Thursday 14 April 2011

So today was a productive day. I got up very very early by my schedule to head first to the Egyptian Hospital and then to the Joint Command Theater Hospital to have a previous sports injury checked out since it's been flaring up when I workout. Unfortunately there was a mis-communication with the car and my team member did not arrive back in time with the car for me to visit the Egyptian Hospital so instead we decided to go to the Post Office together, before heading the the US Hospital. Surprisingly there was no mail (we've been averaging 5-10 care packages a day) so we went to the hospital to check out "Sick Call". This is basically where anyone who works on base and has an ailment on base can come to be seen by a doctor. The interesting thing about today is that Tuesdays and Thursdays are the Afghan clinic day which means those Afghans who need more specialized treatment from a doctor are screened for security precautions and then brought to this hospital for more extensive treatment. So my teammate and I awaited amongst maybe two dozen Afghan men, women and children for my turn.
After my appointment I was pleasantly surprised to learn the the pharmacy system at the hospital is computerized so all I had to do was to swipe my ID card with the pharmacist and get my prescriptions! Then it was back to change into my uniform real quick for the start of my shift. My team leader and I went over to the Base Exchange for a little while to pick up supplies for the office and the sodas that we need for our first Intensive Care Ward pizza party on Sunday. We wanted to do something for the staff of the ICU Ward so our office got approval to buy pizzas for the to give them just a small thank you for everything they do.
Now I am back at the office and it is thunderstorming outside. The smell of the rain hitting the dust is distinct only to Iraq and Afghanistan. I've never smelled this earthiness anywhere else and it's times like these I really feel like I'm far from home.

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