Day Sixty-One

14 October 2006
I am sitting in my room listening to the gentle sound of the ocean, wet with sweat after a much needed workout, and full from eating my dinner of nuts and dried fruit. Let me now explain that odd first sentence.

One of my corpsman had told me that the best TV show ever is “Lost.” I decided to borrow his first season discs and have been quite addicted to the story ever since. The menu on disc 5 has an ocean scene with the sound of gentle waves rolling in and out. It is so relaxing that I have been letting it play continually for quite sometime now! If I close my eyes, shut out the hum of the ship, and listen to the waves, I feel transported to the beaches of California. I can almost feel the warm sun on my skin and the cool breeze off the water blowing through my hair…Ah, yes. Such a nice place to be for a bit!

I have not worked out as faithfully as I should (such is the mantra of many a person, I realize). My stress has build up (and was pushed over the edge yesterday) thus I finally had a much-needed work out. A medical emergency called away yesterday, when a hatch covering a ladder well (stairs) fell closed on a girl’s head as she went through. She did not loose consciousness, but was obviously in a lot of pain when she was carried into our ER on a stretcher. It happened to be one of my girls from Bible Study—a very cute and kind Californian. She had pain all along her right neck and head and had a cut on her head that was bleeding away. The worst part about all her injuries was the blood coming out her right ear. Never a good sign. Our x-rays did not show any gross abnormalities but we could not clear her c-spine (aka could not be certain that her neck did not have any breaks or other injuries). Clinically we diagnosed a basilar skull fracture. We have kept her comfortable on pain meds and valium while she lays in bed with a huge cervical collar around her neck waiting to get close enough to a land-based medical facility to do a CT scan and then transport to higher echelon of care (likely Germany). Bless her heart. She is stable and is doing quite well. That discomforting blood and cervical-spinal fluid has stopped leaking, too, and she has remains quite oriented, even telling our XO (executive officer) that she does not want to go home but recover on the ship. Anyway, the whole ordeal was a bit stressful which included three doctors not communicating well: SMO stressing out like usual, surgeon not wanting to take an active role in anything, me very edgy because a sailor I know is terribly hurt and I have never taken care of anything like that before (especially without a CT). But everything worked out well for both the patient and the doctors. I learned much better about communicating what I need with my fellow trauma-trained surgeon, who understands now that he needs to take more active roles in trauma situations. Also, I always wondered what I would be like when my patient is someone I care about and not just some sailor I have never seen before. It is a bit different. I grew more edgy and impatient. I will keep that in mind for next time (which I pray will never happen). Anyway, thus the tremendous need for my sweaty stress release today.

And, nuts and dried fruit for dinner? I missed dinner because I went and worked out during the serving time (1600-1730). The gym tends to empty out a little during dinner, so it is actually a good time to be there. I don’t have to lift my 5 lb dumb bells next to a guy with arms as big as my waist who is lifting 90 lb dumb bells (one in each hand!). You can also position yourself in front of a fan, which saves my head from getting so red with heat that I think that it is going to explode! But what made my dinner of nuts and fruit taste great is that while I ate, I was reading stories in Outside Magazine about mountaineering. Dried fruit and nuts tastes so good when you are outside expending energy to reach beautiful summits and extraordinary views (again, I let myself be transported)! Really, I am quite satisfied and content with my meal!

It is nice to feel content when October keeps trudging along. Apparently, our schedule keeps changing so I will look forward to being on land as soon as I see my shipmates leaving the ship and walking on it. Until then, I am water and steal bound and will continue to try to make the most of it. Sunday is another workday, so Monday will be our “day of rest.” However, tomorrow is also a happy day for many which is exciting to hear around the ship. Tomorrow, we are going to receive a ton (literally) of mail! That will encourage many. Well, I am now off to shower and watch Band of Brothers in the ward room (we have been watching two episodes every Sat). It is a fabulous series, and it is just as good the second time as it was the first time I watched it. I will also complete my dinner with a whole lot of popcorn!