Mark and Chad are the two flight/trauma nurses I have joined in Ramadi. We trained together in Camp Lejune before coming out, and I picked up the Ramadi mission hand in hand with them.

Mark has been running a blog also since arriving. I am linking his blog to mine today, so be sure to check him out. Great video of Ramadi trauma in action along with local sights.

http://mgreeniniraq.blogspot.com

Fellow Bloggers

Just want to introduce some fellow bloggers in-theatre with me. I don't know where they get the time to craft such fantastic sites or where they discovered decent internet access, but we are all lucky to have these talented sets of eyes and ears to the ground......please visit their links when you get a chance.

http://www.mudvillegazette.com/
http://acutepolitics.blogspot.com/

Also, I want to thank everyone who has been posting comments and leaving feedback. I don't have individual emails, so shoot me one when you get a chance. Otherwise here is a big collective Thanks for reading and sharing, and thank you for your support and prayers!!!!

Iraqi Police gone wild

This is the backside of the hospital, and is our casualty receiving area. The vehicles that come barreling down this alley are as varied as the patients. Everything from Bradleys and Strykers to Iraqi Coalition vehicles and MIA1 Abrahams.

Two days ago we added massive concrete barriers between the passageway and our receiving area. Don't you want to know why???

Here's a story you don't want to miss: I was standing in the trauma bay when we got a heads up that suspected insurgents were being brought after a firefight out in Ramadi. So the teams assembled quickly outside to receive the patients (modus operandi). So imagine the surprise when two Iraqi Police trucks whip around the corner bristling with AK-47's from truck beds, windows, ect. And one IP standing at the .50 Cal mount with all weapons fully loaded! HOLY SH.. was all I was thinking, if you want the truth. We know and work with the Iraqi Police fairly close at this point, but still: who really knows who the bad guys are? They could have vaporized most of the trauma team in seconds. The front gate failed to get them to actually clear all weapons before entering. Can someone say "dropped the ball". We immediately put in a priority construction request the next day.

Mild trauma trickled in all day. Head bumps here, superficial penetrating shrapnel there.....this evening after chow: devestating. Young Iraqi boy comes in after getting run over by a truck. His left thigh was torn in half, with muscle and connective tissue bulging out of a hasty field dressing. Serious head injuries we just didn't have time to evaluate. We tried in vain to get IV lines started on him, but no success. Breathing became slower as it crept towards agonal, and we just got an intra-osseous line as he crashed on us. Heroics kicked in, and we attempted cardiac massage, tried giving blood through the osseous lines, and resorted to intra-ventricular fluid/blood administration. He was anoxic for 10 minutes and we just couldn't stand to give up-reality caught up with us. It was all I could do to compose myself as I gently held his leg (I was running fluids/blood and medications at the foot of the bed) and lifted his innocent Spirit up to the good Lord..........Only His strength keeps me going; I know it isn't mine. Can't express how deeply hurt and vulnerable the team feels when we can't save a child...............

Our own little slice of heaven in the middle of U Know What

Friday and Saturdays picture of our SWA Hut (southwest asia) progress. When the current team found out we were augmenting them, they had nowhere for us to live (we are currently "camping" in a small wooden hut; no furniture; beds that mysteriously collapse in the middle of the night). The hut is being build right behind the hospital so they can run and grab us in a hurry when trauma comes in. That's D squared and Eric standing inside for the picture... Needless to say, we can't wait to move in! Anyone have any gaudy lawn ornaments they are willing to donate to a good cause????

Side note: can I change my address one last time? This should be the right one:
LT Carl Goforth
C Co 3rd BSB
1 BCT 3 ID
Camp Ramadi
APO, AE 09396

The cost of a decent meal

The cost of every meal in Ramadi: fill your two sandbags. The memories and character-building: priceless....

Here's a great way to cure adolescent obesity in the U.S. I bet this would keep the kids out of fast food restaurants!

Friendships where you least expect them....

Wanted to take a little time to introduce two great friends I met at Al Asad. Kathy is standing behind the exhaust of a burnt out MIG. She lives in Oregon and is an Army reservist attached to a unit from the NorthEast. She is an OR nurse, and was instrumental in getting the Army's Level III hospital up to speed. Kathy introduced me to vanilla chai lattes, and I showed her some of Al Asad's "don't miss" sites (e.g. Abraham's Oasis, anti-aircraft outpost, the hospital's lost dungeons). We had an absolute blast the last few weeks I was there.

Cameo is the pool/swim instructor at the Al Asad indoor pool. She is retired Army and also has a son stationed in Kuwait. If it wasn't for Cameo, I would have never timed myself for a half-mile swim (21:19 thank you very much), or learned the butterfly stroke (still learning....) She wanted me to thank everyone who sent swim goggles---it was a huge help!!!!

To meet these two special women out here was beyond what I expected. They provided a lighter touch of humanity to what is otherwise a desolate and sometimes inhospitable place. They both have the biggest hearts, care deeply for others, and it shows in all they do. I am blessed to have found such special relationships where I never would have expected.....thank you both!!!!