Today, so far, is an absolute repeat of yesterday. We wake up, eat, then slowly repeat the process of preparing ourselves. Fortunately, its given guys in our group a lot of time to talk and get to know each other. I’m currently sharing a room with a general surgeon, ER and FP physicians, and a critical care nurse. Many of us are within the same phase of life, 30s to 40s, married with kids from 2 wks old to the early 20s. Last night we went to go see the movie Reno 911: Miami, which was embarrassingly funny. We are hopeful to leave today, but are unsure due to the weather and other possibilities. The tough part about waiting is not knowing how day-to-day life will be at our final destination.
Many of us have mailed home clothes we don’t need and mailed forward clothes and hygiene products to Iraq, which has left us with little creature comforts here while we wait. I’ve re-washed my clothes everyday for the last 3 days. I’ve also had problems figuring out what, and what not, to bring with me. Although I’ve packed to travel many places before, this is my first deployment, and I want to be prepared for the real contingency of being stuck in Kuwait for 3-4 days, so I’ve had some “separation anxiety” of leaving extra clothes and other comforts. Overall, it’s better to pack very light. Most people fit all personal items in one sea bag, all of their issued gear in another sea bag, and then one carry on bag for your laptop computer, ipod, etc. Some folks have ’bitten the bullet’ and are bringing 3 sea bags, but hoping that 3 light bags will be easier to carry than 2 heavier ones.
It’s amazing how much money most of us have spent for “needed” items prior to our deployment. I estimate that I’ve spent close to $500 on items like an extra uniform, military carry on bag, upgraded boots (2 pairs), PT gear, and an assortment of other things. Not to mention, a few hundred dollars more for airline tickets and car rentals to get around. Even our meals, as officers, are paid out of pocket because we still receive our ‘BAS’ or meal allowance. However, I do hope to save some money while I’m away from the tax free combat zone benefit and other hazardous and family separation pays.
Another part of pre-deployment anxiety for medical personnel is wondering if you can handle the long work load and the severity and acuity of cases coming in. There are no business hours, holidays or days off during deployment. The Navy got out of the trauma business a long time ago, so many Navy surgeons (up until the war), don’t do a lot of trauma. Many of us spent up to 4 weeks in LA for the Navy’s Trauma Training Course, which for some people was helpful. Fortunately, most civilian orthopaedic residencies (especially inner city programs) give good trauma exposure, so I don’t think I’ll be overwhelmed. However, there’s a big difference between a closed tibia fracture and severe multiple limb blast injuries from an IED, so I to have some anxiety about not only what to do, but how much to do, before I MEDEVAC the patient out. As of right now, the Navy has a 5 level echelon of care beginning with level 1 “buddy aid” care in the field, usually administered by corpsmen or another marine. What I’ll be providing is level 2 care, which involves stopping the bleeding, debridement (cleaning) of wounds, and stabilizing fractures with external fixators before getting them on a chopper to a level 3 facility in country for more definitive care. Level 4 care usually involves getting the patient out of country to Germany for even higher more comprehensive care. Then finally, level 5, where the marine will head back to the U.S. for final disposition. The end result of having this system has significantly lowered the death rate of service members who make it to a doctor after being wounded in the field, and its been described as a ‘force multiplier’ and a ‘morale booster’ to the troops in the field.
Well that’s about all I have to say right now. I’m learning to occupy the vast amount of idle time by either reading, using the Internet, and now writing this blog. I’ll keep you all updated on events as they happen.
I’d love to hear from anybody, so feel free to return a comment or send a picture back through the blog when you get a chance.
Take care!
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