Nursing in Barrow

These photos probably won't appeal to everyone, but for me they represent a way of life that has been lived for centuries, one that honors the whale for gifting itself to a community that depends on it to survive.   There has been much concern that the majority of whales have already migrated east and past Barrow.  Poor ice conditions prevented whaling crews from going out to find open water and to hunt when they were in the waters here this spring.  Many Inupiat people here could face near starvation without the whale meat and parts that they depend on for the bulk of their diet.  Last year 22 whales where caught and harvested.   Last night Joseph Leavitt's crew was out on the water 20 miles southwest of Barrow where they found this 54 foot bow head whale.  Jacob Adams harpooned it, the first for the whaling crews here this year.  The crew towed it back to the beach where they and others worked for hours cutting and systematically distributin...

The weather here varies between glorious, sunny days with temperatures in the 40’s, like the week before last, foggy ones with less than ¼ mile visibility and in the low 30’s, and gray skies with strong winds out of the east or north dropping temperatures in the mid 30’s to the low 20’s.   Yesterday there was snow on the ground in the morning and it was 20 degrees, reminding me of when I first moved here in October.   While on the plane returning to Barrow from Fairbanks last Sunday, the flight was held up in Deadhorse for an hour while the pilot waited for word that he could take off.  The reports from Barrow were that visibility was less than ¼ mile because of low lying fog, but that it was expected to dissipate soon.  He was finally given clearance to take off but when approaching Barrow, all that could be seen below the sunny skies was what seemed to be a thick layer of impenetrable clouds.  The pilot descended into it and then brought the plane back up...

I think I’ve been experiencing writer’s block lately.   With having passed probation and working independently now as a public health nurse, I feel much less reflective while in high gear to accomplish all that I’m scheduled for each day.   On a recent flight from Barrow to Fairbanks, I felt fortunate to have been seated next to an Alaskan author, Nick Jans, whose published books and articles are well known to readers of Alaskan literature.   We talked for an hour and a half, from Barrow to Deadhorse and then on to Fairbanks.   He shared many thoughts about writing, about the importance of not only sharing facts (he writes only non-fiction), but of writing to elicit an emotional response in your reader, to bring them into the experience you’re writing about and to hopefully offer inspiration.  He said to always write with clarity, correctness and grace, meaning that your writing should be uncomplicated and easy to understand, that grammatical, punctuation a...

As I walk along the upstairs hallway of my apartment building, wheeling my bike to my door after the refreshing ride home, the indescribable smell of cooking chicken coming from my neighbor’s apartment is overwhelmingly pleasant and makes me daydream about when I ate meals with meat and fowl.  For quite a few years now, my main source of protein has been raw nuts and seeds, an occasional egg, infrequent slices of Swiss cheese and some soy.  I’ve enjoyed trying the traditional foods like caribou, muktuk, whale heart and seal oil since moving to Barrow, sometimes to excess, but eat them rarely now for the most part.  I enjoy salmon infrequently too when available, but am most drawn to the large bowl of pecans, almonds and walnuts sitting on my counter top and the bag of hemp hearts in my refrigerator door.  It’s not that I don’t like meat and poultry, but years ago I experienced an episode of adverse health that seemed to be linked to malabsorption of nutrients, l...

In April, I posted that a young woman was driving up from the Northwest with three young children and that there was concern among the nurses in the clinic for their safety.  Her mother-in-law, who lives in Barrow, had temporary custody of her two older children who had flown up in order to begin school before the rest of the family arrived.  She’d brought them in for their immunizations and one of them received a text during the visit that their mother was just then setting out on her long drive.  I haven’t seen any of the family since then and have often wondered if they had made it safely to Barrow and how the trip had gone. This Thursday morning, I read through the charts on my desk for the appointments I’d be having during the day.  Two of them were for adolescents with the same last name who would be coming in for their second HPV immunizations.  Their names weren’t Inupiaq and they didn’t register in my mind until reading the notes from their last ...

By mid-April, the harshness of winter had relented somewhat and the community, or those who enjoy outdoor sports, were pleasantly surprised to learn that efforts were being made to begin a Nordic ski club in Barrow.   Mike Hajdukovich, who travels here and to other Alaskan communities promoting sports and putting on camps for young people via the organization he heads, Challenge Life, would be in Barrow during the third week of April.   Posters advertised him bringing Olympic cross country skiers, Kikkan Randall and Holly Brooks to give lessons and to kick off the Barrow Nordic Ski Club.   Mike brought with him new, high quality, boots, skis, and poles that the City of Barrow funded.  A space was created at the City’s recreation center, Piuraagvik, and it was organized prior to the event kick off.  Mike, Holly and Kikkan brought lots of enthusiasm and despite a return to blizzard-like weather, the turnout on the first night was very high, with at least 30 p...