After a glorious but very busy Christmas
and New Year’s filled with family, friends, food, travel and fun, lots of fun
where we enjoyed having the eldest daughter home for what is looking like her
last solo holidays as hopefully our son in law will join her this year. We all
took turns entertaining the grandkids and ate too much. A complete success!
Followed by a fairly quiet New Year’s, last minute visits and frantic packing with
a January 2nd leave.
I’m somewhat settled into my new role as
public health nurse in a new region, new community and transient apartment. And
it looks like I’m able to update the blog on my laptop, save then insert the
thumb drive into the network at the office to post. I’m working on transferring
photos from my phone to the computer to USB as well…that might take some
finagling. You’re not missing much as the pictures thus far would be dark,
blizzard and more snow. This community is known for its inaccessibility with
flights frequently cancelled and blizzards common. The routine of travel is
only routine if you’re repeating the same route without weather/mechanical
delays. The two day commute turned into three necessitating a dig through the
duffel bags to find clean socks and and underwear for the run into Clyde River.
Third times a charm apparently.
The commute started out well with a mid
day flight meaning a reasonable arising time for the three hour drive which was
shortened with dry pavement. I stopped at my nursing classmate’s as she stores
my car. She also volunteers at the airport so she drove me in and we wrestled
the bags from the vehicle into the terminal. The bags were obviously under 50
lb. as they were smoothly accepted and I was delighted to receive priority
stickers for them. After a quick security clearance (thank you Nexus) I made a
Starbucks stop for hot chocolate and bagel and was joined by my volunteer buddy
so we caught up on the news until boarding. The flight to Ottawa was routine,
my bags were first off the carousel, I called the Hilton Garden Inn shuttle and
was efficiently deposited at the hotel. The only glitch being I had to pay for
my room and will be reimbursed on my travel claim as there was no
preauthorization by GN for the reservation, small issue. Daughter #1 joined me
after work and we had a great supper at a lovely Italian restaurant. We
celebrated our reunion with cocktails and I enjoyed a strawberry
liquer/prosecco drink which was correctly named as a strawberry delight. The
salads and pastas were delicious, leaving no room for dessert. We browsed
Michael’s and I resisted yarn purchase due to space limitations in my luggage -
most restrained I’ve ever been at Michael’s. Look out on the February return
when I’ve eaten the food I’m carrying in. Back to the hotel to partake of
mimosas and visit until sleep overtook us.
Morning routine meant I headed out
on the airport shuttle and the daughter made her way to work. Never long enough
but wonderful to be able to visit along the way. A plan to extend my trip by
changing the ticket on one of these runs out is on the list. A quick check in
at First Air with bags tagged through to Clyde River and no need to prioritize
one. As I waited at the gate with a South African GN policy analyst heading
back to Iqaluit after a holiday vacation with his family in Manchester UK as
well as his cousin, Iqaluit criminal justice clerk, from the same place, they
entertained me with northern stories. The north is a haven for immigrants,
especially taxi drivers, but lots of young professionals as well. The flight
departed on time, it was a flawless three hour run and after breakfast I
snuggled into my parka and had a great nap until we were approaching Iqaluit.
The only negative being I missed the warm chocolate chip cookies which were
served. We deplaned to the new airport which is stunning and I made my way to
Gate 5 for the Clyde River departure. The plane arrived and….an announcement
was made that the Clyde River segment was cancelled (blizzard there I’d seen
when checking the weather). Over to the First Air counter to be told that
tomorrow am was the likely rebook and given a customer service phone number. I
called HR and was given a room at the Frobisher Inn for the night and told a
0745 departure to Clyde River was planned, to be at the airport 6 - 6:30am.
Check in, dragging of bags to the room, regrouping and off to source wifi for
my stay in Clyde River. The clerk has misdirected me to the wrong business so I
walk in -34c to the Gas Stop on the corner for the SSi Micro outlet. It took a
while and a bit of cash but the Inuit clerk manages to set me up with a new sim
card meaning I have a new phone number for calls and texts and 3GB of
data/month. Talk about same country, different planet…it’s like international
travel. The clerk calls me a $7 taxi and I’m deposited back at the hotel. I am
delighted to find there’s a cinema in the building with Mary Poppins and
Bumblee playing, the same as at home but defer due to my early start in the
morning. I source some arctic char and salad with a cup of tea for supper and
then veg out. Ahhhh.
Awake with the 5am alarm, repack, dress
in winter gear…as my buddy used to say…how do you dress for a northern flight?
put on all the clothes you have and head to the airport…and call a taxi. I find
the doors locked when arriving at 6am and no First Air staff in sight. Security
guard lets me (and a Clyde River resident) in and by 6:30 the First Air staff
arrive, quickly ignoring the assembled passengers. At 0645 I attempt to check
in and am advised that the flight to Clyde River was cancelled this am. Nice.
We’re being put on the flight to Pond Inlet this afternoon and will be dropped
off on the way, leaving at 1:30pm, be at the airport by noon. I call the hotel and ask to reclaim my room for a few
hours - no problem then share a taxi with a family of four and their mounds of
luggage back to the Frobisher Inn. We actually stop and pick another passenger
up on the way in town. I have graciously been given the front seat and don’t
dare look over my shoulder to see how a fifth body was added to the back seat.
We explode from the cab, I drag my bags up the steps, retrieve my key, struggle
to the room, deposit the perishables in the fridge and flop in the chair. After
collecting myself I mosey on down to breakfast and enjoy a smoked arctic char
eggs benedict with home fries and a tea for breakfast. A quiet morning with my
book, a call to First Air to ensure the flight is still on before I repeat the
process again. I share the hotel shuttle with a BC student who is applying to
med schools in the hope of returning to the north, I wish her well. Check in
and finally free of the bags. I wait at the gate with the various community
members I’ve already met and my newfound friend of the early morning plays a
mean harmonica concert for us. I forgot how much I enjoyed Nunavut, with all its
rough edges it’s still a wonderful place of authentic people who are managing
to retain their Inuit language and customs, albeit with terrible dental health,
large numbers of children and beautiful chubby dark eyed babies with full heads
of black hair, folks with very shy helpful ways and lots of giggles. It’s been
four years since I’ve been in the territory and it’s a wonderful feeling to
return. The flight departs on time with 12 passengers for the two communities
as we leave the midday light of Iqaluit and fly into the arctic darkness. After
two hours a final approach is announced and the lights of Clyde River pop. 1004
appear along the hillsides. As we approach the airstrip I notice the locals
looking out the window and bracing, so I do the same as I assume we are coming
in more quickly than usual. Momentarily we are down onto the runway with a firm
bang and a couple of bounces and then taxi to the small airport. We’re quickly
off the plane and into the crowded terminal. I’m sought out by health centre
staff who are waiting for me “are you the TB nurse?” We retrieve my duffels
from the back of the cube truck and are off to pick up the apartment keys. Hard
to get a sense of the place in the dark and moving so quickly. It’s already 4pm
but the acting nurse in charge suggests I come back to get started so we drop
the bags, I stuff the perishables in the fridge and return to the health
centre. Getting onto the network for email (have 3578 messages since 2014 when
I was last employed by GN) and logged in to Meditech are the priority. I try to
get my head around the charts and notes stacked on the desk but I don’t know
this community, the program or any of the parameters. At 5:30 pm the mental
health nurse is leaving and I hitch a ride with her, making plans for a grocery
run the following day. It’s been a long day. I unpack my food, clothes and
supplies into the cozy apartment, take a much needed shower and fall into bed.
Things look better after a good sleep and
a breakfast of lobster and scrambled eggs - due to the kindness of a previous
occupant who left a few groceries in the fridge and cupboards. After lunch my
coworker arrives and we make our way to the Northern store which is the only
shop in town which likely accounts for the atrocious prices (even by northern
standards) and mediocre quality on the shelves. The place is new and clean with
helpful staff but it isn’t hard to spend $60 for a small bag of food. There is
even a Tim Hortons express kiosk at the entrance. I’m dropped off with my
groceries as my co-worker takes the vehicle promising to return in time for me
to head in to the health centre for an arranged visit. A large part of TB
treatment is ensuring that medication is taken and this is accomplished by
something called DOT (directly observed therapy) meaning…watching a patient
swallow the pills as ordered - daily in the initial phase, then three times per
week for the continuation. A major problem being discontinuation of treatment
or more than two missed doses in a row. If the patient doesn’t attend the
appointment as arranged then they are located at home, work, school etc and the
medication administered. The 4pm appointment isn’t kept as the patient doesn’t
get up until 5pm, I have to phone the TB assistant as I have no idea where the
patient lives and she comes to the health centre to accompany me, navigating
for me as I drive. There are various complications to the visit which
necessitates my return three times to the health centre and I’m flustered. I
collect my coworker and as we head back to the office I suggest that it’s
difficult to have nurses coming in and out of the community. She agrees adding
“you’re never sure if they know what they’re doing” to which I respond that
although I haven’t gotten off on a great start, I’ll do better. She shows me
how to record the visits on Meditech and in the TB binders. I promise to do the
visit the next day without messing up and definitely not calling her - she nods
approval and heads home. As I drive home
in the darkness, all the roads/housing looks the same and it takes a couple of
tries to find the correct street. If the guys delivering water on the truck had
called the RCMP when I couldn’t find my place and was trying to enter the wrong
apartment, then fled when the key didn’t work…I’d have had some explaining to
do. Hard to be the new kid on the block.
Over the course of the weekend I watch
the final season of the series A Place to Call Home which is the Australian
series a buddy recorded for me (and my former job share partner) and it’s very
well done, although I’m sad it’s over. I crochet some dishcloths, start the
shrug I’m doing for one of the daughters and make a lobster sandwich for the TB
assistant as she expressed a love of the crustaceans. Bribery is my only
resource at this point. I work on my Spanish studies as those pesky verbs don’t
stick if you don’t practice! I’m surprised that there is as much light here at
this time of year with 10:30am to 2:30pm being a bright twilight, more than I’d
expected. The DOT visit requires a home visit and I’m wished “good morning” at
5pm but it is more efficiently conducted and I even manage to enter the details
into Meditech. Bit of trouble with the printer setup but all in all a better
day. I wander the health centre finding my way around the pharmacy, treatment
rooms, lab, store room etc. while it’s empty. The weather is deteriorating with
a blizzard predicted, the flight is cancelled and the Dr will not be in, there
is talk of a weather closure in the morning. The Dr will be bunking with me so
that means washing those dishes in the sink and thinking of something for
supper for us. I finally got in contact with the shore captain as it turns out
he had his phone set to ‘auto reject’ for any unknown number or at least one
not in his contact list so he hadn’t been receiving my texts or calls from my
northern number. We had a short chat (he has a man cold) after sorting it all
out. In the to and fro I discovered I have voicemail on my new number but no
way to access it so a call for Qiniq support is in order.
The morning’s phone call yesterday from the A/NIC
is to inform that the health centre is closed due to the blizzard so I spend my
15 minutes with the blue light, check online, source some breakfast, dress for
work, pack a lunch and crochet a bit. I shovel my way off the porch/steps -
Mathew arrives at 11am and we pound our way through drifted snow banks on the
main road with reduced visibility as snow removal is ongoing - exciting run. I
spend the quiet time reviewing the well child program, wrapping my head around
the program and answering the door as people have noticed the vehicle. By 1pm
the health centre is open and the staff is in. The TB assistant does her best
to get me in line and even reassures me that I’ll ‘get the hang of it’ so the
lobster must be doing the trick. I manage to administer DOT, draw bloods, order
them on Meditech, print the labels, register the visit, consult the physician
for the clinic and write a nursing note. I’m slow, got to ask all kinds of
questions, don’t know the people and even the simplest tasks are painful
but…things are getting better. The staff are all great, even the caretaker who
pretended he needed a TST (TB test) after lunch and of course I went along with
it until the TB assistant said with a sigh “he works here!” as I’m guessing
this isn’t the first time he’s pulled the stunt on a new nurse. The major
annoyance of the day was when the TB assistant told me that as of last month
there is Bell service in Clyde River. I could’ve screamed! I’d asked Bell and
was told ‘nope’ and thus jumped through all the Qiniq hoops. Sigh. At least I
now have it setup for other communities should it be required.
Before lunch today the TB assistant and I
headed across the road to the school in the twilight to administer DOT meds.
There are 400+ students in the K – 12 school with 24 in kindergarten. It looks
like a busy place with kids of all ages wandering and lots of local artifacts.
The steps aren’t cleared and I take a slide down the hill on exit. That’s the
problem with the blizzards depositing so much snow. I spent part of lunch hour
clearing out a path to the water and sewage fixtures on the side of the house
as they won’t service either if not accessible. After commenting on the
beautiful community my co-worker is already trying to convince me to return in
the summer as it’s “really pretty then” and shows me wonderful photos/videos of
rivers, waterfalls, arctic char fishing etc. Ahhh
So I made hamburger soup for supper
tonight, with fingers crossed the Dr isn’t a vegetarian and will bake biscuits
on the one pizza pan I found. Honestly seven (count em) muffin tins and no
baking sheet? When the young Doc arrived I thought for a moment she was a local
but is a youngish, slight Asian physicianwho is making her way efficiently
through the patient list with an expected 14 office visits per day. I’m
reviewing all the documentation for well child, TB, STIs, depot provera
injections and feeling the weight as all this brain stretching is hard work. By
the time I catch on it’ll be time to leave. Stay tuned!
