HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Rain in Iraq

I think I am starting to understand the significance of the rain that Noah had after he built the Ark. It rained pretty hard on and off for two days before finally giving us a break. It rained so hard one evening just before heading off to dinner that our CHU began to leak (along with almost everyone else's). While the change in weather is nice, I am looking forward to an afternoon without rain tomorrow.

Looking forward to the next storm that should be hitting us in early next week...

Surprise Visit

Santa Claus made a surprise appearance during our MASCAL training yesterday. A very welcomed visit!!!

Zombies Dancing in the MCU

Be sure to turn your speakers on!!!!

It's The Small Things

I have not smiled that much in a while.

Thank you!

Need Your Help

The 47th CSH will still be deployed for Christmas this year. Many of our staff members have been away from home since February of this year. We would like to spend the entire month of December celebrating the Holiday Season (not just Christmas) and can use your help. Here is a list of what we need:

- decorations to hang in our tent hallway
- decorations to hang in the ER and in the ICU
- secret Santa type gifts for our staff
- used (still in good condition) fake Christmas trees
- interior and exterior holiday lights
- Santa hats
- Christmas movies
- gently used Christmas sweaters (for our Holiday "Sweater" BBQ)
- Christmas cookies
- holiday wrapping paper
- anything else that you can think of

Please send whatever you can by 15November to be sure that it arrives here on time.

Mailing address:

Elizabeth Hultgren
MCU- Holiday Committee
TF 47th CSH
COB Speicher
APO AE 09393

BBQ, Horseshoes, and Volleyball

Tonight was a great break from our boring lives here on Speicher. The theme of the night was Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention. There has been and will continue to be a big push for education on this topic in the military. Our CSH thought we might as well make it fun. While the food still came from the dining facility (D-Fac) it was nice to be eating outside giving it a real BBQ feel. There was a panel presentation and discussion providing us with information regarding the reporting process and different steps of prevention. Then the games began!!

There was a constant volleyball game being played with no score being kept. There were no official teams so anyone could simply join either side. The horseshoe pit was always being used (Kristie and I even won one of our games!). There was a bean bag toss game and some NEAR BEER PONG in action. The music was a great equalizer for everyone. Lots of silly dancing all around! Especially by those of us playing volleyball.

I can't say that this event was a stress reliever from work as we are thankfully not working that hard, but it sure was a great break from our boring reality here!

Homemade Treats

My cousin Makayla with the help of her mom Lisa surprised me with one of the most coveted types of care packages. They sent a big box of homemade cookies and homemade banana bread. The package of goodies arrived while I was at work so my co-workers and I quickly tore into the delicious treats. The banana bread was the biggest hit as we have not had any of that in a while. The cookies will hopefully last us another 2-3 days before we devour them. We sure do like home treats here.

THANKS MAKAYLA!!!!

Flight Training

Throughout this week our MEDEVAC Flight Crew that is stationed here with us on COB Speicher has been spending their mornings with us reviewing how they operate and how they would like to operate when working with them.

They parked one of the their UH-60s on one of our landing pads and let members of the CSH practice "cold loads". Meaning loading and unloading patients while the engines are turned off.

Then they fired up their engines as the CSH loaded up three of our staff on litters and secured them to the litter pans onboard. Myself along with another ICU nurse and an ER nurse also climbed in for a quick flight around the COB. I had a great time watching the two CSH medics strapped to litters infront of me smile everytime the helicopter banked for a turn.

While I am sure that this was good training, I had more fun watching the smiles of everyone that I privileged to work with.

Plus I was rockin' out with my iPod throughout the whole flight. No better way to fly than with some great tunes!

Congratulations SGT Demas

After a brief delay one our co-workers in the MCU received his orders for promotion. Meet SGT Demas!

Iraqi Health Care Fair

Earlier this week I had an opportunity to participate in a health care fair for many some of the Iraqi military leadership. Members of the 47th CSH Multi-Disciplinary Care Unit (the unit I work on) checked blood sugars and blood pressures of about 40 different conference participants. The focus of the conference was Personal Cardiac Health Care. There were lectures presented by the 25th ID Physician followed by a BBQ and a soccer game.

LT Kristie Miller, LT Kara Young, and I got to meet some really cool people. We spoke with the Commanding General of the 25th ID here at Speicher along with many of the members of his leadership team. The soccer game was fun to watch and the BBQ lunch was a great break from regular dining facility food.

Pop Rocks

The Halloween candy has started to arrive already. If only people would wait until after the PT test...

Just thought I would share my roommate Kristie's love for Pop Rocks!