Weekend in Baghdad

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Baghdad. I was asked to lecture for some Iraqi dentists and Army dentists on Oral and Maxillofacial Trauma Reconstruction. It was real nice to be able to leave the 10 mi x 10 mi Joint Base Balad confines to tour the Victory and Liberty Base which used to be Saddam's playground. I was able to tour some of his palaces, one of the interesting palaces, which the US bombed, was "Victory Over America" palace. The palace does not look so great after a couple of bombs were dropped on it!!!! 

During the conference I had the opportunity to visit with some of the young Iraqi dentists and discuss the state of their country and the difficulties of rebuilding and educating their students. As you can imagine this was a memorable experience. 

For some reason the trauma has picked up around here, mostly Iraqi civilians. My replacement is suppose to arrive some time after Christmas, so I hope to be in San Antonio by the New Year!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope everyone's day will be filled with family, great food, and some entertaining football. Here is a picture from this past weekend, Lopez and Fuentes wanted to have a little bon fire and make some s'mores. We also enjoyed some great NA Becks beer.  It is starting to get colder here so the fire felt real nice...

The Guys Who Make My Life Easier

This week has been extremely busy with trauma. Lots of late nights and early morning operations. My assistant Fuentes and the ENT assistant Lopez are the guys who really make anything I do possible. They too have no back up and like me on call 24/7 for facial trauma. Not once have these guys not been on their game and ready to operate at any time any day. This is us finishing up one of our recent traumas after 4.5 hours of surgery this day it was time for Lopez and Fuentes to close things up!!!!

We are hoping for some down time this weekend, maybe do some grilling. This week lived up to the saying when it rains it pours....

Next week is Thanksgiving I only hope the Cowboys can win their football game.

Happy Veterans Day

Thank you so much to Julie, Spencer, Dylan, and Woodridge Elementary for supporting all of Alamo Heights Veterans. Yesterday, Spencer's school had a very nice program like many schools did all across America. Thank you to all the Veterans that I know (way to many for me to name) thanks for all of your sacrifices, and more importantly I would like to thank your families for all of their sacrifices which allowed you to help the U.S. achieve its current level of success around the world.

Thanks for the well wishes, the support many troops receive from friends, family, and even strangers at home makes a huge difference to our daily lives.

Farewell Dr. Coppit

For the first 3 months of my deployment I have had the wonderful opportunity to be matched up with Dr. Coppit (ENT) . We had an excellent working relationship but an even better "after hours" friendship. Lots of thought provoking discussions over cigars and non-alcoholic beer. He should be on his way back to D.C. tonight, to be united with his family after six months. Thank you George for a memorable time in Balad. 

The t-barrier that we are standing in front of is a classic Air Force Theater Hospital landmark. People are still trying to come up with a catchy acronym for the Surgical Society established here.

It is nice to be starting the month of November, finally it is starting to seem like July was a long time ago. The temperature change is becoming quite evident. Very cool in the am and evening with highs of about 80 during mid day.

Happy Birthday Dylan: 5 years old!!!

Happy birthday Dylan James!!!!!!! Today is a big day at the Farrell house, besides celebrating the half way point of my deployment we are also celebrating Dylan's birthday. We are also celebrating the fabulous baseball games both boys had over the weekend. Congratulations to Spencer for his great hits he had and for getting one of the game balls!!! Dylan had a great game as well. Judging by the amount of dirt on their uniforms they had lots of fun!!! Nothing to new to report here. My ENT partner is about to complete his 6 months, I hope that his replacement is as compatible as George.

Facial Trauma Team

As you can imagine since George (ENT) and myself (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon) are the only guys in Iraq that do facial trauma, there are some weeks that we have one case and there are others that we have an uptick in tempo. This week we did 5 trauma cases and 1 Secondary Facial Reconstruction of a previously injured Iraqi Policeman. To reconstruct his face we harvested some bone from his anterior hip and plated it to his missing left cheek.  If you can't recognize me with all my PPE on, I am the one on the right with the light on my head.

I was still able to manage to get all but one of my workouts in!!!!!

Air Force Theater Hospital Surgeons

Here is a picture of the Surgeons taking care of the troops here in Iraq. This photo is taken at the entrance from the helicopter pad to the Emergency room. This passage way is known as Hero's Highway. As our troops are brought from the helicopter to the ER they know they are safe when they spot the U.S. flag!!

35th Birthday Party

Well, I guess you can say I had a memorable 35th birthday. My friends in my clinic bought me a cake and we had several friends from the hospital to include patients, nurses, guards, and other colleagues to share in the festivities. It was fun, my patient and his friends even sang happy birthday to me in Arabic. Thanks for all the birthday wishes!! 

Predator

This morning the Specialty Clinic went on another "field trip" to visit the Predator Squadron. One of the guys that attends my CrossFit class is a pilot for these unmanned machines. He offered to give us a tour and show us some of the capabilities of this high tech airplane. The first thing that struck me was just how big the Predator was, and the Reaper is even bigger. We learned some of the capabilities and payload these guys can deliver. Of course some of the video was AWESOME...

We were able to see the Predator go through some checks, get loaded up, and then we watched the pilots in there command center take off and begin there mission. It was really interesting to be able to view there interface and fly this aircraft. Nothing new for you gamers out there. The view and clarity of the images they can get from the air was scary.

MRAP Tour

Here are a few photos of my recent on base adventure. The MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle is what is currently keeping our troops safe out on convoys around Iraq and Afghanistan. They are impressive machines and drive surprisingly well. There are a couple different configurations of the MRAP. The one pictured above is one used to transport patients.

New Friends

One of the great things about being deployed is the opportunity to meet new people from all over.  George (my ENT counterpart) and I had the opportunity to help an Iraqi Army LT with a revision surgery, but even more enlightening was just our ability to sit down with him and his US Army counterpart and just talk about the future of Iraq. As you can imagine most topics were very eye opening.

Football season is in full swing, but trying to establish a system to be able to watch the games with the time difference is difficult. The 1200pm game is not hard to catch. The 7pm game is tough since it comes on at 3am. The problem with watching the tape delay is you don't know which one will be played, and it is hard not to catch highlights  or see the score streaming at the bottom of the screen the next day. I might have to catch a nap prior to next weeks Tech v. texas game. I hope to catch the Cowboys today at 8pm for me.

Lately, I have been just been keeping busy in the gym helping teach a CrossFit class at 1030 am, most days if I am not operating. We seem to be averaging 1 case every 3-4 days. On Sept 11 there was a 1/2 Marathon on base. I am not quite ready for marathons I did go out and support several people I knew running, by taking pictures and handing out Gatorade. I also went on a tour of the F-16 Squadron on base. Flat Stanley came with me and got to ride on a Laser Guided BOMB!!! 

Surgeon Steak Party

Here are some pictures from this past weekends "Surgeon Steak Party". There is a constant rotator plane transporting patients back and forth from Iraq to Germany. If we are real nice sometimes the Flight Doctors will buy us some things we can't get here in Balad, like real steaks. We were able to grill some fresh steaks and grabbed some sides from our hospital dinning facility. We were also able to make some guacamole from some avacados that were in the fruit bowl. If you closed your eyes and tried real hard you could almost feel like you were at home at a BBQ. Cutting our steaks with a disposable 10 blade was a nice touch.

Reflection

I could not resist putting this pic on here. There is a camera crew here documenting some of the cases in the OR. We have had a couple of traumas over the weekend and the photographer gave me a couple of still shots of the cases, and this was in there. I thought it was pretty cool. Things here are ever changing, and a little bit of mystery added to my quasi Iraq routine is good!!

OR 5

Here is where we hang out when the sun goes down. This has been built by several surgeons over the different deployments. If you get on the roof you get a peek of the Tigris River and the lights of Balad outside the wire. It is strange because the base is very dry and dusty yet right outside the fence on the perimeter you can see different crops and vineyards all irrigated by the Tigris. Amazing what a little water will do for you. 

Balad Moon Rising

I promise I try to add to the blog more than is evident!! I can only get to this site via my in room wi fi and personal computer. Some days I get all the way to posting something others my connection cuts out.  I am trying to keep it current though!!

This is a picture from a place on top of the hospital called OR 5. There are 4 OR in the hospital and OR 5 is a "Big Boys" treehouse that has been built by surgeons on top of the hospital. I will show some pics of that next time. It is the place that surgeons hang out and smoke cigars, play cards and drink non-alcoholic beer.

The weather is interesting here...its always hot, but what does vary is how much sand is blowing around. If you can see the moon through the sand and dirt at night it sometimes has a cool and erie look. This I thought was a nice look so I went and got my camera. 

My Balad Set-Up

The top picture is one of the OR's, I did finally get to do a mandible fracture. The hospital has basically everything you need. Below is my house! It is with in these large cement T barriers and then surrounded by sandbags. I have all the essentials, bed, desk, tv, and most importantly a bathroom which I share. This is really a treat. Most people have to walk to the bathroom in a large bathhouse I am very fortunate. 

I have been getting into a routine, it basically revolves around working out, eating and sleeping. I just purchased wifi the other day it is spotty at best in my room. The blog has been difficult to contact for some reason. Uploading pics has also been difficult. I will try my best!!

Pictures from my 2 day stay in Al Udeid

The top pic is what people refer to as "the bra". Early morning or once the sun goes down people hang out here. There was free Wi Fi which was off and on. People would enjoy there 3 beer limit here. The evening I was here they had kareoke. Three beers did not get me singing!!! Maybe on the way out. The next pic is the tents we stayed in which was called transient housing. They crammed about 25 of us in these. Three rows of bunks. The nice thing was these things had a great A/C which was a relief.

The Mission...

Two days ago we were able to see how the "new group" of hospital personnel could respond to a mass casualty situation. It's very difficult, when what you do is surgery, but you only do surgery when people are getting hurt and suffering. So you don't want to be busy for the greater good of man kind, yet you can only read, workout, sleep, eat, and watch shows so much before you wish you had some work to do.

A local incident in our vicinity provided us with something to keep us busy. The tough thing was waiting to see what all was involved. We were first told of a possibility of 20 pts heading our way sometime at 0800. But due to mother nature (sand storm) and political red tape things kept getting delayed. Finally, at 1600 we recieved 12 pts by ground convoy. Talk about controlled chaos.

After the trauma czar evaluated each pt and got an idea as to who were immediate vs. delayed things started rolling and pts were zipped to the OR or taken to the CT scanner for further eval uation. After about 20 min there were 5 pts in the OR with various extremity injuries and abdominal injuries, unfortunately for me there were no facail injuries. But, I was able to find myself in the fracture stabilization procedure of a humerus fracture. The orthopedic surgeon let me place the external fixator device (just a little bigger than a mandibular external fixator!!) That is what is nice with Oral Maxillofacail Surgeons we make decent first assistants!!

I have been able to find the local cross fit group so that has been good. I will send more pics, it is a little painful since I can not get on the internet with my computer and I can not use a jump drive on this computer.

Still trying to get a routine.

Balad Iraq: The Clock has Started

Last night at 11pm I finally made it to Balad Air Base in Iraq. I arrived via a C-130. A C-130 is an older plane, but used due to its ability to make quick fast landings. Belive me that is exactly what we did!!! You sit in the back in jump seats (nylon mesh) knee to knee with someone across from you, with bullet proof vest (IBA) and helmet on. This particular pilot was good the landing was smoother than any commercial flight I have been on. Today will be my first full day in Balad. I have my room and the guy I am replacing has been great at getting me oriented and into the groove of taking over his spot. The hospital lay out is great, everything flows so nicely. ER to ct scanner to OR and lastly to ICU or ward. The base itself is dry and dusty but there are a few signs of vegetation on and around the base. Pictures to come!! Thanks to everyone for there thoughts and prayers on my travel to Balad.

Al Udeid, Quatar

After 25 + hours of traveling and watching two sunrises I made it to Al Udeid. Definitely, the sunrise was much more impressive over the green lush landscape of Ireland compared to the sunrise over the barren dessert of Al Udeid. It was impressive flying over Iraq and Kuwait and seeing hundreds of pulsating flames from the oil fields in the dark as we made our way to Al Udeid. After 6 hours of immigrating into the country and receiving yet another bag full of gear I finally was given a bunk bed assignment in a tent on the Coalition Camp. Taking a shower and putting on AF pt shorts and shirt never felt so good! 

Shanon, Ireland

Made it to Ireland for a change of crew and to refuel. Flight was long as you might expect. For those of you worried that the govt was going to spend a lot of money on airfare to Iraq, you will be pleased to know they reserved the big plane for lots of people and no leg room!! Luckily no one sat in between me and another Major. Next stop Kuwait!

Crossfit Norfolk

While waiting for my flight I have hung out at the Liberty Cafe on Norfolk Naval Base and got in a workout...Stubio B style. PULL UPS NO MAS!!! 

Norfolk, VA

It was difficult saying bye to Julie, Spencer, Dylan and my mom at the airport. Spencer said it best "Why does the Air Force send people to Iraq, to make families sad?" It definitely was sad but I think we were all ready to get the clock rolling. It was reassuring to know that my efforts and strain on our family was not unnoticed, several passengers at the Atlanta airport came up to us and thanked us for our service and our work overseas. I made it to Norfolk at midnight and checked in at the military airport on the naval station. My flight leaves tonight at midnight with stops at Maine, Ireland, Kuwait, and Al Udeid. I will spend a day or two there prior to flying to Balad.

The day has come...

Well today at 1300 I received word that my travel arrangements were being made and by the way you are leaving tomorrow. At 1730 I received a call stating that my itinerary was being e-mailed to me for a flight out at 1545 on 22 July. After checking my e-mail I did have a flight to Norfolk, Va but of course nothing else past that. So I guess more to come....

Getting Ready to go to Balad.

I am creating this blog to try and keep anyone who is interested in the loop of my upcoming deployment to Iraq. Most friends and family know that I will be leaving some time this week. I hope to include pictures and hopefully share some thoughts while I am gone for 6 months. My address will be: Maj Brendan Farrell

332 AEW/EMDG/Oral Surgery

APO AE 09315-9997