Rain, rain, go away

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've added a post. I had a great response from everyone about the Canada AM show; it was a lot of fun and it was amazing to see Robert and the kids on TV! I'm so glad it went so well, as I was pretty nervous that I would fall apart on national television. Luckily Julia kept us laughing, little monkey that she is. The show is something that we will treasure for a long time to come, and I want to thank Seamus and Jenna and Steve and all the crew for making it happen and making it so incredible!!!

I think the only other thing of interest that has happened here is this huge change in the weather...the sunny warm days have given way to freezing cold and lots of rain! It's very disappointing, really - I was very much enjoying the sun. Yesterday morning, as you can see from the photo, we needed to scrape the windows on the car to go to work. The puddles are enormous, and the mud is everywhere. The hospital leaks, even though they supposedly fixed the roof - when it rains it really rains, and it doesn't take long for the ceilings to start dripping. We haven't had too many leaks in the OR though, thank goodness - the last thing we need is water dropping into the sterile field. Yesterday and today were actually nice days, but the temperature hovers around 15 C at the warmest.
We continue to be busy in the OR, although there have only been a very few Canadian casualties, so that is a good thing. The time is still flying by, and I am now on the countdown to my leave which is happening in a little over 3 weeks!! Amazing. It's still a little early to be getting excited, but how can I help it?!
Unbelievable that it is already close to the end of November...
Bye for now, take care everyone!

Love Lindsay

p.s. to my dear husband...obviously I've been away much too long if you're getting me confused with hula Jeff!!! hahahaha Love you

Here I go again...

Hi...
The last time I tried to update my blog was a few days ago, when I spent probably 45 minutes and was almost finished when the computer froze and I lost the whole thing. I was so disgusted that it has taken me this long to work up to doing it again!
The main theme of that lost post was around Stephen's 2nd birthday on Oct 28th, and how that was the hardest day I've had to spend here so far. All day I was thinking about the day he was born, and how far he's come in two years - indeed, how far he's come in the three months I've been here.
On the ward that day, there was a little girl, not much older than him, and I was there lending a hand when they were helping her to breathe. I kept looking at her little hands and feet, imagining those of my own precious children who have so much, feeling guilty because I was feeling sad about missing my son's birthday and trying not to imagine what will happen to this little girl who has lost almost her whole family and can't move her legs anymore.
I have seen a lot of terrible things here, but there are only a few that have made me stop and feel so intensely. I'm sure that day held the cumulative sadness of six months away from home, doing this job and doing what I have to do to make this a positive experience for myself. I feel better now that this day has passed, almost like I needed it to happen, and now I feel more human again.
Just in time for Canada AM...not sure if you've all heard, but my family and I are doing an interview this Friday morning. I hear that Leah and Danny might have something to do with this...you guys are so dead!! Just kidding of course, but the idea of being on national TV is still growing on me!
Life continues as usual here at KAF - constant dust, sun and heat, aircraft noise, gunfire from the ranges, flares at night, the same food, and all of us, living here, working here, laughing our heads off and crossing off the days on every calendar we can find.
And I still feel like life is good...
The photos I included today include the Halloween costumes that showed up at our end-month pizza party, the new ball hockey rink at night, and the stash of snacks we have in the cupboard in the OR.
Til next time!!