Nursing in Barrow

I’m, for the most part, settled into my new apartment and now have telephone and internet service.  My multi-talented, kind and generous son, Peter, spent much time transporting my furniture from Issaquah to Bellingham, storing and crating it there.  After drilling in the last screw in the last big 8’ x 4’ x 4’ plywood box last Friday, he and a friend drove it all to Fife where it began its journey to Anchorage via barge on Lynden Transport.  From there it will be flown by Northern Air Cargo to Barrow.  There may be a slight delay in Anchorage as Lynden says that they do not deliver household goods to NAC’s dock and NAC says that they don’t pick up at Lynden’s.  I’m not too worried as the Lynden representative on the telephone said that when my shipment arrives in Anchorage, she was sure that it would keep moving through any complications and make its way to the airport in Barrow.  Am learning to trust that everything works out...

Last weekend I began shoveling the drifted and packed two feet of snow on the ramp opening up into the area where I’ve been storing the many boxes I shipped up from Washington in early October.   When I stepped out the door, layered in warm clothing and shovel in hand It was -14 ᵒ F.   By the time I’d made a small dent in the packed snow on the 15 foot ramp and beyond, I was hot enough to take off my face mask and began making trips inside for tall glasses of cold water. Today is moving day and it’s -20 ᵒ F.   It’s dark here now all of the time although the sky lightens slightly in the afternoon and is a beautiful, deep blue.   This morning it was very dark, so I felt as though I was beginning my move closer to midnight than at 9:00 in the morning.   I finished the shoveling, creating a wide path down the ramp and into the parking area where I’ll be loading the boxes.   I’m grateful that from store room to truck, the distance is not more than 25 feet. ...

It’s been enjoyable learning more aspects of public health nursing here in Barrow.   I mentioned in an earlier post that w e have a close alliance with the Infant Learning Program Developmental Specialist who follows up with children who may have developmental delays or disabilities.   She invited the public health nurses to join her in two of her December teleconference sessions that are a part of the Developmental Disabilities class she’s enrolled in through the University of Alaska in Anchorage.   Bertrand and I had just returned from the clinic in Wainwright, so we weren’t able to attend the one offered on Friday, 12/7.   The first part of the program had to do with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and about how it is diagnosed.   The second part was an overview of developmental disabilities and metabolic conditions.   It was facilitated by a developmental pediatrician, Dr. Beth Ellen Davis, from the University of Washington.   It would have been...

Christmas here in Barrow was wonderful in every way.   Favorite things, of course, included talking with my family in Arizona, Washington, Pennsylvania and California and friends in Washington, hearing about their events leading up to Christmas as well as plans for the day and sharing mine.   My little granddaughters are growing by the minute.   Little Jordan’s voice is so clear and my heart melts listening to her talk about the many subjects on her mind.   She usually ends our wonderful and funny conversations with, “I’m sorry, Oma, but I have to go now, OK?”   Her little sister, Keira, isn’t far behind in conversational skills, I’m sure.   I long to see my children and grandchildren again and am continually grateful for their blessings to be working so far away, “up in that cold place” as Jordan says.   Among other things that made Christmas joyful here was attending a church service with live music and carols.   Live non-Native music is ...

The week at work was a busy one with beginning to train in the Barrow clinic with one of the other experienced public health nurses, Michelle. It’s interesting to see how she, Joanne and Bertrand have different ways of interacting with their clients, all effective and all giving complete assessments, but bringing in their own unique personalities and focuses. I have several sets of competency lists that I’ll begin to take with me on each clinical day and will have Michelle, Bertrand and the Nurse Practitioner, Colleen, check me off as I progress in each skill area. So far I feel confident giving adults IM (intramuscular) Tdap and flu immunizations, ID (intradermal) flu shots and adolescents IM Tdap, flu and HPV-4 immunizations. I’ve given children as young as five IM flu shots and nasal administrations of flu-LAIV (live attenuated influenza vaccine) and have given a child a sub Q (subcutaneous) varicella vaccination. I’m feeling comfortable with drawing up the flu vaccine from...

Walking across the lagoon last weekend, I noticed an inch and a half wide crack in the ice that ran across its entire width from the road to the dike.   It was puzzling as the ice had been frozen for weeks.   My only thought was that it might have been caused by the 5.3 magnitude earthquake that shook Anchorage a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn’t heard that its rumbling had traveled this far north.   Valerie told me later that she’d seen a large truck driving across the lagoon earlier in the day and we both imagined that its weight had caused the ice to crack. People at work this past week talked about the weather feeling colder and the temperature has been steadily dropping.   Last night Julie called me to remind me to leave the water running in the faucets to keep the pipes from freezing.   This morning it was -34ᵒ F, but warmed up to -21ᵒ later in the day.   However, as I realized the moment I stepped out into the whipping wind, it was much cold...