Friday 6 June 2014

Beauty...Through the "Round Window"

Its 4.30am and we are nearing Juneau in Alaska and i just glimpsed out of the "Round Window" or porthole and the scene was breathtaking...even as the tiredness sets in i must appreciate these moments...let me try describe it.
The ocean is still without a wave...just a ripple on the surface. The surface looks like glass, shining with a silver sheen. If i was outside id expect no wind...just a crisp, icy morning air. As the sun is starting to rise, its tip has barely surfaced and the reflection of the sun, has turned the oceans surface a light pink. The sky is also pink and it looks like the world is aglow with a pink light. Even the clouds have taken on this pink glow. Ive tried a few photos but they just aren't doing this scene justice..
This is what ship life is about in essence....appreciating the magic, that no matter what... still exists... if only one stops to look round to see/feel and experience it.

Unlucky Cruise Number 13!

Gday all.....Phew thank god cruise ending in number 13 is over! It all started in San Francisco as an innocent alaskan adventure and very quickly turned into a very busy cruise. So it started out with two sick patients needing to be medically disembarked (thats the term we use when we send someone off the ship for medical reasons.) an ambulance picks them up and takes them to a hospital shoreside. Then we head off for the next port and get another patient who stays in the medical centre which means 12 hour round the clock shifts for the three nurses. Then we start to have an increase in gastro cases....then hit RED level within three days....SH#T! Red level means all the fun stops. Officers can no longer go up into passenger areas. All social activities are restricted and we get very busy buried in paperwork!!
As if thats not enough....then on our last port in alaska we disembark a lady within an hour of her getting to the medical centre...shes sick.....a lot of paperwork and rushing around is done. Then the senior nurse, doctor and other nurse see two ambulances at the gangway as they are heading back from a day out and bolt in the door to see why!! All the hard work is done and we stand them down as the lady heads to hospital after only an hour in our care, thats fast and efficient work and we are pretty chuffed with ourselves, going "disembark in an hour- we rock" (high five). Then we breath a sigh of relief, as we sail away from port. BUT ding-dong the medical centre doorbell goes off and it is a man who is clearly sick arrives and needs to be off the ship. The medic and i swing into action and then i look out the porthole (window) and relies we are sailing- crap-but this man needs to be off - "QUICK CALL THE DOC" i say to my colleague- she phones the doc and he comes in and straight away to call the captain and yep...STOP THE BOAT! Only in an emergency does this happen. So senior nurse happens to swing by and lends a hand. The man is off the boat into a lifeboat to shore to meet the ambulance within 35 mins and then is safe in hospital. He recovered well. Then we head off to victoria in canada with two days at sea. We had a couple of patients and our outbreak continued. We then at dinner on the last night are chatting about the cruse saying you can't make this stuff up. Myself and the medic had worked together every shift it got busy! We are a scary combo. Jokingly we say the night before our crew doctor leaves...all we need now is a medical response...
0600 hours: booming into my cabin comes the PA voiceover: "Attention ships company...Medical Response Team proceed to Deck...Zone....Starboard side" Before he finishes this I'm outta bed, into my scrubs, slip ons and out the door into the elevator and on the scene. Its the worst way to be woken up ill say. Amusingly on the way we are running...and down a passenger corridor...we sound like a heard of elephants as there is four of us going flat chat to get there...im sure we woke every passingr in that corridor! Whoops! We do our best. Then by the time the emergency was over....it was time for clinic. The poor crew doc i think wanted to strangle me n medic for cursing us!! But she was on holidays..even if it was a long journey home for her!
So in total we disembarked 5 passengers, had the outbreak and then as if it wasn't crazy enough. We said we couldn't top all this. So me n senior nurse proceed to shopping in san francisco for the day and have a wine and toast to the fact that cruise no. 13 is over and with it we think the crap run we have had...in total this 11 days i had four hours off the ship, thats ship life!
We get back on after san fran feeling like we might get a break- WRONG! A phone call to the medical centre that evening and we are running to a scene and from there.... call a medical response so the rest of the medical team turn up with all the resus equipment...the patient recovered. So that was two in a day.....i dared NOT go to bed until midnight that night as superstition had me worried....given the cruise so far i would not have been surprised if there was a third medical response that day!! There is again though an inpatient on our first day outta san fran so again we are doing 12 hr shifts...although as I'm always so lucky tonight is a 13 hour shift...there is a time change and its an hour back with our clock!!
There was also a 29 hour stint in the middle which was crazy! But had to be done. I started with 12 hour night.....then had to cover a colleague for morning clinic until 10.00am. I had the X-ray course at 1pm and we were tendering (using lifeboats to get to shore from where the boat is anchored) which takes longer to get anywhere. We get over to land and head for the other ship where our course was being held...a 3km walk no less. Did i also mention we had to be in our officers uniform.....so looking like idiots we walk the 3kms. We get to the entry where boarder protection are and tell them who we are...ACCESS DENIED...due to our ships red level we do not get permission to board the other ship....so we turn and walk 3km back to our ship..not impressed. So then i think im going to bed- nope. Im meant to do afternoon clinic and its now 3pm....So i have to man up and do it.....I eventually got to bed that night bout boy was it a struggle. That sleep was amazing!!
The good bits have been speaking to Narelle...then charlton when he got home from europe!! That was great. And still the scenery from the glimpses out the portholes and my window have revealed beautiful snow capped mountains.
Tonight  I have been doing jobs and checking stock...which means expiry dates etc but it makes the night go faster. we are off red level and so at least i can go up and get decent coffee from the cafe upstairs. Today there was another emergency and we took the stairs to get there...three floors up...made it there alive lol but the risk with stairs is when you arrive on scene you can't be too short of breath to perform your emergency duties so i wouldn't take the stairs more than that if i could help it!! lol!
The sea has been rough too and we will be late to our first port for this cruise..im happy though as i have so far avoided being sea sick!!
Tomorrow will be interesting myself and the medic are going as representatives of the medical department to an event to meet the CEO of the COMPANY!! Yes they are sending me so on with the uniform, make up airs and graces!! lol!
Well i best be off to do some more pottering to stay awake as its now 3.30am and the sitting down is not helping the staying awake!! Cheers!