Well gang, I thought I’d drop a line to everyone describing my second day off since arriving in Afghanistan. Actually, it was a working day-off, but it was well enjoyed as I was away from my usual routine.
The goal of the day was meet at the Troop Medical Clinic and catch a ride in the TMC Truck that would take us to a nearby Egyptian hospital to observe the hospital’s Women and Children’s clinic that is in dire need of health care providers. I was able to attend the early church service and make my way to the TMC to meet my 3 Nurse Practitioner colleagues in plenty of time to chat a bit and wait for our ride. However, as the clock ticked by it became apparent we would have to find alternate means to get to our destination (aka: no one could find the keys to the truck!). So, we began to quick-foot-it out the front gate to see if we could catch a bus to get us to our meeting on time. After a dead run to catch said bus, only to have it pass us by, we were able to flag down a military truck heading our way. The driver was quite happy to find his passengers were Providers and while he drove us to our destination, we agreed to look into and locate his over-due prescription medication.
Once we arrived at the Egyptian gate, we meandered through some alleys and one way streets looking for a hospital, asking directions at every bend until we finally came across a group of B-huts which we discovered made up the actual hospital. A common area of gravel and wooden benches, held groups of women in burkas holding their sick children while other children played about the area. Upon seeing our new faces, we were eagerly mobbed for ink pens (seems that is the favorite item and they know every soldier carries a few ink pens!). Many of the children spoke English and enjoyed asking our names and taking turns shaking our hands in greeting. The women were more timid but when spoken to, were very friendly and happy to see we were there to help them.
It seems the women will walk (up to 2 ½ hrs) and line up at the gate around 5 am for clinic triage that does not start until 9am. At that point, the MPs are given a certain number of sick call slips to hand out for appointments. The day we were there, only 50 sick call slips were available so a few hundred were turned away. It was a very sad sight to see people carried away that were on liters or carried on the backs of a family members, but there is only so much time in the day and only so many people who can be seen; all the more reason for me and my colleagues to establish a SOP and volunteer our time.
As we toured the facility and shook A LOT of hands, we determined two of the most vital needs of the Egyptian Women’s clinic. 1)a better triage system so that the most urgent can be see first and 2)more health care providers. And, since manpower in great shortage, my colleagues and I will work on supplying our spare time to both areas. This will mean that in the early hours we will armor up, go outside the wire and triage as many as we can and then head back inside, down armor and stow our weapons and begin seeing the patients in clinic. It will be a large undertaking and take some time to get the ball rolling, but all four of us feel a strong need to make this mission a priority.
The day was not all work, in fact, after leaving the Egyptian compound we headed for a big bazaar where we walked from booth to booth listening to the traders ply their trade! We passed beautiful scarves and carpets and shiny brass and copperware at every turn. I picked up a few items to send back home, but mostly spent the time enjoying time away from my fob. I even managed to get a bus to the Px and picked up a few pairs of boot socks and found a small Green Beans coffee shop nearby and splurged on a chai tea! Then, it was catching a couple buses to get back to my nice little tent to kick my boots off and start getting ready for the next day of work!
So, as you can see, I am keeping busy and staying well. I am with some great soldiers and we watch over each other to make sure we stay fed, rested and safe as well as keeping each other’s spirits up! I am sending a couple of pictures this time around for your viewing enjoyment.
PS A giant thank you to my son, John Michel. He has been posting my blog posts since I have been in country and unable to access my blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment