Day# 90 - Half Way There

Today is day 90 of the 180 days that I will be in Iraq. Half way there baby!! It's all downhill from here or at least that's what I keep telling myself and Christen. Hopefully it will fly by for both of us!

Day# 86 - Sweet Dreams

I went to sleep last night troubled by some issues that have recently disrupted the usually mundane life of the Cuniowski clan. Despite these worrisome thoughts, I had a very good dream involving my early departure from Iraq. The U.S. government had finally come to it senses and realized we have no business in this God forsaken part of the world. I was on a plane, heading back home three months earlier than scheduled. Thinking about seeing Christen and the kids at the airport, and what it would be like to finally be home again ...

When an enormous boom literally knocked me out of bed. Talk about a rude awakening. My amazing dream about returning back home early was instantly replaced by my attempt at slipping my shoes on while still half asleep and running to the nearest bunker. That is when reality began to set back in. I was still here, hunkered down in the Iraqi desert, where the gentle beeping of the bedside alarm clock has been replaced by the nearby explosion of an IED. I found out later that the blast that rocked our world this morning was a car bomb that exploded about 500 yards from where we were sleeping. Thankfully nobody was seriously injured.

So as I get ready for bed tonight I am secretly hoping for the same type of dream. I am only about half way done with my tour but as I look at the reading on the Countdown Timer in the corner of my screen ... 3 months, 5 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes, and 43 seconds ... doesn't seem too far away.

Day #79 - And So It Begins ...

The heat that is. Since arriving here in Northern Iraq the weather has been suprisingly pleasant. There is the occassional sandstorm now and then but for the most part it has been sunny with highs in the 80s during the day followed by lows in the 60s at night. This week brought an official start to summer here. The high today was 109 degrees. That's right 109 ... and it's only May. July and August are going to be interesting. I have read that the average temp here during those months ranges from 110-125 degrees. It is getting to the point now where leaving the air conditioned confines of the hospital during the middle of the day to make the 1/2 mile walk down to the dining hall is becoming a tougher decision. Lunch may start to consist of cereal and granola bars just so I can avoid the heat. Take a look at the forecast for the week ahead ... it's not looking much cooler from here on out.

Day #74 - BILLY

Yesterday was a first for me. We got a call that we were getting three patients flown in by helicopter with gunshot wounds. No big deal. We had done these many times before and quickly got our crew ready to accept the patients. When they arrived we quickly discovered that our most seriously injured patient had a gunshot wound to the chest. However, this was not the type of patient we were use to caring for... he had four legs, was covered in fur and had a serious set of canine teeth. He was a 110lb German Shepherd working dog, named Billy, who was shot by one of the bad guys during a raid on some local insurgents. With the help of our local veternarian we were able to stabilize Billy in the ER and then get him to the operating room, where one of our surgeons was able to repair the damage inflicted to his heart and lungs by the bullet. After the surgery, Billy was placed on a flight to Germany were he will likely undergo more sugeries and a long rehab ... but he made it out alive and his team was very grateful for that.

Army working dogs are treated just like any other soldier in the Army. They have names, rank and social security numbers. They get promotions and can recieve the same awards and medals that other soldiers get during combat. These dogs are amazingly well trained and are a huge asset to our tactical teams when they go in to capture bad guys. Just last week, some of our special operations guys brought in a terrorist that tried to run during a local raid. Billy had ran this guy down and kept him pinned to the ground until the rest of the team caught up and arrested him.

While Billy was in the OR, we put out a call to the rest of the dog handlers on the compound. They all brought in their dogs and we started collecting blood from the healthy dogs to give to Billy in the OR since he was bleeding badly. It was quiet a scene in the ER with all these huge German Shepards and Labradors being put into beds, getting IVs and donating blood while their handlers tried to keep them calm. Never thought I'd be trying to save a dog's life in the ER but I guess there is a first time for everything. In the end it turned out well and was an experience I will never forget.


Two of the handlers trying to calm one of the dogs down while our lab techs draw blood from him.



Would not want to be one of the bad guys and come face to face with one of these dogs.



German Shepherd patiently waiting for his turn to donate blood.



This is Sergeant First Class Budge, our unit's Black Lab working dog. He donated blood as well.



Two of the working dogs waiting to donate blood for Billy.

Picture below is Billy after his surgery. He is still sedated and on the ventilator. We were packaging him up for his helicopter flight out of Iraq.

Day #72 - Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the Moms out there today. We love you and appreciate all that you do for us. Everyone keep Christen in your thoughts and prayers today, she is braving her second Mother's Day in a row by herself (last May I was in Ft. Sill Oklahoma). I am hoping she will take some time to relax today and maybe order in some dinner to enjoy once the kids have gone to bed. I wish I could be there for her, and I definitely am going to owe her big time over the next few years. So make the best of it sweetie ... maybe next year we can celebrate Mother's Day somewhere sandy and tropical ... just the two of us!

Oh, and I wanted to share this link cause I thought it was hilarious. This was sent to Christen by her friend Heather. Check it out ... http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=KihbjNWG5TFCuBE2hH0b8TExMDMxMDc0&referred_by=15545083-_3UQZ5x&p=naccra.

Day #67 - Photos

It has been a while since I posted any pics so I decided to throw some up today so y'all can see what life is like here in Northern Iraq. Enjoy!



Hanging outside the ER waiting for trauma patients to arrive.



Convoy pulling up outside the hospital with injured soldiers.



The new MRAP vehicles (Mine Resistant Armor Protected) have replaced the HUMVEE for soldiers going out on patrol. HUMVEEs were easily destroyed by IEDs and car bombs so the Army went to this up-armored vehicle for all tactical units. Each one weighs 32,000 lbs and carries 6-10 soldiers plus the gunner.



Getting the litters ready to carry injured soldiers into the hospital.



Transfering injured soldiers from MRAP to ER.



Setting up for an afternoon game of horseshoes in the shade.



Practicing my horseshoe toss.

Showing off the new humidor and cigar collection.

Myself and one of the ER medics.

Me and one of our physician assistants (PA's).

Visibility dropping outside the hospital during one of the many sandstorms that hit Mosul.

Outside my room during a sandstorm. This is not an exposure problem with the camera. It really was an orange-red outside during the storm. And this is at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, a few hours earlier it was sunny with blue skies.

My collection of wall art is steadily growing thanks to Jenna and Ben.

Don't you love the kids' drawings hanging next to the 9mm?

Hanging out in my room, doing some blogging!

Day #65 - Not Just Another Boring Saturday ...

Yesterday was Saturday here. But it wasn't just gonna be another meaningless Saturday in Iraq, it was the day we had planned to have our "Cinco de Mayo" party here at the hospital. I know what you're thinking ... why have a Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 2nd? Well, because of work schedules more people would be able to attend if we did it on the 2nd rather than the 5th so that's what we did. We had fresh tortillas, steaks on the grill, alcohol-free beer on ice, and pinyatas hanging in the courtyard behind the hospital. The weather was perfect, sunny and clear with temps in the high 80's. It was around 6pm and I was getting some tips on throwing horseshoes from one of our local "experts". I was just about to light up a cigar while we were waiting for the steaks to be done (my new found interest in cigars will have to be discussed in one of my future posts) when we got the call that we had multiple trauma patients in route to the hospital. And just like that ... our Cinco de Mayo party was over before it had even gotten started as everyone rushed to the ER to prepare for the arrival our of patients.

Some of you may have read on the web about the attack here yesterday. An Iraqi Army soldier working with U.S. forces walked into a building on an Army compound just south of the hospital and shot five U.S. soldiers. Two were killed instantly and the remaining three were brought to us by helicopter. Two of the three patients we received were in critical condition and and after we stabilized them in the ER, our surgeons spent most of the night trying to control the damage in the operating room. And in the end it was a success as we were able to save all three soldiers' lives.

It was a long night, and it wasn't until around midnight that some of us made it back to the party. The steaks were cold and charred, the near-beer was warm, and no one really felt like celebrating. I finally got a chance to smoke my cigar with some of the other guys as we sat around and discussed the events of the last few hours, but I didn't really enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. So I headed off to bed and with the internet and phones blacked out I couldn't call Christen and the kids.

This morning I sat on the airfield and watched two planes take off from Mosul. The first was headed for Germany with the three surviving patients from yesterday's brutal attack. We had given them a fighting chance here in Mosul but they still had a long recovery ahead and I wished them well. The second plane was heading back to the United States. I watched as the personal belongings and gear of the two fallen soldiers were loaded onto the plane. This was followed by two caskets, each drapped with an American flag, being gently carried across the tarmac by their fellow soldiers. I said a silent prayer for them and their families and then headed back into the hospital to check on my patients. Although I recently wrote about how mundane the days have become, yesterday was not just another boring Saturday in Iraq. In fact, the longer I am here, the more acceptable boring becomes. Because when things are slow for us, it means American soldiers and their families aren't suffering. So I'll take boring any day of the week and as I finish this post I am hoping to enjoy just another boring Sunday in Iraq.

Day #63 - Groundhog Day

At this point in my deployment the days have really started to run together and I am beginning to find myself constantly looking at the calendar to figure out what day it is. There is no distinction between weekdays and weekends, Mondays and Fridays, holidays or birthdays. Of course everyone makes an attempt to make certain days unique or different in some small way but in the end they all feel the same. I had three different people give me the incorrect day of the week this morning ... the first said it was Wednesday, the next Thursday and the last said it was Saturday. It wasn't until I consulted my trusty laptop Google calendar that I figured out it was Friday.

I have been informed by those that have been on previous deployments that this is termed the "Groundhog Day" effect in Army lingo. It references the 1993 classic staring Bill Murray and Andy McDowell, in which the main character finds himself waking up every morning to repeat the previous days events over and over again until he is on the brink of insanity (for those of you that haven't seen it, you are missing out, so go ahead and get the DVD, you won't be disappointed). So the goal of many of us here has become to find a way to combat the Groundhog Day effect, to find some way to fight off the boring, monotonous routines that have temporarily taken over our lives. Some of my most recent endeavors have included learning how to play Cribbage, playing horseshoes (yes I said horseshoes and no I am not a hick, we just happen to have a horseshoe pit behind the hospital), becoming a cigar connoisseur, perfecting my ping pong game, and playing endless games of Spades (that's right Mike and Beth ...you guys don't stand a chance the next time we meet). So to all you civilians back home ... happy TGIF ... enjoy your weekend, and I look forward to joining you when I return in September.