Adapt and Overcome

It's been a week since I left Philadelphia. Since arriving, my past began a week ago in relation to the folks here at NCI. It both makes sense and is unreal. A week ago I was deeply connected to the daily schedules of at least 10 folks in my life in Philadelphia. Their (your) lives have continued and I have split and I miss you. Here, I am the same person, different context. It feels so good to be in the wilderness, away from the city, breathing in the fresh, moist evergreen air. NCI is situated in the middle of the North Cascades Mountain Range. The nearest town with a gas station is 20 minutes away and we are definitely 2 hours away from definitive medical care (a hospital with doctors). Good thing the skills we are learning are meant to both be used in an urban environment and in the wilderness. Class is from 8-5 mostly with plenty of small breaks and some night time sessions as well. We have reading to do for homework every night as well.

I have jumped, feet first, into this world as a learner, community member and a wannabe medic. We are learning about what do to when coming upon a patient and how to assess their injuries, starting with our own safety and moving on to their airway, breathing, circulation, etc. We learned how to administer oxygen and keep an airway clear. I am looking forward to learning to stick someone with an IV. We will be covering search and rescue this week as well. There are 28 people in the class, about half of them young men in the 18-25 age range. Which, we have learned, are an extremely high risk group, especially when drunk, for car accidents and snake bites. There are 9 women. I have bonded with my roommate Clarice, 20 years old from Santa Cruz, Ca and Addie, 26 and lives in Seattle. Addie, pictures left, and I find ourselves creepily on the same page with our thoughts, referencing the same cultural contexts and sarcastic comments. The three of us laugh a lot, which is so necessary.

Yesterday I went on a 14 mile hike with Addie and Kurt where we hiked up to the snow line at 3500 ft, decided to turn around and hiked some more. The day ended with tired legs and satisfied smiles. It was so nice to not run into any other hikers all day. The weather has been mild so far, no snow, little rain, not too cold. Though any of those things can happen any minute.

The title of the post comes from a quote one of out temporary instructors Sandy (aka Macgyver), who told us in his gruff way that we need to work with whatever tools we have in order to try and care for a patient, and to adapt and overcome.

More pictures to come soon!