CNN

Hard to believe we have been here for over 6 weeks already. Things are continuing to go well. There have been a few bumps in the road, but otherwise life is good! The volcanic ash affected mail deliveries and more importantly some staff members arrival/departures as well as patient flow (they got to Germany and then ‘stuck’). Work has been going well also, getting into some more projects and keeping myself busy. It helps the time pass and keeps my mind focused. The sports have been a nice break for sure; cricket, hockey, volleyball, soccer, etc...being 1 of 2 rec people has its perks :) Especially the interaction with the Aussies...love the accent!

In fact just a few weeks ago CNN was filming (though we didn’t know it was them) while we played volleyball with some members of the Slovician Army. The broadcast came out later that week and my parents, as well as a coworker in Bagram saw it. Michael Holmes did a bit about several different nations coming together in Kandahar. It shed a nice light onto this place. It finally came online this week and I have watched it; it sure is me...hehehe....here is the link if you’d like to watch, its about 2 1/2 minutes long.

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/04/22/holmes.kandahar.air.base.cnn

We have had some change over for teams at work, Brent, our old team leader went back to Canada after 8+ months here. Now, Shannon, is working with us and has been a great addition. We will have another change in a few weeks as another Canadian counterpart will go back home. Its sad to see them go and I haven’t even been here that long. Thats the good and bad thing about Roto's (Rotational groups) overlapping. They bring a lot of what works/doesn't work and shares knowledge, but then they go after you become good friends.

The spiders here are ridiculous. This camel spider was caught near the hospital. They actually grow to be much larger...ewe, ewe, ewe. Of course I had to share this nasty experience :p

I thank everyone who has sent care packages, they have been GREATLY appreciated by myself, my roommate and co-workers with whom I share. I am fully stocked for a long while and really don't need anything for a few months. I do appreciate cards, letters and postcards. They are pleasant surprises in my day. Thank you for the continued prayers and support of all the Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and Marines here in Afghanistan!

Ciao Ciao for now!

Pickin Up

Things are getting into a decent routine here now in Kandahar, and to break the monotony we are doing more sporting events via MWR. Luckily I am the recreation person and so I get to go to most everything assuming I am not in house. I have made friends with a few Aussies and got to play cricket this past week, its much like baseball, but with a few twists. This coming week before most of our closest Canadian friends depart we will be having a nurses versus doctors hockey game. It should be pretty interesting :)

At the hospital we continue to stay busy and have some slow, then chaotic days as well. Thats the way medicine goes no matter where you are located. We have also started to move into our new facility, so thats a big step. We are currently in modified structures with tent annexes from when the Canadians first set up shop a few years ago and its so cozy I think I will miss it when we move to a new and modern facility. With increase in facility comes fluxes of patients, so days will be even busier, thank goodness for being on a kick ass trauma team :) Below is a pic of practicing intubations with a piece of equipment called the Glydoscope which allows you a visual of the procedure. Our Corpsman, Jarrod, was our volunteer.

Not too much else cooking here, its staying warm of course, and I think I felt a few sprinkles today, but thats few and far between. Hope everyone is doing well! Ciao Ciao from KAF!

Update

So I made an oops in the last posting; my address is incorrect (wrong zipcode), so my address should read;

LT Stacy Syrstad

Role 3 Hospital MMU

APO, AE 09355

Thanks cousin Julie for noticing. And if you make the mistake; I have received 2 boxes even with the wrong info :)

Things continue to go well here as I am now settled into a few weeks of work. As with anything in medicine and the hospital we have our busy days and our slower days, and most recently I have found my pager DOES, in fact, work in the middle of the night :) The good thing about being on call 24/7 is that when you go in your are doing something that will keep you busy, focused and giving care to someone who really needs it. The only time we get called in is when the primary, in house team, has multiple patients coming in, so its not bad at all.

Over the last 2 weeks I have seen some things I never in my life have see so far and I can just tell myself its a great feature to be able to separate yourself from patients when caring for them. Often I don't get to hear that they have a child, brother, mother, etc...and it keeps my job from being so emotionally taxing. Don't get me wrong, some things are shocking, but we tell ourselves we did a good job and its time for them to move along to the next caretaker (either the ICU, ward or the US).

The Kandahar "krud" has hit in full force and I am finally getting over my sinus infection that stuck with me for 10 days or so. The dust storms are getting stronger and apparently there is a thing called 120 days of wind that starts soon...wind here means sand everywhere! Should be interesting as already there have been days you can't walk across the street without getting sand in your teeth, nose and eyes.

Its been fun getting more settled and being able to play some hockey on the cement rink the Canadians have set up. That as well as volleyball are pretty fun breaks from the monotony :) The Stanley Cup was around for all of last week and though I saw it, didn't have a camera at those times. This week some members from the Soprano's also stopped by the hospital, Tony and Paule. I got a photo with them, though have to admit I never really watched the Sopranos.

Once again I hope this note finds everyone in good health and doing well. Thank you for all the prayers, e-mails and messages so far :)