siblings! Then the next morning, my corpsman sang to me in muster and three of them (my favorites—I really should not have favorites, but what can I say?) gave me a very sweet birthday card. I then called Kaalan and opened the huge box that he sent me while he was on the phone. Such fun things! I love that guy! Later, Valerie gave me a card all the pilots signed and another one of them, Tommy, gave me some little cakes to use as my birthday cake (he tried to find a candle but he said he got funny looks when he asked around. Fire and ships don’t really work well together apparently). Then my birthday concluded with an awesome time at the hotel. Such a special day!

Anyway, the next morning, we slept in without bells or whistles waking us. We found our way out to the pool and were greeted by an attendant who laid out a full sized towel on a cushiony lounge chair. I had lathered every square inch of my body with sunscreen so that I could lay out in the sun. It was glorious. I had not been exposes to the sun in so long! After about an hour of relaxing and reading I took a swim. The pool was perfect! The rest of the day I camped out in the shade of an umbrella. We had lunch delivered to our lounge chairs. Attendants brought ice-cold clothes for our heads and cool cucumbers for our eyes. Ha! We then went to the spa for our massages followed by a soak in the hot tub and short time in the sauna. Val and Laura also got facials and pedicures while I went out to spend some more time by the pool. Such a relaxing and restful day! We had another wonderful time eating cheese and drinking wine in the wine bar and ending the day with another great dinner at a different restaurant in the hotel.

We left the next day around noon to make it back to the ship to catch our “Sunset Safari” tour. It was a blast! We 4 wheeled with a guide in the sand dunes for about an hour as the sun set and then arrived in a camp where we smoked sheesha, ate dinner, watched belly dancing, lounged on cushions set on carpets that covered the ultra fine sand, road camels, received henna tattoos, and enjoyed the perfect evening weather. I had duty the next day and my corpsman were gracious enough to make lunch and dinner runs to the Oasis so that we could continue to take a break from the same ol’ ship food. The USO runs the Oasis. It consists of a group of buildings right off the pier that have Subway, Burger King, Starbucks, and many other small stores that surrounded a court yard filled with tables and chairs that support the many personel off Navy ships that stop at that port. I cannot remember much of what I did on my slow duty day except planning my shopping trip for the last day in Dubai. Laura, Val, Marty, left in the morning to find the Gold Souk. The souk contains tons of stores selling amazing jewelry—gold, pearls, jewels. The pieces were gorgeous! I wish that I had done a little homework on good prices for gold because I had to barter with every purchase. I am sure that I did not get too good of a price, but what can an ignorant American do? Surrounding the jewelry stores were tons of small booths and store fronts that had silk, wool, cashmere, hand crafts, and anything remotely Arabic for sale. Again, the Indian influence in the crafts was evident. I walked away with my credit card warm, my purse relieved of excessive Dirhams, and my backpack full. From the open market where you had to barter for everything, we went to one of the largest, most modern looking malls I had ever been in. It is called the Mall of the Emirates. This mall contained the famous indoor ski slope. Here we were in the middle of the desert and ski outfits were being sold! It was something! A lot of sailors went skiing just to say that they skied in the desert. Such an unbelievable structure! Again, I did a lot of purchasing thinking that this was my one day to do any type of Christmas shopping this year. We had such a fun time. We made our way back to the ship with arms laden with bags like most of the other sailors.

Dubai is such an interesting place! It seems like they have more money than they know what to do with. So many buildings are being constructed that even islands right off the coast are being built so that even more buildings can be constructed on them! When driving from Jebel to Dubai, there is a 4 lane highway with exits just like you would see in the US--gasoline station and fast-food joint and all (surrounded by nothing but sand). Suddenly you enter a forest of high rises in which at least half are topped with a huge crane while undergoing construction. The buildings are tall and each has very unique architecture. They are not huge—perhaps about 3 buildings would span an average city block. As we left one group of buildings we passed a ton of new looking town homes, tons of them. Then we entered another huge group of buildings. That seems to be all that makes up Dubai! I was told that a 1500 square meter area of Dubai has 75 hotels (a lot of them still under construction)! My grandmother told me that because of all the recent construction, Dubai has 15% of the world’s building cranes. It was a bit overwhelming to think that a city is just being built in the desert. The population of Dubai is 70% foreign. Many people speak English. Another odd experience was to climb in a cab and not have to haggle over the price! It is the first place I have been out of the US where the taxis have meters. Needless to say, I greatly enjoyed my time in Dubai. I cannot think of another reason why I would ever travel there. I feel so fortunate to get a taste of such a place!

I am now on the ship again. The day we left port we got the final verdict on our possible extension over Christmas. It was rejected so we are back to our original schedule. The cheers could be heard throughout the ship as the CO made the announcement over the 1MC. How nice to be home sooner. I am ready to see the sunset on the brow of the ship. That means we are heading the right direction to get home. I am very glad people will get to be home with their kids and families for Christmas. I am just ready to be home with Kaalan! Now we just bide our time. It is going to take a while to get home. Today I was struck by how far away we are when I looked at the map. It is amazing! I am so thankful for this experience, I have to admit. The time away from home is hard, but this is why I joined the Navy! We have 2 more brief Mediterranean stops and then the Atlantic…it is nice to have a hopefully stable schedule again!

Day Eighty-Three

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 19:36:00 +0000

5 November 2006
It’s November! Wow! Time keeps rolling along. We are back to the same region to do mine sweeping demonstrations again. We have the huge helicopters back on our flight deck. I just cannot believe how big they are (and they are not even as large as the duel prop helicopters!). When they are stowed in the hanger bay or for high winds on the flight deck, they look like huge cockroaches. Ha! I was running on the flight deck again this evening during sunset, and the helicopter props just loomed over me. You feel like a shrimp.

The sunset was very nice. The air is slightly cooler this time around. The heat index only goes up to 102 or 104 F. I watched the full moon rise in the east—it started as a dull pink and then became a radiant yellow as it slowly rose. I could not run long enough to watch the moon turn into its normal white sphere with its face smiling its awkward smile at me. I will have to catch that smile later tonight.

Yesterday and today I have felt the heart twisting pain from being separated from my beloved husband. It seems like so many things lately has been reminded me of him. Today a guy played a song in church that Kaalan would often sing. I watched guys playing their guitars during a talent show yesterday and just pictured Kaalan playing his. I find that a lot of the conversations I have lately always have something to do with Kaalan—kitchen, dogs, medicine, home, travels, friends. I stare at his pictures longer. I reread his notes and emails. I constantly wonder what he is up to. I long to see him, touch him, watch his mouth move when he talks to me. I simply need to rest my heart in his arms. How amazing is Kaalan? He selflessly let me go on my way and serve my country without spreading any discouragement or guilt and with his full support. He does not even complain when I cannot tell him when I get to come home. Even though he has no problem letting me go, I know that he loves and misses me and longs for me to be home. How perfect is Kaalan? No other person on this ship even comes close to comparing to him. He fits me, heart and soul. He knows me so well that he can laugh at my idiosyncrasies and gently guide me down sane, non over-reactive decision-making paths. I used to feel so complete and independent before I married Kaalan. Now I do not know how I ever felt that way. I am so much more complete and confident with Kaalan as my companion. I still feel his support, love, and wisdom from so far away (thank God for email and satellite phones), but it is nothing like having him at arms length (or less, ha!). Eighty-three days is just too long. But I have more to go…I just look forward to Kaalan’s bag of gifts that he gave me as I was boarding this ship so long ago. One gift per week—I open one after he sends me an email telling me the significance of the gift. I have loved each one because they remind me how much Kaalan loves me, and they show me a small part of who he is. The bag is slowly emptying which is a very encouraging sign. When it is finally empty, I get to see Kaalan again. How happy will that day be!

God, thank you so very much for giving me such a companion and friend. Where would I ever be without him? He is perfect for this crazy emphatic soul of mine. Only you could have known what kind of husband I needed. Thank you for such a beloved gift! Amen.

My Space

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:50:00 +0000

Yes, I do also have a MySpace account (which I cannot use while on the ship due to the high viral risk to the entire ship's network), but this post is just to show you all what my room (or space) looks like on the ship.

Day Seventy-Eight

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 19:36:00 +0000

31 October 2006
It is Halloween! I never was really a big fan of this holiday, but I enjoyed a few of the festivities this day offers to a ship in need of a change of pace. Really, it was a day to let some of those with creativity out of their box. About ten departments took part in “door decorating,” and some went all out! I thought the medical department was the best (though I am sure that I am biased)! My corpsman were so creative (and the “door” ended up being an entire exam room). They used my light-up jack-o-lantern that Mom sent me, made blood out of red dye and filled IV’s and beakers. They used our exam ultraviolet light and a strobe light from a life vest to give the room and eerie glow. They used a CPR dummy to simulate a surgeon with mechanic’s tools working on a flat-lined patient covered with a sheet who had intestines hanging out (made from one of our plastic props we use when teaching first aid to sailors). Apparently our patient reached out and grabbed our surprised XO (executive officer)—one of our corpsman was brave enough to scare our XO! Good times. They did not come in first in the competition but was an honorable mention. The officers and chiefs also participated in reverse trick-or-treating. We got a ton of candy from MWR (moral, welfare, and recreation) and cruised around to different spaces on the ship handing out candy. Val and I dressed up as each other. We looked silly because she is about 3-4 inches taller than me so her coveralls did not even reach her ankles and the crotch in my flight suit was down to about my knees. It was funny! We had a good time roaming around the spaces saying hello to the sailors.

Day Seventy-Six

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 19:57:00 +0000

29 October 2006
Today has been a nice duty Sunday. Church was good. Brunch was good. I relaxed all afternoon so that I can stay up late tonight. I ran on the flight deck for the first time since the weather had turned hot many weeks ago and watched a beautiful sunset while I ran (and walked for most of it—those darn side-aches!). I then ate dried fruit and nuts and a Tai rice noodle bowl (which I bought from Trader Joe’s before I left home) while I watched Cars on TV. Funny movie! I am now watching football (Atlanta and Cincinnati) waiting for the Broncos to come on. I think it will now be about midnight since daylight savings was this weekend in the states. That is why I am staying up late tonight. It will be fun to watch—worth tomorrow’s sleepiness!

This week, we ended up leaving our prior tasking at night to head to another area of the gulf due to terrorist threats on other oilrigs (the whole story was apparently in the press this past Friday). Val and I were watching some Scrubs episodes when our captain came over the 1MC that night to tell us the new plan. We were both very surprised and praised God that we were a pilot and a doctor so that we could continue our Scrub’s watching and not rush around to completely change plans and get the ship moving again. Lots of work! Tonight the captain came over the 1MC again. I was transiting the p-ways (aka passage way/hallway) to go to the wardroom to get ice for my knee (it is not a big fan of running on steal, but sometimes it doesn’t get the choice) and many people were hanging out of their rooms and offices to listen to him. Was this finally the news we have all been waiting for? Are we going to be extended or not? He ended up not having any new information on our schedule. Here’s to waiting some more! Today might be our second halfway point, but no one is celebrating. Ha!

Day Seventy

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 19:49:00 +0000

23 October 2006
I have just finished seeing my last patient of the afternoon. Unfortunately I had one of those I-must-be-speaking-Chinese days. Really, it was fairly funny, but so unfortunate that some people can just be so dense. I wonder if I will ever get used to that?

We are currently anchored in a very particular and vital region right now. It was eerie when we anchored at sea yesterday—no sense of movement and the ship noises changed. I had to go topside to see what was going on. It was quite a different view than the usual deep blue ocean that you can see for miles without interruption. Unfortunately I cannot talk much about it just yet. It is very interesting, though. Thankfully, the weather has cooled so is not near as intolerable as it was last time; though, we have some pesky flies on the flight deck!

Yesterday, I was hit with the fact that I still have several months to go out here! Yikes! Very often I try to not think about it at all or else I hyperventilate, eat junk food, and watch DVD’s to forget. I try very hard to keep a lid on that box of emotions. It just is not worth it to even peak inside!

We have had mail call several times today because a helo dropped off 3 tons of mail! I received a delightful package from my grandma and grandpa! It reminded me of college. Right before finals, they would load up a huge box full of fun foods and mail it to help me study. It was such a great! Here I am in another situation where they get to do the same thing. How loved am I!? I am currently listening to Mozart. A CD came with a box of chocolates they gave me. How did they know that I needed some more classical music? I did not download near enough classical before I left! It helps me relax and keeps me focused while I study or type these entries.

Kaalan has been working very hard on our kitchen—I am so excited. We recently have been trying to pick the right color granite and wall paint. It is interesting trying to do that on the internet. First of all, it moves so slowly that “surfing” only a few sites takes about two hours (I have to do something else--read, watch a movie--while the images load). Second, I never really know the true color of anything, so when I get home I will still have a huge surprise waiting for me. Thankfully, I believe Kaalan has good taste (and female friends in our care group to give him their opinions) so will be able to make good decisions on colors. But really, Kaalan and I have never done anything like this before, so I do not really know what to expect. That is a fun thing about marriage—I am still learning about who I married!

Day Sixty-Six

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 20:51:00 +0000

19 October 2006
Today marks the halfway point of this deployment. A while ago I had looked forward to this day with great anticipation. Now that today has arrived, it was approached by most people with a half smirk and a “let’s hope.” The wardroom attempted a celebration with a special dinner consisting of steak, fried shrimp, crab legs, corn, mashed potatoes, and whole table of ice cream and other deserts (all very yummy!). The workers also dimmed the lights and put a few red chem sticks (chemical lights) in glasses to act as candles. It was very cute and a nice touch to celebrate. If we get extended until January, we will just be able to celebrate another halfway point and know that it is for real! Also, I am probably the only one on the ship whose current problems will be non-issues if I have to stay out here, so an extension actually works in my favor a little bit. I am bound and determined to be optimistic, aren’t I? Ha!

Tonight was the second round of the great dodge ball league. Unfortunately I was not able to play with my team, the Purple Cobra’s, because I was leading Bible Study (which has been so great since we started at the beginning of deployment). It all started on Monday, we lost in the first round of the tournament but had a kick anyway. The Purple Cobras was started by my friend, Zach a.k.a. SWOVIATOR (funny name to us here because he is an aviator stuck with a ship job that Surface Warfare Officers, SWO, do). His goal was to stimulate trash talk in order to get people to get teams together. The purple outfits and ridiculous hissing noise (see the movie Dodge Ball if you are unfamiliar with the Purple Cobra chant) paid off so now there are twenty or so teams throwing balls at each other. Good times! It definitely gets people laughing which is what we all need. I laughed hysterically, too. Such experiences I get on this ship!

Day Sixty-Five

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:47:00 +0000

18 October 2006
The Saipan Daily Update is on TV right now. It is a daily news show that the communication team on our ship puts together and broadcasts to the ship (on “site” TV). It is just like a 5-10 minute show directed to our ship community. It is very cute and well done. The “journalists” tell us about our local weather, highlights in news around the world (Hawaii had an earthquake?), sports update (has hockey season really started?), an update of Navy operational news (anthrax vaccine is again mandatory for certain areas of the world such as the one I am in—hopefully, I might be able to just miss that mandatory date!), the “hot-runner” of the day (enlisted person who is elected to the title because of good work), and one journalist goes to a different “space” on the ship and interviews those who work there. Anyway, it is a good show.

The past few days have been busy with routine things. We are moving through cooler waters, which is a nice relief, on our way to warm waters again. We will be quite busy with our next tasking. I am off to work out now!

Oct 15

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 06:01:00 +0000

Happy 29th Birthday Saipan!

Day Sixty-One

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 16:25:00 +0000

14 October 2006
I am sitting in my room listening to the gentle sound of the ocean, wet with sweat after a much needed workout, and full from eating my dinner of nuts and dried fruit. Let me now explain that odd first sentence.

One of my corpsman had told me that the best TV show ever is “Lost.” I decided to borrow his first season discs and have been quite addicted to the story ever since. The menu on disc 5 has an ocean scene with the sound of gentle waves rolling in and out. It is so relaxing that I have been letting it play continually for quite sometime now! If I close my eyes, shut out the hum of the ship, and listen to the waves, I feel transported to the beaches of California. I can almost feel the warm sun on my skin and the cool breeze off the water blowing through my hair…Ah, yes. Such a nice place to be for a bit!

I have not worked out as faithfully as I should (such is the mantra of many a person, I realize). My stress has build up (and was pushed over the edge yesterday) thus I finally had a much-needed work out. A medical emergency called away yesterday, when a hatch covering a ladder well (stairs) fell closed on a girl’s head as she went through. She did not loose consciousness, but was obviously in a lot of pain when she was carried into our ER on a stretcher. It happened to be one of my girls from Bible Study—a very cute and kind Californian. She had pain all along her right neck and head and had a cut on her head that was bleeding away. The worst part about all her injuries was the blood coming out her right ear. Never a good sign. Our x-rays did not show any gross abnormalities but we could not clear her c-spine (aka could not be certain that her neck did not have any breaks or other injuries). Clinically we diagnosed a basilar skull fracture. We have kept her comfortable on pain meds and valium while she lays in bed with a huge cervical collar around her neck waiting to get close enough to a land-based medical facility to do a CT scan and then transport to higher echelon of care (likely Germany). Bless her heart. She is stable and is doing quite well. That discomforting blood and cervical-spinal fluid has stopped leaking, too, and she has remains quite oriented, even telling our XO (executive officer) that she does not want to go home but recover on the ship. Anyway, the whole ordeal was a bit stressful which included three doctors not communicating well: SMO stressing out like usual, surgeon not wanting to take an active role in anything, me very edgy because a sailor I know is terribly hurt and I have never taken care of anything like that before (especially without a CT). But everything worked out well for both the patient and the doctors. I learned much better about communicating what I need with my fellow trauma-trained surgeon, who understands now that he needs to take more active roles in trauma situations. Also, I always wondered what I would be like when my patient is someone I care about and not just some sailor I have never seen before. It is a bit different. I grew more edgy and impatient. I will keep that in mind for next time (which I pray will never happen). Anyway, thus the tremendous need for my sweaty stress release today.

And, nuts and dried fruit for dinner? I missed dinner because I went and worked out during the serving time (1600-1730). The gym tends to empty out a little during dinner, so it is actually a good time to be there. I don’t have to lift my 5 lb dumb bells next to a guy with arms as big as my waist who is lifting 90 lb dumb bells (one in each hand!). You can also position yourself in front of a fan, which saves my head from getting so red with heat that I think that it is going to explode! But what made my dinner of nuts and fruit taste great is that while I ate, I was reading stories in Outside Magazine about mountaineering. Dried fruit and nuts tastes so good when you are outside expending energy to reach beautiful summits and extraordinary views (again, I let myself be transported)! Really, I am quite satisfied and content with my meal!

It is nice to feel content when October keeps trudging along. Apparently, our schedule keeps changing so I will look forward to being on land as soon as I see my shipmates leaving the ship and walking on it. Until then, I am water and steal bound and will continue to try to make the most of it. Sunday is another workday, so Monday will be our “day of rest.” However, tomorrow is also a happy day for many which is exciting to hear around the ship. Tomorrow, we are going to receive a ton (literally) of mail! That will encourage many. Well, I am now off to shower and watch Band of Brothers in the ward room (we have been watching two episodes every Sat). It is a fabulous series, and it is just as good the second time as it was the first time I watched it. I will also complete my dinner with a whole lot of popcorn!

Taisia Taraschuk

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 20:33:00 +0000

Congratulations to Brigitte and Andrei! Taisia was born 9 Oct weighing 6lb 4oz and is 19in long!

What a lovely little family!

Day Fifty-Seven

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 19:58:00 +0000

10 October 2006
Ah, another October day during hump month of this cruise. Joy, joy…If you had asked me at the start of the cruise if I thought I would eventually feel like I was in “ground-hog day,” I would have said I could keep myself from that feeling like that. However, lately I have had to look at my watch several times so see what day of the week it was. Is it really just Tuesday? What do I do on Tuesdays? Oh, yes. Sick call in the morning, lunch, and 14 sailors in the afternoon needing their yearly Physical Health Assessment paperwork completed. What day is tomorrow? Oh, Wednesday. Do I have anything special on Wednesday? Oh, sick call and then, hum, do I have any follow-up appointments in the afternoon? I might have forgotten to track anyone down to have forced cholesterol counseling…And the same thing happens everyday and every week. It is a strange feeling, this repetition and loss of sense of time (other than knowing it seems to be going slow).

Anyway, today had a small disruption by having some business executives from the US visit to see what this big Navy ship does. They also had the higher up officers stationed in East Africa traveling with them (acting like very special and high ranking tour guides). I was chosen as one of the escorts (my friend Zach, who was an escort also, said we were chosen because we are part of the beautiful people of the ship—I laughed and then realized we were called “escorts!”). We ate and conversed with our many guests at a sit-down-and-be-served three-course lunch in our wardroom. We then accompanied everyone for a tour of the ship. At lunch, I sat across from one of the visiting officers and had a wonderful conversation about their mission in helping teach/aid national, especially maritime, security in Eastern African countries and coastal trade routes. This officer gave me wonderful insight into some of the countries--the poverty, the governmental corruption, the tribal conflicts, the “wickedness, to use an Old Testament term,” he said. He stated that good work was getting accomplished through partnerships and told me about how our engineers work with USAID to revamp schools and clinics. It made me very excited to know what is going on and encouraged my heart in what God might have waiting for me in the future. My heart longs to help make positive changes in such devastated countries! I do not know what that will look like in the future, but I am so very excited to take the steps to get there.

I trust that this hot cruise and stint in the Navy is one of those steps (as I had hoped it would be so long ago when I was commissioned as an officer). Because of this trust, I am going to try very hard to not get caught in my personal ground-hog day. It is going to be difficult to get through October, I have to admit. I think I already gained a few pounds since the first of October and tears have been shed. I have tuned out this repetitive reality by sitting in front of Hollywood realities (yes, that is an oxymoron). I am sure I will have several days of shutting myself in my room with DVD’s, being uncaring toward patients, eating junk food. But I know that I will get through October. It is odd to view October that way, isn’t it? Usually, October is one of my favorite months of the year. The weather is often beautiful, the air so fresh! But it is a bit different this year. Instead, I find myself on a ship in very hot weather, no land in sight, unknown dangers lurking in every dhow we see, port-stops cancelled until sometime in November, and a possible extension to our deployment that would keep us from being home until mid-January. That is October, and I will get through it by only looking up…

And even when I was not looking up for strength, God still blessed me today. He reminded me that he is in control, that this military is making very good changes in the world, that I can make a difference in a person’s health, that he will calm my impatience with complaining patients and then help me encourage them instead of blowing them off, that my mountains still exist and will be waiting for me and my backpack, and that my husband loves me enough to waste his time by traveling a long distance just to get my favorite trail mix. God did all those things for me today. Another thing he did was making me laugh with the strange occurrences on this ship. A bunch of sailors from the same birthing space were complaining of strange looking itchy rash on their arms that looked like insect bites. Well, that is one thing that usually one need not worry about in the middle of an ocean. My corpsman went and investigated and found a small flat bug under a mattress. With a little Googling, we found that the pest freaking out our male sailors was a bed bug! Ha! My chaplain said that after he prayed tonight over the 1MC (intercom) like he does every night at 2200, he was going to add, “Good night, goodnight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. If they do, take a shoe and beat them until they’re black and blue.” God successfully cheered up my heart today!

Day Fifty-Six

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 19:55:00 +0000

9 October 2006
Tonight (or every early this morning) it hit me that serving my country costs. It has cost me and the people that I love. I guess that all this time, I have not had to deal with the cost; rather, I have not thought of the cost and have seen this time as a grand adventure (though that thought tends to be rapidly dissipating). I have felt sorry for those around me that have struggled missing their child’s baseball game, first day of school, or birthday. I have felt sorry for those who struggle because they are not there to help their spouse with bills and house problems. But I felt lucky, no children and a husband who is quite capable in handling anything that comes his way while I am gone (including a broken washing machine--he has to not only do his own laundry but take it to a laundry mat!). I have been able to suppress the cost to me and to those I love. I cannot call to say hi anytime I think about it. I cannot meet a friend for breakfast and talk about life. I cannot bring flowers and a hug to neighbors who have lost their husbands to cancer and a failed marriage. I cannot make my care group brownies or make my house homey with fall decorations and candles for Kaalan. I cannot be home to encourage Kaalan when he comes home tired. I do not know when someone wants or needs to talk because I am not as easy as a phone call away. And what finally hit me hard was that I missed a dear friend’s wedding! I am supposed to be in those pictures. I am supposed to know first hand how beautiful and happy she was! I am supposed to have witnessed her vows and promised to be there for her in her marriage! The cost hurts tonight. I want so badly to not miss important and small events. I have often felt like life is on pause until I return home. But I realize--it is not paused. It keeps going without me. I cannot be there to live life with those I love and care about. I cannot be there to help those that I love. Now I know the cost. How I know how most people feel on this ship. I know what people might feel since I left. I realize that this deployment is short in the grand scheme of things, but here in the middle of it, it feels like forever. And I feel so bad for those for whom I cannot be available. The cost for serving is a cost all those I care for have to bear. May I then serve well here, since I cannot serve at home. May all forgive me for being gone.

Day Fifty-Three

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 11:01:00 +0000

6 October 2006
The last few days have been pretty busy! Yesterday morning we had a CONREP (connected replenishment) with a supply ship. We received about 40 pallets of various supplies including IV fluid, ice cream, and lettuce. They were sent from the other ship via span wire. Waiting on our ship were the forklifts and a long line of sailors waiting to carry the stuff to the correct supply hold. A helo also did a VERTREP (vertical replenishment), which entails the helo picking up a pallet suspended from a long cord and depositing it on the deck of our ship. It was all quite the production! It is nice, though, because last night we had fresh broccoli and yummy bananas. You have got to love replenishment!

Later yesterday afternoon, we were informed that a sailor had been injured on another ship and was en-route to us for immediate treatment. Apparently the corpsman on the other ship was very concerned about him because when we received the gentleman it looked like first aid was done on the walk to the helo—a splint, an IV, and blood everywhere! The sailor was in pretty bad shape and the other ship obviously did not have the means to take care of him like we do (plus we were not that far away). The guy had abrasions and lacerations many places, was yelling that he wanted water to drink and repeatedly asked if he had all his fingers. He had a very large laceration on the top of his head, a very large contusion over his right rib cage and right shoulder, a splint on his left arm, and several other smaller lacerations and contusions. He ended up having a depressed skull fracture and thankfully nothing else. We sewed him up (great opportunities for our corpsman) and calmed him down a bit. However, he continued to remain a bit confused. He also spiked a fever later yesterday evening and we threw all the different IV antibiotics we had for broad coverage against developing meningitis. He was picked up by a surgeon who came on a shore-based Marine helo this morning (one of the docs who came with the surgeon was a guy who did internship with me at Portsmouth—it was nice to see a familiar face). The sailor will then most likely be transferred to a plane and be brought to a neurosurgeon’s OR in Europe by the end of the day. Poor kid. We never did get the whole story of what happened to him—he had a set of odd injuries so you have got to wonder…He definitely is not going to remember.

Day Fifty

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 20:09:00 +0000

3 October 2006

I am sitting again in my chair with my laptop on my lap (apparently, that was where it was made to go), listening to “Sea Music” (a CD Caleb put together for me before I left on deployment), and relishing my solitude in my stateroom. I have been a bit discontented and restless the last few days and have been fervently praying for calm and contentment. I guess that is what happens when you are just about to reach midpoint of a deployment but aren’t there just yet. Sick-call has been filled with people who are not really sick. They just have some discomfort here and there. Everyone in the medical department has been rubbing their ears saying “woosaw” to relax. Ha! Things really have not been that bad, really (most of you realize that I tend to exaggerate when I feel emphatic about certain things—don’t worry, I do not change when I write. Ha!). We had some excitement when we found out that a British sailor had symptoms of appendicitis and needed medical help. Unfortunately, I did not fly to get him (yes, I was very disappointed, I was ready to go. That burst of adrenaline is like crack. How I need more of it once I have tasted it!). He had to come a long way so another helo brought him to us in the evening, and he was sent to the operating room a little less than an hour after he got here. Unfortunately, his appendix had had it prior to getting to us and decided to rupture. The guy did really well, though, and was up walking around his strange environment the next day (today). He then got a helo ride to land so that he can receive all the antibiotics he needs and can get further help should he develop some complications (like an abscess forming in his belly from having nasty stuff all in it). So now we are back to the routine, praying that we might be able to help someone else and I can ride a helo again!
Today was busy in its routine. A medical emergency shook things up. Thankfully it was nothing major--just a girl that decided to hyperventilate at the end of a work out in the heat. Apparently this is not new to her. She is the second girl that I have seen this happen to several times. It is a bit bazaar to me, but there you have it. They are quick fixes and then are sent back to full duty. My day got better when I talked to Kaalan on the phone about the appliances that we are going to get for our new kitchen. It is very exciting. He is doing a wonderful job getting the plans for our kitchen together. Can you imagine having a better Christmas gift at the end of a long deployment? After a dinner of peanut butter and jelly and fruit (that was actually quite tasty)—ok, I also ate yummy green olives a cookie--I found a package from my mother on my desk. Hurray! I decorated my office with the fall leaf garland, battery operated light-up jack-o-lantern, and fall ribbon that she sent. I then decorated my room with pumpkin lights and read my new kitchen and bathroom magazine while I ate black and orange M&M’s (that were not melted into one big mush by God’s grace!). She sent me memories of home, a few necessities I asked her to get for me, and wonderful presents from Zach and Molly that they got me during their trip to Tibet. I then went to the gym to sweat the M&M calories out, took a shower, and am now in my chair. How can I not be content right now? God answers prayers for a calm spirit in such wonderful ways!

Day Forty-Six

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 19:05:00 +0000

29 September 2006

This is a picture from 2004, the last time I flew on a helicopter - bringing medical supplies into a remote village in Honduras with my husband during medical school.

I just came down from the O8 level, enjoying the end of the sunset after dinner. It was wonderful tonight. The weather is so much cooler now. I actually had my sleeves rolled down all day and had those cold doctor hands again. I love it! Outside tonight, the breeze was soft from the humidity and cool. The sliver of moon lit up the water but I could still see stars. The constellation Orion is out right now and it is a nice reminder of home. It is a blessing to have something familiar in a foreign part of the world!

I had a wonderful experience yesterday that I really needed because I was fighting against the humdrum of ship life. In the afternoon, right when I was going to start studying (Thursday’s afternoons are my days to study ship-board info and to prepare for my Bible studies in the evening), I was told that I needed to go up to Flight Deck Triage to catch a helicopter to pick up a patient. Apparently, our ship was called by a smaller Navy ship that was nearby to get help with a gentleman who was having chest pain with symptoms suggestive of a heart attack. The smaller ships do not have doctors but have a few corpsman and a specially trained corpsman call an Independent Duty Corpsman (IDC). They also do not have very many resources including a full EKG machine. Therefore, I donned my little green life vest, put on a flight helmet, grabbed a few monitors and medications from medical, ran to my room for an overnight bag (you just never know where you are going to end up), and waved at Valerie in the pilot’s chair as I entered her helo. I had one of the nurses with me (who happens to be an x-Navy Seal—you just do not feel the need to have any fears when you are with him), and we had about a 20-30 minute ride to the other ship. It was great. When we got there, the IDC had the patient all squared away on a backboard with bags packed. All we had to do was clarify a few things and return to the helo. The patient was stable and just needed some monitoring and pain meds while we flew back. Good times! The patent ended up not having any cardiac issues, thankfully, and will be released from the ward tomorrow. He gets to stay with us for a while, at least until we are close enough to his ship again to transport him back. Many people asked me how my flight was when I returned, and I am sure I was glowing. It is times like this that I really feel like a Navy officer. I like that.

Now I am all set to hopefully fly some more. There are not many land-based medical facilities where we are, so we might have more patients from other ships that need some assistance. I was ordered a flight suit and I am going to put a medical bag together. Thanks be to God for safety flying, an improving patient, and a bit of excitement in a rather humdrum time on board ship!

Day Forty-Four

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 20:15:00 +0000

27 September 2006
As we are moving through the ocean, the familiar creaking of the ship, gentle rocking, and even cooler weather has come back. Hurray! We are now on to our next mission (which I know virtually nothing of. What need does a doctor have to know such things?). Times in medical have been steady, thankfully nothing bad. Currently I am watching the news--waiting with baited breath to find out if Terrell Owens tried to kill himself or not and unfortunately watching a beautiful valley in CO (that I have driven through innumerable times) from a news helicopter. Such an unfortunate event as a “shooter” in a school. How terrible! And then there is the news in Iraq…the reporters just said that politicians cannot come up with any improved solutions because of the upcoming elections. Also terrible! And just what are we to do with a “holy” war?

Anyway, oh, here is TO. How exciting. He is thanking God now. He is just where he wants to be, eh? Making live news. So that is a little snippet of my life. Sitting in my room on my nice chair, typing away with the news on. I really ought to be going to bed now. I have been trying to go to bed earlier, but it is amazing how I can find things to do to putz around my little room. Not too much different than home (just much smaller). Ha!

noreply@blogger.com (LT Doc) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:02:00 +0000