Sunday, Tuesday, And Friday

Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday are special days at Walter Reed. On those days a plane lands at Andrews Air Force Base carrying a very special cargo. The special cargo are the men and women who are returning injured to the United States from Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Three buses pull up to the back of the plane. One bus heads off to National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. A second bus take patients to Dewitt Community Hospital on Andrews Air Force Base. A third bus will arrive at Walter Reed AMC. A group of nurses and Army Medics meets the bus as it arrives at the main entrance of Walter Reed. Our Wounded Warriors who are able to will walk down the ramp and be escorted to the "Cast Room" where they will be evaluated by a team of nurses and doctors before being admitted to their respective floors. Other Wounded Warriors are carried off on litters while escorted by Air Force Flight Nurses and Doctors and taken directly to one of our Intensive Care Units. It is always difficult to watch these young men and women be unloaded from the bus, but it is always nice to know that they are still alive and are on their way to recovery.

Might be a little difficult to see, but that is our specialty made bus/ambulance arriving at the Walter Reed Main Entrance.

If you think about it on Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday nights around 5pm, say a prayer for our Wounded Warriors as they are arriving through the gates of Walter Reed.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Mock Code

In my quest to be a better Critical Care Nurse I have started teaching. Yup, as scary as that sounds to so many of you that know me, I am teaching. I am one of twelve on Walter Reed's Mock Code team. Every year while at Walter Reed I will be responsible for holding 4-8 Mock Codes in different parts of the hospital for the different departments. Many of our departments and clinics will thankfully go long stretches without experiencing a medical emergency requiring activation of the Code Blue team. The down side is that those staff members can get a little rusty on their skills. So our team will go and simulate a medical emergency and evaluate the response. The Officer In-Charge of the department or clinic can then schedule any further training that may be recommended. This way all of the Walter Reed staff will be ready to go when something happens.

Moving to Silver Spring

Yup, I am moving again. I have really enjoyed the house that I have been in for the past year and my landlords have been great. I am bummed to be moving but am excited to be getting an apartment all to myself. I have had roommates for the past 5 years and am looking forward to a space that is all my own. I will send out a mass email to the family with my new address. If you don't get the email let me know and I will get it to you.

My new apartment is a one bedroom on the 17-floor. My view is amazing!!!! I can see the National Mall, Walter Reed, the National Cathedral, National Naval Medical Center, Arlington, and Alexandria. It is amazing. When I get settled I will put up some pictures of the view!

Whitewater Rafting in November?

Uncle John took us to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC. It was awesome! Our guide John (he is in the yellow suit) was great! Uncle John and I took a little swim on two different rapids. Here are some pictures but click here. If you have trouble go to their site search for the photos/pics link and look for the date 29NOV with the time 1:00 - 3:00. Our pictures are mixed in with a few other groups but just look for the guy in the yellow suit. So cold but SO AWESOME! Thanks Uncle John!!!!

(On their site there are some great pictures of Uncle John "taking a swim".)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some glimpses of the food prep, the amazing Thanksgiving dinner with family, a little pre-Thanksgiving Farkel and Bohnanza, the midnight shopping team, and a "gifted" Brittania. There is a new face in a few of the pictures. That is Ben, Anita's boyfriend. Super nice and super cool. Very happy you were there for the weekend Ben!

Pray for them.

They are willling to give their all for you.

Maybe no California

So, plans have fallen through at the last minute and it looks like I am not getting to go to CA. A little bummed. It is the never ending story of "government communication" or lack there of. Oh well. I guess I will get a few extra days off to enjoy the cold but sunny weather of Maryland before all the leaves fall off the trees.

I am hopeful to get another chance to come out and recruit on the Army's dime. Guess I will have to wait and see.

Farewell Phoenix

I had to put one my pet rats today. Phoenix was getting really sick so I took her to the SPCA to be put down. Now I am down to one pet rat. I think Cruz is a little lonely but will probably not get another rat to play with. We will have to wait and see. So long Phoenix!

Happy Halloween

I will be working tonight and will have to miss out on seeing the costumed kids coming to my door to begin their week-long sugar high. It has been fun to see young families driving back from school with their little ones dressed up in the back seat.

An early Halloween treat was a local haunted house/tent in Laurel, MD. It wasn't so much scary as it was fun to watch friends jump as the staff spooked them. Erika, Maggie, and Lana displayed their tails as we entered the haunted tent. Afterwards we went out to dinner to chat and hangout. I am really liking my new floor. It has been pretty easy to stay out of whatever drama is going on and focus on learning more about patient care. I am so thankful that I was assigned to the MICU. A great staff to work with.

Halloween Celebations

This year's Halloween events have been fun and family oriented. Friday night I was Haunted House night and Saturday night was movie and game night. One of the girls whose house we went to has a 10-month old named Brendan. He is the cutest guy ever! She had bought a dragon costume for him to wear and he rocked it! Crawling around like a dragon. It was great! He even took on Cleo the cat (who was dressed as a jack-o-lantern). The cat loves him so it was really cute to watch.

Tim vs The Nasal Airway

Just for laughs one night at work, Tim and Laura came by to say hi. While visiting we took out a nasal airway to practice with on Tim. you know, just keeping our skills sharp...

Warning! Before viewing, please click here to see what a nasal airway is.

Another APUer Promoted

Michelle Siemens was promoted to 1Lt today. I was impressed as to how many people spoke during her ceremony. It is a true testimony to her hard work. Congratulations 1LT!

All By Myself

There comes a time when all baby birds must spread their wings and leave the nest. All baby birds including myself. I am off orientation and am now actually responsible to my own patients. I laughed the first night I walked in as they assigned me two of the busiest/sickest patients. Thankfully we were able to do some rearranging for patient safety. My patient load has ranged from one to three patients. I have had patients that don't truly need ICU care to patients so sick that without the medications and ventilatory support provided they would not survive. It has only been two weeks off orientation and I have already learned so much. I know that there is a ton more for me to learn, but I am sure having fun!

Where I work

A glimpse of the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) during AM rounds. I am sitting on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) side looking down to the MICU. Down on the far side is the MICU Medical Team in morning rounds. Starting at 0800 everyday they walk down the unit spending 10-20 minutes discussing each patient and their plan of care. The team consists of the 1 Attending, 1 Fellow, 2 Residents, 3-4 Interns, the MICU/PICU Charge Nurse, 1 Pharmacists, 1 Bereavement Counselor, the Nurse assigned to the patient, the patient, and (if available) the family of the patient. We have moved to a different area of the 4th floor which has fewer beds available than our old Unit. Currently we have 7 MICU beds and 3 PICU beds. Our number of available beds will increase next year as construction continues at Walter Reed.

Today was my final shift on orientation. While I still require further classes and training to be a PICU nurse, I am now a MICU nurse. It was a good last day. I cared for a ventilator-dependent seven day old. I learned a ton today. I can't just think of the kids as small adults. The PICU is an entirely different thought process. But I am eager to learn. I want to be confident in my care of adults and kids.

Arlington National Cemetery

I have an amazing respect for this place. It is an honor to walk the grounds and reading the names of those who sacrificed their lives so that I may be free. The markers of the unknown soldiers from the Civil War and the Spanish American War make me think of the families that never knew what happened to their loved on.

The grave marker of US Army Nurse Corps Officer Captain Maria Ortiz who died in Iraq on July 10, 2007. The first US Army Nurse to die in combat since Vietnam.

Retired US Navy Captain Charles Burlingame III was the Captain of the flight that crashed into the Pentagon. His family visits his grave weekly to lay fresh flowers.

Section 21, a place of honor for Military Nurses. A place that is difficult to walk through.

Section 60 contains those we have lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In the middle of the white grave markers sits a mother. She comes everyday to visit her son.

It is a very humbling feeling to walk amongst the white stones marking those heroic individuals not afraid to stand up for what they believed in.

Biking with Angie

I met Angie at OBC while we were at Ft Sam Houston back in 2006. We have both been stationed at WRAMC since. Our schedules are often the exact opposites of each other so it is often difficult to find time to hangout together. However, this weekend we were both off. Angie recently got a road bike so we took off for a ride. There are some great paved trails up near the Baltimore Airport that go on forever. It was great. We had a blast catching up and talking about her future plans with the Army Nurse Corps. She is getting ready to take off back to Texas for her specialty course. She is going to train to be an Operating Room Nurse in January. Yeah for Angie!

(I know I am not wearing my helmet. I ran out of the house and forgot to put it in the car.)

Update on Coming to California

I have been in touch with the recruiting office that I will be working with and I have the dates. I will be flying in on Tuesday, November 11 and fly back out on Saturday, November 16. I am going to try to find out what my schedule will look like to see if I will be able to get an evening off so I can catch up with whomever will be around. Mark your calendar for I am coming!!!

Coming to California

There is a really good chance that I will be heading back to CA for a week in November. The US Army Medical Department Southern California Recruiting Command that recruited me two years ago is trying to steal me from Walter Reed AMC for a week. While there in CA I will be presenting the Army Nurse Corps to different Schools of Nursing. As many of you know I am not the greatest public speaker, but I love what I do so I think I can pull this one off. If you are in the SoCal area mid-November let me know and maybe we can grab dinner.

MICU Promotions

Congratulations to newly promoted Captian Melinda Prichett, Captain Katie Casper, and Captain Lana Roche! I work with all three in the MICU/PICU. While they are not my preceptors they have been great at answering my questions and helping me out.

Wood Corps

Are you too intrigued as to the names Sarah and Todd Palin have chosen for their kids? Ever wonder what your name would be if you were born into the Palin family? I sure did. I would be Wood Corps Palin. Click here to find out what your name would be...

Military Order of The Purple Heart

Today I attended the Military Order of The Purple Heart's ceremony honoring Military Nurses. The ceremony was held at Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremony focused on the proud tradition of military nursing. Closing remarks focused on our fellow Army Nurses that we have lost. One loss that is still near and dear to our hearts is Captain Maria Ortiz whom we lost on July 10, 2007.

Following the ceremony our leaders placed a wreath in front of a statue in Section 21. Against a background of evergreens, the heroic size white marble figure looks out upon the Army, Navy and Air Force nurses who so valiantly earned their right to lie at Arlington. The granite statue of a nurse in uniform, sculptured by Frances Rich, honors the nurses who served in the U.S. armed forces in World War I, many of whom rest among the hundreds of nurses buried in Section 21 -- also called the "Nurses Section."

Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Department of Nursing had a strong showing of support. Each floor sent some of their nurses in either Class A's or Dress Blues to the ceremony. Here I am with 1LT Caroline Morris from the MICU/PICU, fellow APU grad 2LT Michelle Siemens from the Cardiology Stepdown, and 1LT Jessica Dos Santos from the SICU.

Never Forget

Shanksville, PA
Pentagon, Washington DC
New York City, NY

"but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles"

Isaiah 40:31

Celebrating Life

A group of nurses from the my new floor, the MICU/PICU, went out to dinner Thursday night to "Celebrate Life" as CPT Blanton put it. There were a total of 16 of us eating and hanging out. It was a great night for me as I am relatively new to the group and this allowed us to get to know each other a little better. It was a blast. I did feel a little sorry for our waitress at first until we figured out that she would be getting a massive tip...I stopped feeling so bad (we were pretty well behaved).

With what I see and hear everyday on the news and on the job, it was really nice to have a night out with my fellow nurses to Celebrate Life!

Plus, who does not like chocolate?!?

Celebrating 15 Years!

Hultgren-Tillis Engineers is celebrating 15 years of business this month. What started with my Dad and his business partner Kevin has grown into a wonderfully successful company serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Congratulations on 15 years playing in the mud! I am excited to see the next 15 years!

Congratulations Dad! Congratulations Kevin!

Know Why Women Should Vote

Click on the image learn of what women did not so long ago to secure your right to vote.

Holy Hannah!!

Tropical Storm Hannah that is. Yup, I have survived yet another wonderful aspect of living on the east coast...the freak out from the weather. Sure the winds were a little stronger than normal and we got a little more rain than usual. But the fear the news media was trying to instill was a little over the top. Granted my plans to go the Orioles game were postponed which was a bummer and my morning trip to cheer on the cyclists from the 24hoursofbooty.org (LiveStrong Foundation) did not happen...but my room has never looked cleaner. And I actually had time to run some errands. Amy - your b-day present is en route and not late as usual!

Thankfully no serious injuries were caused in my area outside of DC and my fellow soldiers and nurses' all had safe travels to and from their events.

I actually loved the down pour we received from the storm. It felt like being in Mission Springs with the wind howling around my house and the rain pounding on my roof. I loved it! And I miss the winters in Mission Springs!

Hiking with Michelle

Michelle and I went to nursing school together and are currently both stationed at Walter Reed AMC. It seems that we are always working opposite schedules so it is rare that we get to hangout. Today we were both off and decided to go hiking before going out to sushi at my new favorite resutrant Yin Yankee in Annapolis. We had a lot of catching up to do and hiking a local trail allowed us plenty of time to talk an joke around. The weather was great as it was the day before Tropical Storm Hannah hit. Annapolis was getting ready for the storm by placing sand bags in storefronts and many boat owners were double checking everything on their boats. It was fun to watch everyone work to prepare for what was ahead.

If you are ever in town with me and like sushi we should plan on heading over to Annapolis for the day and get dinner at Yin Yankee.