It's raining, it's snowing, the old man is..... Oh, wrong lyrics!

In any case, it has been both raining AND snowing the last couple of days. And miserably cold and dreary. Boy do I long for the warm sunshine of Phoenix! I will get home just in time to really start enjoying those 100+ degree days!

Made for a relatively quiet day on call for me, though. A nice change after being busy the last few days, including taking care of multiple casualties from the recent VBIED or "vehicle-born improvised explosive device" outside of our base that was reported on the news. Luckily, we did not have to take care of any seriously wounded US soldiers from that blast. It was amazing though, to see everyone gathered again all geared up for multiple casualties. The teamwork here is truly awe-inspiring. I wish our ER's back home could have that kind of "single-mindedness" that we experience here when multiple casualties are inbound.

I'm A "Clydesdale" Now: The Pull Up Competition

Despite my high hopes of winning my category (the "Clydesdale's" were 40 and over), it was not meant to be. Even my 6 hours of daily workouts could not put me "over the top." Although in my defense, the ones that beat me were all younger than me:)! OK, only by a year or two. I will admit there were some "stealth" pull up champions amongst my ranks that surprised me. I am in the gym all the time and I never see them doing pull ups. Maybe they have a chin up bar in their barracks??

The day was truly made complete (and hilarious), however, watching the Slovak champion perform. Picture in your mind the opening scene of "Troy." Agamemnon challenges the Thessalonian General to fight in "the old way," with each army's champion. When the Thessalonian calls "BOAGRIUS" and this giant of a man walks out. That is what it was like watching the Slovaks call for their champion, who walked up on the stage to the chin up bar, and removed his sweatsuit, revealing a 28 inch waist, a 48 inch chest, and at least 18 inch "guns." I was waiting for them to yell "BOAGRIUS" but it never happened. What did happen was he proceeded to casually do 40 pull ups using perfect form. AMAZING! I thought "thank God he wasn't a Clydesdale:)." NOTE: The Slovaks are known for their fanaticism in the gym, usually putting even my workouts to shame! Eventually, however, just like in TROY, "Boagrius" the Slovak was "slain" by my Corpsman Sean, who proceed to do 41 pull ups! In addition we raised over $500 for the Wounded Warrior Project.

In the end, I decided I must have lost due to a serious lack of working out, so I upped my workout to 8 1/2 hours that day;). Maybe next time..........

Deja Vu

I thought I was back home at Fashion Square in Scottsdale, or perhaps a Bistro in Arcadia or the Biltmore! From the outside, the new Downtown Deli and Shop looks not much different than any other shop at the Boardwalk, only newer. With the blast shields out front and the tin roof and all. However, step inside, and you would swear you were at Fashion Square in Scottdale. The hardwood floors, the upscale electronics section, including Bose headphones for only $399! Or the selection of North Face clothing that would rival an REI. After a shopping spree upstairs, you can enjoy a nice croissant or quiche at the Bistro downstairs, just like at the Biltmore! Except you are in line behind a well armed Marine, sporting a nice M4 with the grenade launcher on it! You probably won't find THAT at the Biltmore. It was quite interesting, though, to experience such a place as Downtown in such a place as this. It almost makes you forget you are in a warzone. Almost......

"Down Time"

Thankfully, this winter has been somewhat slow so far for the ER. That is a great thing for the men and women of our military that we serve! It has also allowed for some time pursuing other interests, especially while on duty for 24 hours straight in the trauma ED. I have already explained in other blogs my manic workout addiction while not at work. Here are some examples of us using our time while at work during "down time."

Lieutenant Z helps to train our corpsmen, showing them the finer points of using the McGrath fiberoptic laryngoscope, used to help make it easier to place a breathing tube down a patient's throat (trachea). You can also see that my corpsmen Sean and Wil are musically-inclined, playing their guitars and singing one day. It ended up being like "Life in the ER- American Idol Style." Finally, my trauma team occasionally gets to attempt to watch a movie. I say "attempt," as 90% of the time when we do that we invariably get a patient. So, it is safer for our service men and women when we don't have "movie nights."

Leadership must have heard about my workout mania and figured I had "too much time on my hands" (like the song by STYX for those over 35 out there), so they made me the Department Head of the ER, at least for the next few months. I will have the opportunity to help train up some new staff coming on board. It will actually be a very good experience that I am looking forward to. I have made the decision that my workouts must not suffer, so I may not get quite as much reading in and/or sleep over the upcoming months:) One MUST have priorities!