Adventure at the Iraqi Army Base!

I recently had my first trip off the Air Force base in Iraq. Lots of permission was required for this!

There are several US military teams that assist the local Iraqi military in various tasks such as healthcare, water purification, military training, etc. Our medical clinic staff was allowed to go with one of these teams to the nearby Iraqi Army Base to see their base and clinic.

We rode in our battle gear in an armored truck off base. The trip wasn't that far, but it was a little scary to realize that we had passed outside the security of the American base. Our gunner had several plastic bags filled with candy and threw them to children on the route.

At the Iraqi base, we met with the translators and then actually met the general of the base. We were told that typically they would share chai or a meal w/ us, but could not becuase of Ramadan. During Ramadan (which lasts about a month), those who are Muslim cannot eat, drink, smoke (and some don't even receive vaccines) between sunrise and sunset. When it is 120 degrees outside, this makes for a very dehydrating condition. We did not eat or drink when we were on the base either, out of respect for their religion.

After being greeted by the general, we headed off to see the water purification area. One of the problems is the lack of electricity in Iraq. Despite the hot temperatures, the air conditioning is not turned on until about 1000 to conserve power. At times, they have to decide between having electricity in buildings (to power lights, a/c) and purifying the water.

The highlight of the trip to the water purification area for me was getting to climb to the top of ther water tower. Haven't you ever watched those movies were kids or adults climb up there? I've always wanted to do that. Well I did. It was a long climb but had a wonderful view from the top. Apparently, my climb (or ability to climb, not sure which) surprised a lot of the Iraqi soilders. When I got towards the bottom on my climb down, the Iraqis were standing by the ladder taking pictures of me.

We then trekked off to the clinic. All in all, the clinic is very nicely set up. It has an emergency area, several exam rooms, a dental area (you'd swear you were in an American dental clinic), an xray machine. The unfortunate thing is that several of the areas don't have working equipment. The xray machine and dental xray machine appear state of the art, but have been broken for about 2 years.




Another interesting thing is the number of people who have been seen for a chronic condition by doctors for several years, but want an American doctor's opinion or what an American doctor to fix them. People will bring many sheets of lab and imaging results and want a second opinion. For the most part, the Iraqi doctors are very accurate in their diagnoses and treatments. But it seems that people think the Americans can fix any health problem.

More to come later!

After 110, it's just hot!

The temperature yesterday according to a digital thermometer.

I will never complain about being hot in the States again!

Deep Thoughts-The Word "Queue"

Who ever thought up the spelling for the word "queue"? It's pronounced like the letter "Q"; does it really need four additional letters?

Free Gift!

I saw this on Lynn's blog and thought it was a great idea. 5 lucky (or brave) people will be getting something made by me, for you. Intriguing?

The first five people to leave a comment on this post will get something handmade from me. But in return, you have to do the same thing on your blog and make soemthing for five other people. Remember, I'm in a desert; so if you have problems with a little sand mixed in with the items, let me know!

The details are as follows, and if you want to play, copy the following onto your blog and leave me a post:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. What you get is what you get.

2. What I create will be just for you, with love.

3. It will be done this year (2009).

4. I will not give you any clue what it's going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying.

5. I reserve the right to do something strange.

6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 who respond to your blog post.

7. Send your mailing address after I contact you.

Are you in? You know you want to.....

If you are not a blogger, you can post this on your facebook page or come up with another way to "share the love".

Christie

Things that make you go, hummmmm

The kangaroos are supposed to go that way? Silly me, I didn't think there were kangaroos here, and I surely didn't know that they could read street signs!

When you're ordering bottles of Betadine, be sure to double check the bottle size (unless you're ordering for Barbie; then you're all good!)

4 Best and Worst Things About Deployment

I've been here about 2 weeks now. Things are much better than I expected. I'm the only Air Force doctor here and have three techs working with me. The clinic is appropriately named the "Doc in a Box" clinic as we are in a rectangular trailer (yes, that is me carrying a gun in a shoulder harness.)

And here I am literally in a box (for some reason, our supplies come in much larger boxes than needed!).

Without giving too much detail, here are the best and worst things I've discovered about being deployed.

Best

1. Free water and food anytime, anywhere. They say the average person loses about 20 lbs during deployment, but I don't really know how. The dining facilities are open 24/7 and offer a wide variety of foods (even for the very picky!) And you definitely don't have to worry about having drinking water available. You can pick it up in bulk from water stations scattered around the base; every building has one or more fridges dedicated to suppling water!

2. The location. Okay, you'll see my comment about the heat below, but if I could have this location w/o the heat, I'd take it. I am close to the suspected birthplace of Abraham and buildings that were created in the 21st century BC. That's 4000 years ago! And I thought buildings in Europe were old!

3. The people. Somehow, you'd think the stress of deployment would make people here less friendly; however, everyone I've met here has been extremely friendly. Even the patients understand if we're running behind or have other duties. My team, crazy as we are, has been extremely dedicated to looking for ways to improve conditions in the clinic and on base. Go 'Doc in a Box' clinic!

4. The impact. Here we have more ability to make a difference and make changes without having to sift though different levels of bureacracy. We didn't have a plan for the flu, so we (the 4 of us) created it. We noted inadequate public health inspections, so we investigated. Instead of noting problems and having our hands tied in red tape, here we are able to make policy and improve conditions.

Worst

1. The barricades (T walls). Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by T walls. There's no easy direction giving as the actual buildings are all hidden behind identical concrete walls. If I am lucky enough, one of the T-walls may have something painted on it, to indicate what's behind it, but not always. It confuses the enemy, but it confuses me too!

2. The heat. I suppose if you're big into tanning you may enjoy the fact that there are no clouds in the sky and everyday the temperature gets up to at least 115 degrees. I'm not. One day with just a little rain, shade or cooler temperatures would be nice. They have a heat index here, but it's not very helpful. Anything past 110 degrees is just plain hot!

3. The isolation. I am the only Air Force doctor for the AF members at the base. We have support from the Army hospital, but I'm the first line. I can't run into another doctor's office and bounce ideas off them. At a concert tonight, I realized that 'if someone gets hurt, I'm the only doctor here and everyone knows it!' While the independence is nice, it brings with it a lot of responsibility. I can always be called and never truly have a day off.

4. The driving conditions. Don't get me wrong, I love jeeping in the mountain passes of Colorado. However, I'm not thrilled with EVERY car ride feeling like a Jeep ride. We do have two trucks to drive around base (only one with A/C), but the roads leave something to be desired. Some are paved and some aren't but all are filled with potholes. We're told that no one should ride in the back of trucks; no kidding!

Beach Vacation

Tomorrow, I head out for a six-month beach vacation, minus the ocean, but complete with sun and warm (okay, really hot!) temperatures.

I'll try to keep you posted (as much as possible) on how I'm doing!