Finally in Basrah!

Well, it has been awhile since my last blog, so I thought I would take this opportunity on my first day off since arriving in Basrah to update you all on how things are going!

The last few days at Cropper were definitely hard… Seeing all of my medics for the last time and saying goodbye to friends, but looking forward to a new challenge and a new chapter made for some serious mixed emotions. One of my most favorite medics, and fellow Ft. Benningite, gave me a personalized travel mug as a going away gift, and I just about cried… Partly because he wasn’t at the hospital the day we left, so I couldn’t say good-bye to him, but as luck would have it, we ran into him at the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) terminal, so we got our good-byes and a picture in before I left. I was also able to get a few snap shots with some of my other medics, the Cropper Hospital sign, and some other artwork on the hospital T-walls the last day we were there.

Shayla and I had a few rough travel days, with one cancelled flight and being sent back from the flight line from another flight we were hoping to catch… We finally made it out of BIAP on a Blackhawk helicopter sometime around 11pm on the 13th, stayed overnight at Balad Air Force Base, and then it was on to Tallil and finally Basrah via C130 on the 14th. Above is the Blackhawk we were trying to get out of BIAP in, but we caught a ride in one identical to it later that night, to the right is the tail of the C130 that took us to Tallil and Basrah, and below is part of the terminal of the Basrah International Airport, right as we got off of the plane. After so much traveling, we were just thankful to finally have a new home with the 274th Forward Surgical Team (FST). Everyone was so welcoming to us and we have a phenomenal group of people to work with… But the craziest thing is that I work for the Officer that recruited me for ROTC seven years ago! As far as work goes, I work in the Advanced Trauma Life Support section and all we do is trauma… No sick call, back pain, nausea, sniffles, coughs, or rashes… Yeah! However, we have only had one trauma since arriving, but we have been keeping quite busy cleaning, and completely reorganizing the trauma bay, as well as Patient Hold. While reorganizing Patient Hold, we threw out 2 dumpsters full of expired supplies… I really wish I had taken pictures of the complete and utter chaos before Shayla and I attacked and conquered it.

Shayla and I share a cozy little CHU (really only meant for one person each) on Billionare Row, set up by the British while they were running the medical operations down here… All of the CHUs are arranged as houses on a street would be, with a ‘street’ in the middle, although you are only allowed to walk through. :) Some CHUs have a front step, some have a chair out front, and some have festive fake plants, to make the ‘street’ feel more homey. We also have sun-shades covering the CHUs, as well as air-conditioning, which help keep them cooler during the blisteringly hot months. We are not exactly sure what CHU stands for, but we have some ideas… Crappy Housing Unit being our favorite! It was quite the mess when we moved in, but with a few hours, a lot of elbow grease, antibacterial wipes, a good sweeping, and some new curtains (aka sheets), it looks pretty decent. I was lucky enough to score a wall locker and a bed frame, so I am not living out of my duffle bags, or sleeping on a cot anymore. We also happened to get a refrigerator that we stocked with plenty of A&W rootbeer, water and snacks. Additonally, we found an iHome that provides us with a little background music in the evening. Of course, I had to post the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures…

Other than that, my extension was disapproved, so I will be home sometime in October… I wish I could have more time here, but MEDCOM is convinced that William Beaumont needs me more than the 274th needs me. The next step is finding out if the new fiscal year will find the Army Nurse Corps flush with enough money to send me to school next year, or if I just PCS in May.

That is it for now in the life of this Army Nursey!

66HM5 out…