It's been a while since I posted.
Maybe because things have been fairly quiet, nothing too exciting. It's been VERY cold, fairly stormy and overall very Alaskan Arctic 🥶.
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| Some of the ladies in Long Term Care at the Easter Party |
I've gotten to go on a few more vaccine trips to surrounding villages.
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| In Selawik with another awesome team |
One was to Deering, a small village with barely 150 people. We went on a Saturday, were supposed to return the same day but weather rolled in around noon and never left. I had brought food for lunch and had a toothbrush but not much else for the unexpected overnight stay. Thankfully the CHAP (Community Health Aid) was extra kind and brought us some food from her home including homemade caribou sausage. We all found a mattress or bed of some kind and weathered the storm. The next morning, the pilot finally agreed to come get us around noon. So we hopped in the ambulance (a converted pickup truck) and headed to the airport a mile or so away. Unfortunately there were snow drifts up to 5 feet high and about half way there, the ambulance got stuck. We saw that the plane had landed and something inside made us panic- what if he doesn't see us and he leaves us here? So we grabbed all our stuff and started climbing over the snow drifts. After 5 minutes or so of watching us scramble, a couple of snow machines miraculously arrived to give us a lift the rest of the way. And of course, the pilot was laughing as he watched us scrambling with our bags and gear, trying to reach him. Good times 😂.
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| The Deering store with such a nice façade |
The very next day, I flew to my village of Noatak for a week. This is the first time I've physically been there since I was assigned to them in March 2020. I had spoken to many Noatak patients on the phone, but meeting them in person was so much sweeter. It was January, so the days were cold and the daylight was limited. But what a beauty Noatak is, inland and located right on a winding river. It was nice to be there, nice to see where my patients live and also to finally meet the CHAPs that run the clinic. I spent the week seeing patients, doing home visits, exploring a bit by foot and overall enjoying being somewhere new.
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| The bell tower along the bank of the Noatak River |
I've had many press requests since being on GMA. What an adventure that has been. There have been a few other interviews published (see links below), but most we had to turn down. Just last week AccuWeather asked for an interview. Unfortunately, my work doesn't like being on the news or bringing awareness of the challenges we endure working in the Arctic. The opportunity I was most sad to forgo was Ellen. We spoke with the producers, it was all so exciting. But in the end, my work said no. So that was that 😕.
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| My GMA team sporting Carhartt gear that was gifted to us |
I got to take a trip to the lower 48 to visit my family and bestie in February. It was nice to have access to any food I wanted, fast internet and to love on these sweet twin girls.
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| Ava and Emma, they are the best! |
I've been skiing a lot. That's what you can do up here, so I do it with gusto. Skiing season is almost over, the temperature is right up around freezing now so snow is melting and the conditions just aren't ideal. I'm sad because I don't anticipate being in Alaska another winter which means my "ski in, ski out" location will no longer be a thing.
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| Out exploring the tundra. Spied a white wolf this day. |
I also do a lot of walking, up and around. Lots of slipping and sliding, I don't like wearing my crampons as they cause blisters so choose to risk it with just my snow boots. We can't really walk on the tundra- in the winter, you'd need snow shoes otherwise you sink and in the summer, it's too wet and soggy. But for berry picking, it's worth the wet. With all the COVID hoopla, getting out of my lonely refuge is oh so needed. A chance to breathe in the fresh air, chat with a friend without worrying about masks. Since there aren't fancier options, walking the same path is what we do and it's refreshing to the soul.
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| The crazy piles of snow that formed this winter |
That's me for now.
Here are a couple press links just for fun:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/alaska-female-vaccination-team-75620891
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