February 14, 2008

Just when it seems like the weather is warming up and the snow is melting turning everything to mud it snows again. Luckily for us it hasn’t snowed that much but it’s supposed to go on all night through til tomorrow. Good news is that it keeps the unit slow as far as patient care is concerned. Lately we haven’t had too many bad things happen.

A few days ago we had a trauma come in to the ER. It was an Afghan man who was driving down a road and drove over a mine causing his car to roll and badly injure him. He is doing reasonably ok. The only other patient that I have consistently happens to be the five year old boy I mentioned in a previous e-mail. The little boy is doing much better but it breaks my heart that even though his organs are there and he can breath on his own, his mind is still not all there. We still don’t know if he will make it on a neurological stand point. Why is this bad you may be asking yourself? Well, here’s how afghan culture works… Little boy gets released to his family. There are no rehab centers here to continue his care and we simply don’t have the means to take him for years until he does fully recover. The family sees that he is not worth anything as far as supporting the family with money or labor and so they kill him because it’’s more of a burden on a poor family to care for him than to keep him. I was told today by someone that I work with that if this little person doesn’t get better before we release him, he will be shot the minute he leaves the military compound. That broke my heart!

On a lighter side, things are going better here for me personally. I found a group of girls that are willing to do aerobics/step/tae bo with me three times a week and go to the gym the other days with a day off here and there. Once the weather improves we may even begin to run out doors. The heat in my hut has finally been fixed and I don’t have to wake up seeing my own breath anymore. That for me is a hug accomplishment. (I called to get the fix done) I still have to walk a block to take a shower on a daily basis but if I look on the bright side, at least I get a shower where some of our people out there don’t.

I miss my family terribly! I got packages from Matt and the kids. One of the packages even gave everyone that works with me a good laugh. (Matt sent me a box of toilet paper.) The other ones included Valentines Day gifs from my two beautiful babies and my wonderful hubby. A friend from Colorado also sent me a care package with odds and ends that is very much appreciated. (Thanks Heather!) My Task Force med loves packages so if you are feeling generous, send away. I may not use or need everything that is sent but there are always people here that do.

Well friends and family I will end this entry in the blog now. Thank you all for your love and support! Wish me luck and pray that this deployment is a fast one. I love and pray for you all. Kisses and hugs to all. Oh, and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Sandy