USNS Comfort

[AVGWarhawk]

One of my moms friends has a daughter on the Comfort. I thought I would share it with everyone. Here is her second email. Her first email was about the voyage down.

"Hi everyone!

Sorry I don’t have time to write individually. It’s nuts here. For all the times I have joked about being a combat pediatrician, I am truly a combat pediatrician. I’m getting up to speed on wound care and post-op pain control. My French is improving. I think I managed to tell a mom today that she doesn’t look old enough to have an 18 year old. I think I said that. I might have asked for mashed potatoes. The USA Today reporter told me I’m mentioned in an article today, so look for me (and save it). I might be in again another time talking about my breastmilk bank. The kids are pretty bored. Right now and 11yo and a 9yo are watching an Eddie Murphy video. They don’t speak English, so it’s OK. Still, I hope it’s not Eddie Murphy Raw. Yesterday, they watched Disney movies in Spanish. There is a kid with deep second degree burns on his legs that got debrided in the OR last night. I’m going to consciously sedate him later in the PACU so the wound care nurse can change his dressings. The pain control is the worst. I also have a febrile 2 month old baby growing out gram negative rods from a blood culture. The culture was drawn through an IV, so I don’t know what to believe, but he’s making me a little nervous. Got to go. Please save my emails. I don’t have any time to sit and write these stories down."

E

[GoldenRivet]

good for her

[Jimbuna]

Her family must be sooo proud of her

[AVGWarhawk]

Email update from Erika on the Comfort:


Hi all!

We had what we believe to be the first baby every delivered on the board
the Comfort. A 33 week preemie no less! Mom had a pelvic fracture in
the quake, and OB was trying to get her medevac'd (which was fine with
me), but she started looking bad today, so they delivered. I had a
fairly well-stocked warmer in the OR. I took a picture because the bulb
syringe is freakishly miniature. A NICU nurse from Portsmouth showed up
today with UVC kits (thank goodness!), but I tried not to use it. We
had narcan drawn up but didn't end up needing it. I was standing there
in the delivery room with my Harriet Lane (aka my new best friend)
looking up drug doses. Straightforward NRP, I can handle (even though I
only have 1 meconium aspirator), but this was seriously pushing my
comfort zone, especially since mom got narcotics prior to delivery. The
mask was too big, but it was the smallest one I had. I had oxygen from
a tank but no suction. Anesthesia said they would give me their suction
if they could afford to part with it when the time came, so I just
sucked for all I was worth with my tiny little midget bulb suction and
crossed my fingers. She's doing great and has already taken some
breastmilk (from my breastmilk bank). [Amanda, I need a little advice
about treatment threshold for her for bili. We are going to check a
first one in the morning. Thanks.] Luckily, there are a bunch of NICU
nurses on the peds floor, so the baby is in very good hands. She's very
cute. Some dude from Getty Images was in the OR taking pictures, so
look for that. I'm one of those masked people. I also got interviewed
by the Baltimore Sun and by some woman from Navy public affairs, so
watch for the story. Good stuff. Hope you all are well. We had
another earthquake this morning. It's weird on a boat. The boat just
kind of rocks a lot. It's noticeable but not particularly concerning.


She said they are using morphine like there is no tomorrow. Medical supplies are running down.

[SteamWake]

Cool keep us updated.

I have an aquantince abord that boat as well, although he is ashore now.

Havent heard from him for a few days supposing he is busy.

[AVGWarhawk]

This email exchange is with her dad:

Be glad you have clean, cool quarters and you aren't sleeping in the
humidity, under the stars, in the mud. You Navy folks have it good.
How's the food? Are you getting a variety, or are the meals becoming
routine? Take a lot of pictures. I will need them for the book. I
will be forwarding you a contract for me to be your agent and ghost
writer.

Keep up the good work.

Dad

Erika's response:

Ha ha. You're funny. It's hot as **** on this ship. I just got 2
liters of IV fluid, and my pee is still the color of apple juice. The
ICU was 104 degrees a couple of days ago. It's so hot down here that
equipment is burning out. We haven't had a CT scanner since that big
earthquake 2 days ago. They flew a guy out from GE to work on it.
Supposedly, it will be up today, but there's a huge backlog.

E