Traffic control and Doctors

This week was mass casualties week. Instead of working with one injury or multiple injuries by ourselves, we learned how to work in teams (2 medics, radio man and a doctor) to treat multiple injuries in the field. The way it works is that first: all the injured people got into a semicircle. The medics would then split up, one staying with the doctor and going to one side, and the other medic would start at the other side. Together they would stop any big wound that would cause the injured to die from blood loss. Then the doctor would tell the radio man who had what injury and who would have to be worked on first. The radio man would then call into the central command and tell them about the injuries and that help was needed to evac the injured.

While the radio man was doing that, the doctor and the medics would start surgery on the injured. The whole process takes maybe 20-30 min and you can have more than one team working at once. The rules that come into play, when there is more than one team are that the first one on the scene is the ones in charge. By the end of the week, we were doing training exercise with four teams. That means 4 doctors, 4 radio men and 8-12 medics on one scene with 10 injuries.

Another thing we did this week was be traffic officers. This week was the 10th anniversary of the Harap. The Harap is the army medical clinic. Each course had to send 4-5 people to go and either be security or traffic control and help people park their cars. It was a very nice ceremony and by being there, I got a chance to meet many high up officials who are in charge of the medical branch in the army. Also, there were demonstrations of all the new medical technique that are going on in the country.

Finally, the last thing we did before we got to leave this week was opening up multiple veins on one person. Up until now, we have only opened up one vain per person. On Thursday however, we got a chance to open up 3 veins on one person.

Some other high lights for the week:

It finally rained here in Israel. It even hailed in some areas :)

Surgery week

This week we continued to learn about the different surgeries we were allowed to help in. The first one we learned was a simple intubation. An intubation is when we insert a long tube down someone’s throat to help them breath. The surgery is not hard and in fact does not even including cutting someone open.

The next surgery we learned about was a Cricoidotomy. This is a more sever intubation, where a small incision is made in the neck, between the thyroid gland and the Cricoid. The surgery is not long, only supposed to last 6-7 min.

The final surgery we learned was how to put in a chest tube. This is done when someone has a Pneumothorax and therefore their lung is either not inflated or something has gotten into the pleura membrane and is squeezing the lung. The Surgery is the most complicated one we have learned so far and is the most successful one of all.

Some other things we did this week:

A training exercise on someone who has had a heat stroke.

A test in pharmacology (where we are test on what drugs to give, what is inside the drug and why do you give that drug)

A class on poisonous animals

Next week will be a more physical week where we start mass casualties.

Midterms and guarding

The past two weeks have been a combination of mid-terms and guarding.

When we first got to the base on Sunday, we started studying for our midterms as well as start a new lesson topic on surgery. In case there is a war, doctors throughout the country are called up to go into the field and set up a field hospital (called in Hebrew Tzevet 10 or team 10.) Because the doctors come from many different specialty fields (skin, heart, lungs, brain, etc.) they might not remember how to do a basic surgery. This is where we come in, as helpful reminders walking them through the process. For example, we are taught how to perform a tracheotomy (however, we are not allowed to perform the surgery alone) in order to help a doctor whom might have forgotten how to do one.

We also spent the week doing triage exercises. Instead of us working in groups of three (where one guy is the medic, one is the injured and one is the checker), we worked in groups of five, where three people were the injured, one was the medic and one was the checker. The exercise was hard because there is so much you need to keep in mind and you usually get confused between what to do to whom when.

This training and learning class took us through Tuesday. Then that night, the commanders told us to go straight to bed and not worry about the midterms the following day because sleep was more important. Of course no one listened and we all stayed up till 12 learning. By the time I was done with my shower and made my bed, it was already 1 in the morning. Then at 1:15 (I looked at my watch because I thought that I had slept for a while) we had an "attack." All the commanders walked into our sleeping area and told us that we had 7 min. to get dressed, with our gear and our guns and follow them to an attack site that just took place. We all got dressed quickly and we eager to start. The commanders then lead us to a well light place and told us welcome to mid-terms. We all took terms trading positions as medic, checker and victim. Of course the commanders were overlooking us and grading us as we went along. The scenarios that took place ranged from a regular victim with a bullet wound, to a soldier on guard duty who was attacked with a white phosphorus grenade, to a guy who is suffering from hypothermia. The training went till 4:15 in the morning. Then the commanders told us to go to sleep till 12, where we finished the mid-term with a written test. Luckily I passed with flying colors.

Then next week and a half was spent doing guard duty. Like all my other guard duty times, the time went by fast but was very uneventful. The shifts were tough (2 hours guarding, 2 hours on the readiness team and 2 hours to our self.) The only exception to this was:

On Saturday night I was coming off a guard shift at 11 at night (the shift started at 9). We then went to the readiness team room to sleep a little before our next shift. While we were there sleeping (not long, only maybe 20-30min) there was an attack on the base. This time however was not a drill.

What happened was that four soldiers had gone out for the weekend (when they were supposed to close for the weekend) and came back to base in civilian clothing. The problem was not that they had left but that they decided to enter through a hole in the fence. The guys on patrol saw the guys and told them to stop. Once they ran, the patrol called us (the readiness team) and we went into action. We sent the next 3 hours closing down the base and putting everyone in a room. We then did a room to room search looking for the soldiers. Of course, we were told that they were four civilians and we didn’t know they were soldiers. At around 4 in the morning, we called the patrol into the room, where everyone was, to see if the intruders were there. It turns out that not only were they in the room, but they had changed back into uniform and acted as if nothing was going on. After the people were caught, instead of going to bed, I went straight to another shift and ended up pulling a 16hour shift with only that 20-30min sleep the night before.

As I’m sure you can tell, this weekend has been nothing but a sleep-in weekend, where I’ve been catching up on sleep the whole time. On top of that, I have been also monitoring my phone in case we get a call up to go help out in Haifa, with the fire. Please keep all the victims in mind this week, as we (Israel) continues to battle the blaze and stop the fire.

Combat Medic course week 4

The weeks have finally become easier in the medic courses. Now, instead sitting in classes for 8 hours a day, we have started to do more "hands on work."

For example, this week, we learned how to open up an IV in the middle of the night. The difference is that in the morning you can see the vein, while at night we need to feel it. Also, during the day we can tell if we’ve entered a vein or not, with the help of a cup at the back of the needle. If we entered a vein, the cup will fill with blood. However at night, we can’t see the cup so instead we open up the cover for it and feel the blood.

The other thing we learned this week was how to give injections. Since we might have to administer medication to a patient, we need to learn how to give injections and where on the body they go.

The class went something like this:

First the commander told us where and how much liquid to give. Then we prepared our injections with Saline fluid. Then we took turns injecting our partners, first in the arms and then in the butts.

Finally, our commander taught us how to give an injection in the leg. As we got into our groups again to practice this, our commander said to stop what we were doing and to make a circle. He then dropped his pants and proceeded to inject himself. Then, with the injection still in him preceded to explain to us that for this injection we were going to do Ma'agal Lachas (pressure circle).

The way it works is that we all stand in a circle and one at a time injects ourselves in the leg. The only way to remove the needle is for the last person to inject himself. Once the last person is done with the injection, the first person can take out the needle. (This is considered the hazing of the medical corps in the army. Instead of doing weird things to pledge to join this frat, everyone must do this circle game.)

Once we were all done injecting ourselves, the commander said: "ok, now leave it in, while I go take care of something."

The pictured look something like this:

20 soldiers, with their pants down and a needle sticking out of their leg, with questionable looks on their face as to how long will we have to leave this in.

Thankfully the commander came back after a few min and we proceeded to take out the needle one at a time. I was the third on in the circle so while I had to stick it in sooner, I also got to take it out sooner.

The other things we did this week were:

1) Had a total of 3 tests on different things

2) Have different training exercises. (The one where we split up into groups of three. When it was my turn to be the medic, I had 45 seconds to insert an IV. I passed with only 10 seconds left :)

3) We continued to learn about different problems people can have depending on the weather

In other news:

I want to congratulate my cousin, Olivia (from the The Curious Jew) on her wedding to her new husband :)

Starting medics course

The past three weeks were the hardest three weeks I have had, mentally speaking, in a long long time. The reason for this is because it has been non-stop learning in the mornings, noon and nights. Most of our day is scheduled as followed:

Wake up at 6:15.

Start our morning cleanup, brake at 7 for breakfast and have the inspection at 8.

Then the class schedule is 8-10, 10:30-12:30, 1-2 (lunch) 2-4, 4:30-6:30, 7-8 (dinner) 8-10. As you can see, each class is around two hours (this can change depending on the class) and usually a 30min break (although if class runs longer then the break is shorter and vies-versa, if we finish what we need to d then we get a longer break.) All the classes are taught in Hebrew and for the first week and a half, I only had Hebrew books. Then I received the English material and had an easier time in the class because I finally understood what was going on.

The first week consisted of learning about the anatomy of the body. We learned all about what systems are in the body, such as respiratory and blood. We also learned about some types of trauma we might find in the field and we also started to learn about pharmacology. We also had out first test on what we had learned so far. The passing rate for the first test is 20% of the class. There are 63 kids in my class so not many people passed.

The next week was a continuation of what we learned the previous week, with a lot more focus on the trauma and the effects of certain medicines, such as acomol and other ibuprofens. We also started learning about bandages and what exactly to do in the field when we come upon an injured person.

We also had 2 tests this week. One on the anatomy of the body and a test on Baratz (medical problems either found on base or can get from other sources but relate to injuries. For example, AIDS, HIV a, b, c Rabbis and others.)

We ended up having to close base last week as well. Our job was to run with the stretchers to an attack on base, in case there was on. Luckily that didn't happen and we had a relaxing weekend off.

Then week 3 came upon us. We finished up learning the steps in the field and started BOOMS. Booms are training exercise done on base. The way it works is that the class splits into groups of three. One person is the injured, one person is the medic and one person is with a book that tells him the scenarios and what the medic should do in each state. An example is that a person is found on the side of the road with a bullet wound to the hand. His pulse is dropping fast and he might have another wound on his leg that we don’t find out about till later on.

The medic would have to come onto the scene and treat the person for what he found. The Booms are a lot of fun and a great training tool because it really does help us prepare for real scenarios we might find in the field.

The other things we had this week was a test on equipment. We had learned in the beginning of the week how to use an oxygen tank, suction machine and an ambo (a device used to help someone breathe who isn't.

Throughout the course we have also learned how open someone’s veins, in order to give them medicine. We have been taking turns opening up people’s veins and we have even gotten to the point where we have started to attach IV drips.

We have also learned about Morphine and its effects on the body.

Next week we will continue to do booms and have our classes in pharmacology as well as batarz and other fun things.

The update

I am sorry I haven’t written in so long. The reason for this is because I have been busy with my parents and the army. The last time I wrote, my parents had just arrived in the country. I had a fun two weeks with them, showing them all I could do and what I have learned. It was a lot of fun seeing them, and time really seemed to fly by.

Then, when I got back to the army, I learned that I would have another chance to see them again real soon. In fact, within three weeks I was back with my family and this time back in the US. It was a lot of fun to be back home and see how much has changed. It was also great to finally sit down with my old friends and enjoy some catching up time.

During the three weeks in the army, I did not achieve much. I am suffering from knee problems and have gone to see multiple doctors on this. Since most of the doctors are Jews, I never get the same opinion twice. Because of this, I still do not know what is wrong with my knee or how to begin to help it.

With the knee usually acting up either randomly or after a long walks or with weight, my commanders decided it would not be a good idea for me to do everything the unit was doing. The reason is because while the army is a great experience, it only lasts three years and not the rest of your life, like your body.

So, while everyone was out in the field learning new things, I was busy at base doing a mixture of kitchen duty and guard work. I can now say proudly that I can cook French fries and French toast :) It was also during these three weeks that I met with different army leaders and discussed my situation with them. The first one I met with was the MP (officer of all my pluga, around 150 soldiers.) He said that it was a real shame that I was injured because I was one of the better soldiers and have excelled nicely. However he said that since your body comes first, I would no longer be in the unit and a have a combat role in the army. He then asked me what job I would like. I told him I wanted to be a paramedic in the unit, so that I could do what I wanted and still see my friends. He said that was a noble job and would help me achieve this new goal.

Then, a few days later, I met with another head general. He agreed with my MP that the body comes first and that paramedics were a great job. He to promised to help me any way he could and said that it will all turn out ok in the end.

Then last week Wednesday, I went to a base in the south and met with the Magad (head of the entire Special Forces Nahal unit) and he said that due to medical reasons I would not be able to continue with the unit and in a combat role. He said that I would be spending the next few weeks working in the medical clinic on base and that as soon as the next wave of medics were sent to the course, I would be as well. Then when I am done with the course and if there is still a spot open in the paramedics course, I will be sent to that job.

I was so happy to finally be doing something I wanted. I was also sad to be leaving my friends. I’m upset, that I’m leaving my friends. It’s amazing that almost after a year; the bonds we make in the army are so close. This bond that brings two people closer together then friendship or brotherhood ever could. This is what I’m the saddest about leaving.

However, with medic’s course and then paramedic’s course on the horizon, I know everything will turn out ok.

Some other highlights of the week:

Tuesday:

Everyone who was on base and didn’t go out into the field went on a trip to visit families whom have lost their children in the Nahal Unit. We went out to a hotel, which was paid for by Nahal and was hosting the families, and went on a trip to a historical sight. We then went back and talked with the families and ate with them.

Thursday:

I said good bye to all my friends and my commander

Returning back to the army

Its been a long time since I wrote one of these blogs.

Not a lot has changed in that time.

Some highlights:

My parents came to visit me so i had two weeks off from the army. In that time i toured around the country and showed my parents all i have learned

I returned back on Sunday and went striate to the boarder with the west bank. There we guarded in check points and other security areas monitoring the area.

Nothing really new in my life as you can see. Its the army as always. :)