One recent evening when my boss was my second on call, she says with her Jamaican accent "this baby needs a big bird ride" and it took me a moment to realize she meant a medevac, I'd been thinking it for a bit myself but had been trying to look like I had it together. That did it! I phone the Doc on call and he says "what do you want? do you want this baby out of there?" Didn't have to think about that one "yes please". He takes the particulars, calls to find a receiving physician and phones me back promptly to tell me the name of the receiving Dr. in Stanton Territorial Hospital Emerg and says "pull the trigger" after asking where I'm from "you Maritimers are everywhere up here" he says. I tell him that Atlantic Canadians run the north and thank him before calling for the flight.
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| Taloyoak airport |
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| Medevac team arriving |
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| King Air |
Since I was second on call this morning I headed out to the airport at sunrise (about 10 am) to pick up the medevac team and their equipment seen here on the right arriving in the King Air. There is no 911 or EHS in Taloyoak, not even ground transport as in Cambridge Bay (a cube rescue van with first responders there) to call. This means the CHN takes the health centre SUV, seen above on the left (notice the flashing light on the top so you can drive out on the runway) and goes to the airport. Yes, that small building which used to be a portable on the DEW Line site IS the airport behind the van. The flight nurse and flight paramedic are a welcome sight climbing out of that door on the side of the plane. It's sure a cramped space for them to work, especially with a sick patient. The pilot waits on board especially this time of year as with these temperatures there's no turning the engines off. Back to the health centre for them to receive report, stabilize and ready the patient for transport, then the team, equipment, patient and escort do the return trip to the plane. It's a great sound to hear the flight taking off over the hamlet and heading down to the regional centre. The feeling is equivalent to the exit of the ambulance at home heading to a larger centre.
When I was speaking to the shore captain about his trials of getting lobsters shipped what with the cold temperatures, transportation issues, paperwork etc. my roommate commented that it was very similar to medevacing patients. That it is.
I've had a good weekend (even with the on call) as I've Skyped two of the three daughters and had a chat with both a buddy and the life partner. Made mac n cheese casserole for supper, then brownies and banana bread, laundry, took my co-worker to catch his flight back to Gjoa Haven. Worked along on the baby afghan I'm crocheting, have it over half done. Time to get the e-reader. Life is good.
