I had thought I'd be catching a flight out on March 5th as that's when my replacement is coming in but apparently the flights that day will only get me as far as Yellowknife to overnight. I feel like one of those rock stars who have a list of 'requirements' such as tonic water in the dressing room because I stipulate that I must overnight in Edmonton. This of course is so I can visit my first born. Usually it means we'll have supper together but the meal will be breakfast this time through as I'm not in (hopefully that is) until 10:15 pm and leave the next morning at 11:15 am. This is all theoretical as my roommate was trying to leave on Friday (when the plane overflew mechanical) then got out on Saturday, made it as far as Yellowknife and didn't get out of Yellowknife until 5 pm Sunday night and home to Moncton on the red eye, arriving Monday afternoon. Oh dear.
I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by this contract as well. Although it's been almost nine weeks by the time I get here and back it feels like perhaps a week. It's such an interesting place to work. Where else (unless a home office) can you go downstairs to work in your Cabela's slippers with the sheepskin lining? Even if it is accidentally. This past few weeks the local description of the nursing staff is - the older nurse, the younger nurse and Nellie - no mistaking who's who.
We've had a busy week giving immunizations (or pokes as the local vernacular goes) as we're trying to catch up from being behind in bronchiolitis season. Nellie was listing off the cycle of the health centre....first you have bronchiolitis season, then sore throats, some exacerbations of COPD (not too many because most of them have died off) then gastro then.....And in between there are lots of ear infections as otitis is VERY common in the north through a combination of short ear canals (a genetic adaptation to the cold wind blowing) and various upper respiratory bugs circulating, pneumonia, bronchitis and all the other itis you can think of. It's been a busy contract but one where I have learned so many things - how to do X-rays, manual WBC counts, smears for CBCs, ESR testing, centrifuge serum, and polish up my skills of suturing, examining sick babies and treating bronchiolitis, pap smears - I did 60 in the month of January, preschool assessments and more.
Guess I have to go home to my previous duties. The executive director of the fishing association the shore captain sits on the board for, tells me that it takes three women to keep him sorted out. The secretary at the plant for the business, her at the association for his quotas and transfers and me on the home front. I fear we are not always successful though as with our phone conversation of Sunday where I questioned him about a significant cheque written on the joint account - which thankfully my substantial pays have been going in to. He pays the property taxes and insurance, I pay the household bills. Turns out that he hadn't paid the taxes for some time and when the talk in the coffee room at work turned to publishing the tax delinquents in the newspaper he realizes that he doesn't want to be included on the list of debtors so he writes the cheque and deposits the funds to cover it.....into the savings not chequing account. He had forgotten to call on Saturday when arranged and then didn't answer when I called him through PennyTalk (more on that later) and then the call was dropped a few times on his cell. When I question him about the phone as he says it's not working well, he admits he just got it last week. He is notorious for killing cell phones so I ask what the story is. He is reluctant to share but finally admits to washing his cell phone last week. That's pretty tame by his standards.
Okay, on to PennyTalk here's the link:
My coworker told me about this service which is much like a calling card without the pain of having to go out and buy them. You join online, can top up the funds with your credit card and call from any phone anywhere for one cent per minute. Works great, I gave it a try calling a few folks.
The life partner and I are looking forward to heading out to Cuba for two weeks of R&R and he wrote to tell me that he was cutting back on the hot water in the shower and sitting with the toilet seat up to acclimatize himself. This, because we travel off grid when we're there.
I've been thinking lately why the Inuit population remind me in many ways (climate not certainly one of them) of Cubans. There are of course the obvious reasons:
the foreign accent - even though they don't sound similar
they are both used to being looked after by 'the state'
there aren't many vehicles so they walk everywhere
the kids drink from bottles well into school age
a housing shortage means large numbers of inhabitants per house
generations live together and there are few long term care homes
they for the most part trust the nurse and the health centre
I had an interesting conversation with a mother asking me about feeding her nine month old baby (a twin who has had some major health issues) vienna sausages from the can. She tells me that she's checked and there aren't any ingredients that he's allergic to. I suggest (after I recover my power of speech) that they are too fatty for a baby, so she asks about sardines. Without even considering whether they're in mustard sauce I agree they would be a better choice. As Nellie points out - if she's asking about it, they're likely already feeding him the sausages anyway.
I also (as nurse on call) one day this week, got an unusual call from a local out in Yellowknife who had a sore throat, was staying at the Nova Court and wondered what to do. I suggested salt water gargles but he reminded me that he was staying at a hotel (as if there wouldn't be salt in the kitchen) and so I told him to go over to Stanton Territorial Hospital ER and be seen. "You think I should do that?" he says. "When are you coming back up here?" I ask and he replies "the day after tomorrow" so I say "I most certainly do think you should go and get that checked out before you come back". And to myself I say 'so I won't have to be giving you IV antibiotics at all hours.
It is becoming more light every day and very quickly at that with it being light when I get up at 7:30 am and still light at 4:30 pm. The community is looking forward to spring and getting out on the land more as the temperatures will moderate some. My kamiks are supposed to be finished tomorrow and I have promised to store them in the freezer 'down south' so they will keep well. They will have lots of company with the arctic char and caribou I have bought. The action packer will be put to good use on the return trip. So, I will have six weeks of not working, two vacations and generally enjoying myself before I head back to Kugluktuk on April 22nd. This being semi-retired is something I can certainly get used to.
