Cinnamon rolls, rain and other such goings on

Well here I am in Afghanistan going into my 4th month and it's been much of the same that it was the first month. Lots of sand and dirt EVERYWHERE... However. There was 1 day... this one day was different. I stepped outside and what did I see? Clouds! Spots of prior rain drops from the night before!


And more clouds with potential for rain! It was hot hot hot then one day and then someone flicked a switch and it's been cold at night and in the early morning and semi-warm during the day. Feels alot like AZ.

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So lately my current love has been these semi-cinnamon rolls that they have in the DFAC for breakfast. I say semi cuz it's more like a donut thats shaped like a cinnamon roll. It's the little pleasures that are the best... Enough about the weather. Not much else has been going on... Had a little medical scare ( not new for me for those of you who know me). My heart rate went super high and stayed up there. Had to spend the night at the aid station hooked up to the heart monitor. Then had to go up to KAF for more medical tests. When I got there the Dr. was even more concerned and decided to run some more tests. Nothing was super scary abnormal so it was decided that I could stay in country provided that I stay on my seizure meds and don't do anything crazy. So that was that.
Only 2 more months and I get to go home on leave! Looks like Steve and I will drive my car out to AZ since trying to buy tickets last minute will be pretty expensive. I can only get a round about date when I'll be home..
More updates to come!


P.S. ... Thats my Ambulance... :)

Here I am!!!

Phew! Sorry it's been so long but it's hard get good access out here. Well in September I got to my temporary home in Afghanistan.. Least for the time being. And let me tell you it wasn't easy getting here! We got to Kandahar in July safely and waited there for our new FOB to be ready. For the time being I was able to work at the hospital there and work in the Medevac and trauma sections in addition to working at our sick call location. It was truly amazing to work in the role that we got trained in; going out to the flightline and performing compressions, holding pressure over a wound etc. I love my job.
Well it came time to leave and we found out that all the medics minus me and my Doc were going to one FOB and I was going to a completely different location than I thought. So right before I was going to leave, I performed a vehicle inspection and noticed lubricant leaking from the rear axle of my vehicle. So I drove over to the repair yard only to find out I didn't have ALL the paperwork needed to turn my vehicle in for repair so I had to come back the next day. On my way back to park my vehicle... I had an accident. Suffice it to say my vehicle tore the roof off another vehicle and dragged it a few feet without blinking... It happened so fast I looked before I turned but the vehicle was small and in my blind spot so when I rounded the corner and with the position the were in at the intersection... wow. Thank GOD no one amazingly was hurt. My vehicle had a few scratches. I called Steve crying; It was my first accident ever! And, the first time I had done anything even slightly wrong in my military career. I was scared I would lose my "stripes." But all was well... my commander and platoon sergeant came flying down there and stood by me... Phew!
Well. So into the shop it goes. A week goes by and it's still not ready. My doc called and said he needed me down at the FOB now so they put me on the next convoy. Turns out since I was licensed, I had to drive on the convoy! Yikes! Let me tell you I know the road was considered relatively safe but I was still nervous. It's a big truck and that was a bumpy road filled with crazy drivers that cut you off. White knuckle all the way!
Obviously I made it. I got settled into my room with my room mate and started working at the aid station with the other medics that work down here. Well it came time to go get my truck. I got to fly on a Helicopter! It was pretty cool but a short ride. It was nice to be back where I could get a cup of coffee and go in a toilet that flushes (simple pleasures). When we went to leave I did a check on the vehicle again, tied down the spine boards, filled fluids, air pressure, latched things down; Check. We got a good bit down the road when we went over a pretty big bump and the hood flipped right up. What the H? What else could truly go wrong? Well once we got that resecured we got back on our way; albeit slowly as my vehicle refused to go faster than 35 mph. Sigh... I still love it. Well I made it safely to the FOB. More updates later!