the last week

Sunday-
Today was my most interesting, and fulfilling day up to now. The experiences today are the reason I decided to do this program- for real exposure, real action. I was stationned at BANATZ with Ilya and my roomate Danielle. Our first call was a car accident. From what Iunderstand, a man backed into a middle aged man who was next to a tree, and ended up crushing and snapping his leg on the tree, causing his shin bone to crack and cause an open wound. When we got to the scene, the injured victim was in excruciating pain- you could see his bone was compeltely broken, and it was an open fracture- meaning, there was external injury along with the broken bone.

There was blood everywhere, and you could see the severed tissue. Ilya was able to take control of the situation because he spoke Russian- he told me to hold the man’s leg while we positioned him onto the backboard. I cold see the tissue and bone through his wound, and could also feel his shattered bone moving in his skin. Danielle and I were also running back and forth getting all the necessary equipment, while improvising to minimize pain for the patient. I could honestly see the blood pouring out from his tissue and starting to coagulate, and I felt his bone moving and being completely fractured inside his leg. The poor man was trying so hard not to yell from the pain. He was breathing very hard the whole time, and letting out some screams every once and a while when we passed over some bumps. We put a tachboshet ishit on him to help the bleeding.

While we were driving to RAMBAM, Danielle took his blood pressure and I was responsible for minimizing the movement of his broken leg and holding the bandage in place. Every so often the bandage would slip off and you could see into his wound ( some bone was sticking out). Once we got to the hospital, he was very grateful but a bit grumpy from the pain ( and rightfully so). The doctors got straight to work, and by the time the paperwork was done, he already had a bandage and sprint put on his leg. They also gave him some morphine for the pain, so he seemed quite happy.

Our next call was also interesting. A 33 year old mentally and physically handicapped woman ( she was tiny- her whole body was about the size of my torso) had her wheelchair fall to the side and on her, causing her to crack her head open. This all occured at a special needs home. When we got there, she had a pretty bad cut on the side of her head. We transferred her on to the ambulance- it was interesting to watch her reactions because she didn’t talk. The crew at the residence said she was crying before we came, meaning she was in pain, but now she wasn’t. She was just quiet, staring around and drooling a bit. In the ambulance, we took her blood pressure, and I had to hold her head so it would face us. That way, we could watch her consciousness (by seeing her eyes move and monitoring her breathing). We cleaned her cut with savior and placed some gauze on the cut and held it the whole ride to the hospital. Once there, the doctors took over and she seemed to be okay. Ilya also checked on our previous patient, who appeared to be as high as a kite and stillwith a sprint on his leg.

We had a third call at the University (right near the dorms that we stayed at) for someone who fainted and wasn’t feeling well. But, it got cancelled as we were on our way there.

Our last call was for a drunk Russian guy (again..). This time, he was actually quite clean and responsive. We found him on a bench with his tshirt stretched over his heads and legs, and he was asleep in the fetal position. He had about 3 bottles of vodka around him. I was a bit concerned that I would have to sit alone with him in the back of the ambulance. Ilya told us to wait in the ambulance while he checked out the situation. He poked and pushed him until the guy woke up and put his shirt back on. He said he didn’t want to go to thehospital, so we just sat there until he walked away. He was barely able to walk in a straight line! I’m not going to lie, it was kind of funny watching him walk away all drunkly from the rear view mirror.

These experiences weren’t as exciting as some of my other calls, but to me, it was the day which I did the most, and had to react quickly. I always had to be on my feet and I actually got to do more than just supply the patient with oxygen. Not to mention, not one of our calls were for seniors… that’s almost unheard of here!

At the end of the day, I came back to the apartment, gathered some things, changed my clothes, and then caught the bus to Afula. There, I was greeted by my cousin Karen and my Aunt Micki. This was the first time I have ever met them. They are the wife and (youngest)daughter of my Uncle Benny, my father’s older brother. I was really excited to meet him, seeing that I have never met him or his family before. Also, he recently had some heart problems and had to undergo some surgeries. It was nice seeing him feeling good, and not in a bad state.

Micki and Karen brought me to their kibbutz just north of Afula. It was such a beautiful kibbutz! All new and modern- very nice. At their house, I met their other daughter and her 4 daughters. The oldest daughter, Orianne, was doing a family project, and wanted to ask me a million questions about me and the family back in Canada as her special project theme. I thought it was really sweet of her. She tried speaking in English, but ended up going back and forth between English and Hebrew. Her other sisters were so sweet.(but I can’t remember their names.. I’m so terrible with names!) The middle one was in kindergarten, and the two youngest ones are twins. They’re 4 years old, and they are so different! It’s quite funny that they are the third pair of girl twins in the Touyz family.

I caught up and got to know Uncle Benny, his wife, and his 2 daughters for a while, and then we went to the Kibbutz’s dining hall and had a light supper. It was really nice to see what the Kibbutz living environment was like- a real community. We then went back to their house for a bit, and then I needed to head back to Haifa (1.5 hours away). I was a little sad saying goodbye to Uncle Benny, but I really hope to see him again soon, as well as the rest of the family. They were so nice and welcoming. I hope to return the favor one day.

Monday
Today it was just me and my driver, Yonatan. He was quite quiet, but he was okay. Sam tagged along with us in the morning since he was nahag 4. Our first call wasn’t anything exciting. A woman wasn’t feeling well, and she lived quite far out of Haifa. The NATAN was closer to where she was, so they picked her up, and we met up with them to pick her up from them (since she wasn’t a serious case, it would have been a waste if they used the NATAN to just bring her to the hospital). We brought her to the hospital with her son, and that was that. We then spent most of the day back at the station, until we got our second call at an old aged home. A senior man who didn’t speak much English hadn’t gone to the bathroom in a couple of days. He had glaucoma and hypertension. We took him to the hospital, and they took care of him. And that was basically my day on the ambulance. I took blood pressure and heart rate a few times, monitored the patients, gave oxygen, and tried communicating even though there was a langauge barrier. It was interesting from that perspective, having to communicate without speaking the same language.

When we got back to the apartment, Danielle and I decided to go explore and find the shook.After a few busrides, we found it. The area it was in was called Hadar, a very religious area- all the men have peyot and the women cover their hair. Some people joke and call them penguins here in Israel. 

The shook in Haifa is not like the other shooks I have been to. This was a REAL market- full of fruits and vegetable stands, a few bakeries, and a few butchers. It was so authentic! I bought some stuffed vine leaves which were delicious, and I found the fruits that Marcie made me try- LOQUATS! they are just too delicious. I hope that we have them back home! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loquat

After the shook, I showered, did my laundry, made myself dinner, sat outside and played with the kitties. These kitties are the apartment’s kitties, and not just strays. They are just too sweet for words. Its a little heartbreaking that all they really want is some food, so Ian and I try to feed them when we can. The others aren’t such fans of the kitties… they don’t know what they’re missing. One is such a little cheek, he reminds me a lot of Tooky. When you play with him and he gets excited, he starts lifiting up his paws like he’s dancing. It’s really cute. If I could, I would take all the little babies home with me!

We were all so tired, we ended up going to bed around 9:15… we’re such oldies! hehehe.

Tuesday

On Tuesday I worked with Sharon and Aviv. We were Nahag 1, meaning we got the first call of the day. We got our first nessiya at 7:45, but it got cancelled en route. Instead of going straight back to the station, we stopped at the local bakery, where Aviv got some stuff, and Sharon and I got a boureka. The gvinah bourekas here are just to die for, they are SO good! I could eat them every single day.

Our second call was quite interesting. We were called to a car accident, where a man hit a pedestrian by mistake. It wasn’t anythign too serious, but the man was blind, and didn’t speak much hebrew, just Russian. Again, it was interesting to interact with him and communicate with him seeing there was a language barrier. We brought him to the hospital, and I think he will be ok. His blood pressure was a bit high, and his pulse was a bit low, and his whole right side hurt ranging from his leg-arm-head. I hope it wasn’t anything too serious, but from the looks of it, he seemed to be fine.

Our third call was a unique one. We went to the patient’s flat, and we were in for a surprise. A 60 year old heavy Russian woman, who was clearly a chain smoker and bedridden ( she couldn’t stand, and her legs were all swollen) fell out of her bed and couldn’t get up. She was so heavy that Aviv knew that the three of us wouldn’t have been able to lift her, so he called for backup. Another ambulance came, with Eddy and Kerry, and the 3 of them had to lift her up and get her back onto her bed.It was quite an event to take her blood pressure and pulse and get her up again. Her apartment smelled like stale cigarette smoke, grime, and dirty laundry. I was eager to get out of there. She didn’t want to go to the hospital, so we packed up the things, and left.

We spent most of the rest of the day in the station watching MTV. It wasn’t that fun, but what could you do, sometimes we have those kind of days. Usually, around 2:30, the other volunteers start to come, and we rarely get any calls, and if we do, Nahag 4 goes on them. But for some reason, at exactly 2:30pm, all of us got calls! It was the strangest thing. We all got back to the apartments have 3:30pm, which is quite late. Our last call was for an elderly woman at a clinic who had chest pain and trouble breathing. We picked her up and rushed her to the hospital while we took her blood pressure and pulse and gave her high oxygen. Aviv was in a rush to finish the shift, since it was already 3:15, and he was working the night shift as well at 11:00 pm, so he drove a bit crazy. We finished the call at exactly 3:30, which is pretty good.

When we got back to the apartment, I waited for Ian to go to Kanyon Haifa to exchange some money. We went and walked around a bit, then came back and met everyone to go out for dinner. We walked up the main street of the German Colony, which goes up to the bottom of the Bahai gardens. We settled on an Arabic restaurant called Fattoush. I had a traditional chicken dish made with tomatoes, onions, and sumac. It was quite good ( but a bit salty). Kerry and I then shared a Knafeh, but it wasn’t as good (or as authentic) as the ones I had in Isifiya and Akko.

We then walked back to the apartments, and I couldn’t resist playing with the kitties again in the courtyard. I played with three of the little ones with Ian for a bit, and then I headed to bed. What a long day!

lots of love

SjjT

March 24, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.

update: part 2

Friday:

On Friday morning, I woke up and then called Kerry to wake him up, and we headed out on an adventure to the Bahai gardens. I also packed my bags to go straight to the train station before Shabbat started. I’m still not used to having the weekends on Friday and Saturday, but it’s starting to grow on me.

We hopped onto the 37 bus, and rode up the Carmel. We got off around the Carmel Centre, then walked along the panoramic scenery street until we got to the top of the Bahai Gardens. I was so excited to finally see the gardens. When we got there, I was awestruck. It is absolutely beautiful! We entered the top gates, but we were only allowed to go down two levels. I was a bit disappointed that we weren’t allowed to actually enter the whole garden and walk around. We arrived there around 11:00 am, and the only way you could walk down the gardens was if you payed for a tour, and just my luck, the last tour was at 12:00pm, which would have been too late for me ( I would have missed the last train before shabbat..) So, we took some pictures, enjoyed the gorgeous view, and then carried on our little adventure.

We walked back to the Carmel centre through two parks. The first was called the Dan Panoramic park I believe- it wasn’t anything special. The second park we walked through was where the zoo is. We didn’t have time to go to the zoo, but maybe I will go one day  next week after work. There was also a pretty carousel, and naturally I got quite excited, but it was closed. Oh well!

We carried on in hope of having some sushi for lunch, but our usual spot wasn’t open yet. We carried on walking around, browsing some shops and some bakeries, and then decided to go to Greg, a coffee shop chain in Haifa. Boy, am I happy we went there! I experience my very first Shakshuka! It was awesome. After we were done our lunch, I bought some freshly baked sweet rolls from the bakery ( they literally just came out of the over- the smell was too divine), and then caught the bus directly to Bat Galim train station.

I caught the train to Binyamina, where I switched over to another train, and headed to Netanya. At the station, after going out of the wrong exit then having to jump the gate, I met up with Alec Saul, one of my father’s good friends from South Africa. He was so sweet- he told me that he would be wearing a green cap and red socks with sandals so that I would recognize him. It was really nice finally getting to meet him. We caught the bus to the bus station, then walked about 45 minutes to his apartment. We walked through the Shook, and it was quite hectic- everyone was buying things before Shabbat started.

Once we got to his apartment, I met his sweet wife Guti. Apparently, she lived one street away from my grandparents in SA on Aida street for many years. I showed her some pictures of them, and she said she defiantely recognized them from their shul. What a small world! And, to add to that, it turns out that the first house that Alec and Guti bought in SA was from my Uncle Cyril! I mean, talk about coincedince.

I spent the afternoon with Guti and Alec in their apartment, doing sudoku and speaking on skype with my father. I then met their religious grandson Rafi, and their daughter Ava ( Rafi’s mother). They reminded me a lot of my family- the way they interacted and everything. They also played chazzones music and had many Judaic pictures and lots of books on the walls. It reminded me of home.

After Rafi came back from shul, we all sat together and had Shabbat dinner together. It was really nice taking part in their Shabbat dinner. They were all so nice to me.

 Once we finished eating, I got picked up by my mother’s lifelong friend Marcie, and her little doggy Honey. She lives in a little village/moshav right outside of Netanya, as does her Mother and brothers. We stopped by her mother’s beautiful home to say hello for a little before we went to Marcie’s. I spent the night at Marcie’s lovely little home. She has decorated it so beautifully- full of beautiful things, intersting odds and ends, and I got such a warm and welcoming feeling when I was there. She really is the best.

After getting all cozy and ready for bed, I passed out from a long weeks worth of work, and had a wonderful sleep.

Saturday:

This morning I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. I started the morning off with a welcoming shower, and then had a delicious breakfast with Marcie. I then packed up my things, and as we were heading out, marcie picked a fruit from her backyard tree and told me to try it- I can never remember the name- sort of like louquat? similar to sounding like kumquat.. The fruits actually look like a kumquat, but they aren’t citrus- they’re similar to an apricot, but juicier, and you can peal their skin. They are SO good!

We left Marcie’s with Honey, and picked up Rona (Marcie’s mother), and then headed to their village’s farmers market. It was nice to see the whole village come out- it was full of people, food, music, goods.. It was a lot of fun.

We dropped Rona back at home, then headed North to the Druze village Dalyat Ha Carmel. It is right next to the Druze village I went to with Maya and shira a couple of weeks ago ( Isifiya ). We took the scenic route through the Carmel Mountains- it was absolutely beautiful. You could see the hundreds of years old olive, cyprus, and eucalytpus trees. It felt as if you were in biblical times going through the moutains.

Once we got to the village, we walked around all of the shops, where they sold all sorts of scarves, jewelery, and other goods. It was really packed with people, so we decided to leave and head towards Akko.

The roads were surprisingly quiet today. Marcie said she thinks everyone is getting ready for Pessach, cleaning and cooking.. When we got to Akko, we headed straight towards the Old City. I was really happy that we went to Akko, seeing that there is so much history there. There was a time where the Roman empire (including Napolean), the Ottoman empire, the Greeks, the British, and now the Jewish, Arab, and Christians all controlled it. It is one of the oldest port cities in the country. When you walk down the cobble stone streets in the Shook it feels as if you’re in ancient times. It reminds me a lot of the old city in Jerusalem. The shook itself was all Arab though. The first thing we did when we were walking towards the old city was stop at a local bakery and get traditional Knaafeh- the goat cheese and saffron syrup soaked dessert. It was so good, but so sweet. Marcie said it was one of the best ones she’s ever had, meaning it must have been a real good one.

We then walked through the streets, and we stopped again to get freshly squeezed sugar cane juice- Marcie got quite excited. We shared 1 drink in 2 cups- I really didn’t like it. I took one sip and knew I wouldn’t finish it. Marcie had the same reaction, so after two sips we put our drinks down and carried on our walk. We walked through the streets, passed all the vendors, and stumbled upon one of the most famous Turkish coffee vendors in the world I believe. His store was full of spices and ancient grinders, and the famous man himself was behind the stall serving customers. He seemed quite full of it, if you ask me. We took some pictures, then were asked to leave, since we had Honey with us, and we gladly did so. We carried on walking passed the sweet and spize vendors, the scarves and Nargila stands, the fish and vegetable stalls, and just embraced the whole atmosphere. There was such a happening buzz there, lively and full of people. I really love going to the market- it just feels so authentic and so much more interesting than globalized shopping malls.

We walked and walked, and stopped to buy some nougat with dried fruits. We walked along the walls of Akko which were against the sea front, and carried on until we stopped for an authentic Arabic lunch. We got freshly made, warm, delicious Hummus, and a kebab with salad. We were still quite full from the Knaafeh, so we ate as much as we could and then gave some to Honey, and then took some of the left overs for the stray cats in the streets ( I know what you’re all thinking, and yes, of course I would!! )

We walked back through the market place to the car, and found that we left the lights on. We were a bit worried that the car wouldn’t start, but thankfully it did. We left Akko towards Haifa, where we got a bit lost, but eventually ended up right near Wadi Nisnas and the main street of the German Colony, which is the one part of Haifa I actually recognize. Marcie dropped me off, and came into our little grimy apartment. I kept describing her just how bad our apartment was, so I insisted she saw it for herself. The second she walked in she laughed and gave me a hug.. enough said!

After a long and wonderful day, I am ready to hit the sack. I have the only key for the apartment, meaning, I have to wait up until one of my other roomates come back, which doesn’t look like it will be any time soon. Sigh.

Tomorrow we are back on the ambulances, and I plan to go visit my Uncle Benny in Afula. It will be a long day!

I think I will go take a nice warm shower now.

Lots of love

SjjT xoxo

March 20, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.

Update: part 1

Tuesday-
Tuesday I spent the day at Tira again. I was stationned with Moti the driver and a medic in training who was ironically from South Afirca originally. We had two calls the entireday, both of which were for the same thing. The first call we got was on the way to the Tira station at 7:15 am. An elderly man wasn’t feeling well – he had trouble breathing and was in pain. We took him to the hospital, and then went to the station. I spent most of the day on the computer, since there was good internet, and then we got another call at around 10:30. It was an elderly woman with the same condition, but she was a bit more hysterical than the first patient. She was Russian, and didn’t speak much English ( I hate to say this but she also smelled really terrible- as if she didn’t take a shower or bath for a few weeks).

At the end of the day, Danielle, Sharon and I headed to Tel Aviv for the night. We trained to Tel Aviv, and then caught a bus to Holon, where Sharon’s family has an amazing apartment. It has one of the most beautiful views of Tel Aviv. It was really sweet of her to let Danielle and I stay with her there. We got in around 7:00 pm and started to get ready to head to the Namal for the night. We got to  Namal Tel Aviv around 9:00pm and had a very nice dinner at one of the restaurants at the port. Then, we arranged to meet up withsome of the people that did the course with us in Ashkelon who were stationned in Tel Aviv.

We said we would meet up at this place called Lehman Brothers, where my friend Brandi works. The three of us got there and went to see Brandi for a bit. The place was not at all what I expected- it was a happening party club, packed with people. We were quite lucky that Brandi got us in- we really weren’t dressed for this scene. We were expecting a low key bar of some sort. Apparently, right after we got in, a huge crowd formed outside to get in, and generally the guys have to be over 25 to get in ( or have a lot of money) and the girls at least 23. We stayed for a bit, and then left when we realized that Brandi couldn’t get any of our other friends in. We met Ran, Elias, Sam and John outside, and then we decided to leave the Namal, and look for a quiet coffee/bar place to just hang out. We found a cute little place, where we laughed the night away. It was nice telling each other about our different stories and experiences. I also realized just how much I love Tel Aviv and wish I could have been stationned there instead of Haifa.

By 12:30 am, we were all smashed and ready to go home. We caught a cab back to Holon, and then fell asleep within minutes. I slept so well!!!

Wednesday
After sleeping in until 10:00am, I had a very welcoming shower. I forgot just how grateful I am that back home people are no longer allowed to smoke in public places. At the Namal, everyone smoked inside- I came back smelling like an ashtray. Sharon and Danielle also showered, and then we packed our things and headed back to Tel Aviv by bus. Danielle went to some kibbutz organization, while Sharon and I headed towards Allenby, King George, Sheinkin, and Diezengoff. We dropped our bags off at Sharon’s cousin Michelle’s apartment. She was really nice. We then went on an adventure to find disposable cameras- it wasactually impossible to find.I started feeling hopeless and irritated with this endless search. We went to Diezengoff shopping center, a huge mall in central TA, and they had nothing. The cheapest camera they had was 700 shekels. So we headed back to Allenby street and walked around for a bit. I stumbled upon a camera shop, and thankfully they had disposable cameras.. I felt so old school buying them, but it’s better than nothing.
(It’s not worth buying electronics in Israel, they’re all double the price of those back home. I’m very upset that my camera stopped working. I contacted Kodak, and did everything they said. The only option I have left is to send it back to them, but I’m not sure if it is even financially worth it. I guess we’ll have to wait and see until I get home..)
Once I finally had my cameras, I was in a better mood. We then met up with Danielle and went to Shook HaCarmel (corner Allenby, King George, amd Sheinkin). We had a lot of fun browsing the stalls. I got a few scarves, and was tempted to buy a hat for the sun.. it was quite nice, I am considering going back and getting it.. we’ll see. Ran met up with us too for a bit at the market. We then headed to Sheinkin street and had a light lunch before returning to Michelle’s apartment to pick up our things and go back to Haifa. We arrived back in Haifa around 7:30 pm. I made myself some dinner, spent some time on the computer, then headed to bed.  I was so tired!! [There was this weird Russian guy who kept staring at me while I was on the computer, so I made some of the room mates come downstairs to sit with me. Apparently, the night before, he started hitting on Danielle, put his arm around her and even asked her to go for a walk.She was very sketched out, as was I. I did not get a good feeling from him...]

Thursday
Today I was Nahag 1. It was also oddly cold today! I was placed with Michool the driver, and Eduardo, an Argentinian Israeli medic who was training to become a driver. We had 2 calls today. The first was an elderly man who had to be taken to the Carmel hospital for a blood transfer of some sort. He lived with his wife quite far out of Haifa in an area called Akromon(?) I believe. His son joined us. They were very nice. Our second call was a hysterical 83 year old woman who clearly fractured her leg. She was at Kanyon Haifa ( HaifaMall) with her daughter and teenage grandson, when somebody bashed into her and made her fall. She was in agonizing pain, and had difficulty moving. Her daughter kept trying to joke with her to calm her down. She was still being a bit hysterical by the time we broughther to the Rambam ER, but I’m sure everything will be fine. There was also a practice bomb scare in Haifa today. I think I missed the sirens going off while I was on my first call, but the others told me that they were quite alarmed when they heard it. The other drivers said that many people are suspecting a war to break out this summer, and the army is starting to train intensely, and that’s why they decided to also run the bomb siren protocol throughout the city.
 
When we got back to the apartment, I fell asleep for about 2 hours. Sharon, Ian and Sam left for TA, and Danielle also crashed for a bit. It started to rain for a bit.. there was even lightning and thunder! Around 6:00 pm, I woke up and showered. Danielle went to Akko for the night, which left Kerry and I the only ones in Haifa. We went for a bit of a walk on the main street in the German colony, but then realized that all the restaurants were too expensive for dinner, so we decided to go to Dunk Pub, an Irish pub just around the corner, where they also serve food. The place really reminded me of Ye Olde Orchard back home, just darker,smaller, and more Hebrew. They were playing Ren and Stimpy on the TV, which I thought was quite funny. We had a nice dinner, and headed back to the apartment around 8:30pm. We’re just SO tired!! I am now sitting here writing this, about to watch a movie on my computer. I am excited to just spend the ngiht relaxing, and sleeping. Tomorrow I am going to Netanya for Shabbat. I plan to go to the Bahai Gardens in the morning- I am very excited.
Lots of love
SjjT

March 20, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.

On Sunday, we woke up super tired. We went to bed around 12:30 am, and woke up around 6:00 am. We’re still not used to these sleeping patterns!

The day started off with me at BANATZ ( a satellite station), where we got one call at a seniors resident. I was stationned with Aviv, Chanin, and another Bedouin girl. The man was having a hard time breathing and pain in his chest, so we took his blood pressure and gave him oxygen- as we started getting him ready for the ambulance, a NATAN came and we transferred him onto it, and that was that.

We went back to B’nei Tzion hospital ( where BANATZ is stationned), and I then got transferred to the other satellite station NOSH. NOSH is responsible for all the little areas ouside of Haifa. I was with Sabina and Saril- Sabina is the only woman driver, and it was pretty awesome watching her in action. I was expecting a few more exciting calls, but the only call we got was another senior woman at a seniors home with the same condition as the first patient. Again, we just got her ready for the NATAN, and then went back to the station. It was interesting to watch the paramedics on the NATAN treat her on the ambulance before they took her to the hospital.

At the NOSH station, I fell asleep quite a few times, and we watched some movies on the TV. The day was pretty uneventful. When I finished, my roomate Sharon and I went back to the apartment, and we waited for Danielle. Usually, we finish at around 3:00 pm, but for some reason Danielle just kept call after call, and came back around 5:30 pm. And I guess you can imagine… SHE HAD OUR ONE AND ONLY KEY! We spent the afternoon waiting for her- so, I decided to go do some groceries, and then come back to the apartment. By the time I came back, around 6:15, she was finally back. I made a delicious dinner of spring beans, green onions, and tomato salad, with spiced pargits (chicken) and red peppers. It was so delicious! Might I mention that yesterday was blistering hot outside. We were all so beat from our long day we decided to hit the sack quite early.

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed. I was scheduled to be NAHAG 2, but when we got to the station, Coby, our head, changed the schdule around, and I ended up being NAHAG 4- meaning I only started at 11:00 am. I spent the morning hanging around, listening to music and doing sudoku with the others. At 11:00, my driver came. His name was George. He doesn’t speak much, and he has a moustache. also, I was alone today- no banot shiruts. We got our first and only call at exactly 11:30 , as I was in the middle of checking the ambulance. We headed out to help an elderly man who wasn’t feeling well. He was really sweet. His son in law and philipino helper lady came with, and he held her han the whole way and joked around with her in the back. He was switching from English and Hebrew, and was just so sweet. We took him to Carmel Hospital, where it was packed with people. ( Might I mention that today was AGAIN blistering hot!!)

After our day, Danielle and I decided to head to the Haifa mall. Sharon and Sam joined us after. I was searching for some boots, but was unsuccesful. I did get some other things, like slippers for our grimy apartment, and some sleeper earrings which I’ve been looking for. We took the bus back, and stopped to get some groceries. When we got back to the apartment, Kerry made a huge pot of chicken soup, so we all sat together and ate while hanging out and listening to music. It was really nice to end our day that way. Now, the roomates are outside while I’m inside ( I don’t want to risk getting more bites!). I think I will have a quick shower then get ready for bed.

Lots of love

SjjT xoxo

March 15, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.

Tira (again), Kiryat Ono, Orot, Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Haifa, Eyn Hawd, Zichron Yaacov

So, the past few days have been quite eventful, and full of seeing family and friends.

On thursday, I spent the day at Tira again. This time it was only us international volunteers and the drivers- the banot shirut had some course and didn’t come in that day. I spent most of the day chilling out with Shlomy the driver, who practiced his English and helicopter simulation games, at the station in Tira. I worked on the computer and relaxed. We had one call- an old lady fell in her bathroom and sliced her ear open. I believe she suffered from dementia, seeing she didn’t talk much. Her husband and daughter did most of the talking. I took her blood pressure and read her blood sugar, and then we transfered her onto the wheel chair, and we carried her down the stairs and into the ambulance. This was my first time lifting the portable wheel chair while I’ve been here.. it’s quite heavy! Anyways. We brought her to the Lynn clinic- a private clinic rather than the hospital ER. And that was the most excitement of my day at Tira.

After our last shift of the week, I came back to the apartment, packed my bags, and took the train to Tel Aviv, where I met Maya waiting for me. I spent the night in Kiryat Ono with Maya, Shira and Spino. We ordered pizza and watched the action movie “The Inside Man”. Boy, what a bad movie. This was the first time I ate pizza since I felt sick in Ashkelon- but it was ok.

The next morning, I slept in until 8, then showered, and headed to Orot to see the family. One of the neighbors on the moshav passed away, so Maya and Avital had to go see the family sitting shiva. Ronit was in a fluster ( I think she didn’t know we were all coming!), and was getting ready to go out with Uncle Joe to their friend’s birthday party. Once everything settled, they left, and we stayed at the house. We had a lovely breakfast all together, then Maya and Avital headed over to the neighbor’s house as Michael, Shira, and I just hung out outside. It was really nice. When they came back from the shiva, Maya and Shira brought me to Tel Aviv, where I dropped off my bags at Sharon’s store on Bugrashov street. We had a nice lunch, and then I returned back to Sharon’s store to go get ready for Shabbat dinner in Ashdod with Eran’s family.

Sharon and I went back to his apartment, where I met his lovely fiance Karine, and got to play with little Camilla again. (I think I have found Tooky a girlfriend ). We got ready, then went in their friend’s taxi to Ashdod. Once we dropped off Karine at her family, we went to Sharon’s parents ( ie Eran’s grandparents) where I saw some of his family members- His grandparents, Shula, Yoram, Itamar, and some other cousins. It was really nice. We had a real moroccan shabbat dinner, with real moroccan home made cooking- so different to the cooking I’m used to, but it was delicious! After spending the night chatting and relaxing, I took the cab back to Tel Aviv, where I spent the night at Michael and Vered’s in Ramat Aviv. I was so pooped, I fell asleep quite quickly.

The next morning I woke up and took a great shower. I have really come to appreciate good showers and bathrooms since our bathroom in Haifa seems to be constantly flooded  ( I forgot to mention that I also had a great shower at Maya’s). Vered cooked breakfast for Moriah and I, and we sat together as we ate the delicious pancakes together. Niv joined us mid eating- he just came back from cycling. He won a huge race this week, so congrats cuzzy!!  I am trying to convice Vered to come with Michael to Montreal in May to see Simon and Garfunkel perform, and for Niv to do this big race in June. I hope it all works out, and I can return some hospitality to them, seeing that they’ve been so nice to me while I’ve been here..

After breakfast, we hit the road and headed north. We picked up one of Vered’s friends, Batya, at Binyamina. We actually drove all the way back to Haifa, where there was a huge international mountain biking race, where some of Niv’s friends were competing, as was Moriah’s older sister. We came around the end when cyclists were finishing up their last laps, and we cheered them on until all the people we came to see passed the finished line. It was nice to be a part of the cycling world for a few minutes, seeing it’s such a big part of my family’s life.

We then got back on the road, and went a bit south from Haifa to an artists village called Eyn Hod. We went to the Janco museum there which was all about his art and the DADA movement. It was really interesting. There was a cool distorted camera video which taped us and made us all wavy on a big screen. We then walked around the village and went into different little stores and galleries. It was really nice. Apparently, the village used to be an Arab village, but the state decided to make it an Arts village and basically forced them to move further on in the mountain ( the area where we went for lunch). For lunch, we had a typical Arab lunch, with lots of salads, humus, and some meats. It was super delicious.

We then went for ice cream in a beautiful Jewish village called Zichron Yaacov. There was a square full of little shops, restaurants, and ice cream stores. It was really nice. I was too full from lunch, so I passed on the ice cream, but Vered Batya and Moriah all got some. They looked very happy.

Once we returned back to Tel Aviv, I arranged all my things, and then got picked up by Oly and Brandi. This was my second time seeing Oly, and the first time I’ve seen Brandi in almost 6 years. We went for some frozen yogurt (halva + bananas= best toppings), and caught up. They then dropped me at the train station where I caught the train back to Haifa, where I am now, back in our stinky dirty apartment. Home sweet home.

Tomorrow we’re back on the ambulances!

Lots of love

Sjjt xo

March 13, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.

Tira (again), Kiryat Ono, Orot, Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Haifa, Eyn Hawd, Zichron Yaacov

So, the past few days have been quite eventful, and full of seeing family and friends.

On thursday, I spent the day at Tira again. This time it was only us international volunteers and the drivers- the banot shirut had some course and didn’t come in that day. I spent most of the day chilling out with Shlomy the driver, who practiced his English and helicopter simulation games, at the station in Tira. I worked on the computer and relaxed. We had one call- an old lady fell in her bathroom and sliced her ear open. I believe she suffered from dementia, seeing she didn’t talk much. Her husband and daughter did most of the talking. I took her blood pressure and read her blood sugar, and then we transfered her onto the wheel chair, and we carried her down the stairs and into the ambulance. This was my first time lifting the portable wheel chair while I’ve been here.. it’s quite heavy! Anyways. We brought her to the Lynn clinic- a private clinic rather than the hospital ER. And that was the most excitement of my day at Tira.

After our last shift of the week, I came back to the apartment, packed my bags, and took the train to Tel Aviv, where I met Maya waiting for me. I spent the night in Kiryat Ono with Maya, Shira and Spino. We ordered pizza and watched the action movie “The Inside Man”. Boy, what a bad movie. This was the first time I ate pizza since I felt sick in Ashkelon- but it was ok.

The next morning, I slept in until 8, then showered, and headed to Orot to see the family. One of the neighbors on the moshav passed away, so Maya and Avital had to go see the family sitting shiva. Ronit was in a fluster ( I think she didn’t know we were all coming!), and was getting ready to go out with Uncle Joe to their friend’s birthday party. Once everything settled, they left, and we stayed at the house. We had a lovely breakfast all together, then Maya and Avital headed over to the neighbor’s house as Michael, Shira, and I just hung out outside. It was really nice. When they came back from the shiva, Maya and Shira brought me to Tel Aviv, where I dropped off my bags at Sharon’s store on Bugrashov street. We had a nice lunch, and then I returned back to Sharon’s store to go get ready for Shabbat dinner in Ashdod with Eran’s family.

Sharon and I went back to his apartment, where I met his lovely fiance Karine, and got to play with little Camilla again. (I think I have found Tooky a girlfriend ). We got ready, then went in their friend’s taxi to Ashdod. Once we dropped off Karine at her family, we went to Sharon’s parents ( ie Eran’s grandparents) where I saw some of his family members- His grandparents, Shula, Yoram, Itamar, and some other cousins. It was really nice. We had a real moroccan shabbat dinner, with real moroccan home made cooking- so different to the cooking I’m used to, but it was delicious! After spending the night chatting and relaxing, I took the cab back to Tel Aviv, where I spent the night at Michael and Vered’s in Ramat Aviv. I was so pooped, I fell asleep quite quickly.

The next morning I woke up and took a great shower. I have really come to appreciate good showers and bathrooms since our bathroom in Haifa seems to be constantly flooded ( I forgot to mention that I also had a great shower at Maya’s). Vered cooked breakfast for Moriah and I, and we sat together as we ate the delicious pancakes together. Niv joined us mid eating- he just came back from cycling. He won a huge race this week, so congrats cuzzy!! I am trying to convice Vered to come with Michael to Montreal in May to see Simon and Garfunkel perform, and for Niv to do this big race in June. I hope it all works out, and I can return some hospitality to them, seeing that they’ve been so nice to me while I’ve been here..

After breakfast, we hit the road and headed north. We picked up one of Vered’s friends, Batya, at Binyamina. We actually drove all the way back to Haifa, where there was a huge international mountain biking race, where some of Niv’s friends were competing, as was Moriah’s older sister. We came around the end when cyclists were finishing up their last laps, and we cheered them on until all the people we came to see passed the finished line. It was nice to be a part of the cycling world for a few minutes, seeing it’s such a big part of my family’s life.

We then got back on the road, and went a bit south from Haifa to an artists village called Eyn Hod. We went to the Janco museum there which was all about his art and the DADA movement. It was really interesting. There was a cool distorted camera video which taped us and made us all wavy on a big screen. We then walked around the village and went into different little stores and galleries. It was really nice. Apparently, the village used to be an Arab village, but the state decided to make it an Arts village and basically forced them to move further on in the mountain ( the area where we went for lunch). For lunch, we had a typical Arab lunch, with lots of salads, humus, and some meats. It was super delicious.

We then went for ice cream in a beautiful Jewish village called Zichron Yaacov. There was a square full of little shops, restaurants, and ice cream stores. It was really nice. I was too full from lunch, so I passed on the ice cream, but Vered Batya and Moriah all got some. They looked very happy.

Once we returned back to Tel Aviv, I arranged all my things, and then got picked up by Oly and Brandi. This was my second time seeing Oly, and the first time I’ve seen Brandi in almost 6 years. We went for some frozen yogurt (halva + bananas= best toppings), and caught up. They then dropped me at the train station where I caught the train back to Haifa, where I am now, back in our stinky dirty apartment. Home sweet home.

Tomorrow we’re back on the ambulances!

Lots of love

Sjjt xo

March 13, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.

short and sweet.

This entry will just be a short one for the past two days.

Yesterday wasn’t so exciting. I only had 2 calls. The first was a little boy who started having trouble breathing. It was so heartbreaking seeing him at his school in the principal’s office, you could tell he was so scared and trying not to cry. We reassured him that everything would be ok, but you could just tell he was fighting the tears back. The second his mother arrived, he burst out into tears. My heart really went out to the little kid. We brought them both to the children’s ER at Rambam, and I think that everything turned out ok. He was my first child incident, it was hard seeing him in pain.

 Our second call was a sweet elderly woman who had chest pain. We brought her to the hospital, along with her husband. They were such a sweet old married couple- she told us they’ve been married for over 60 years, and have never fought. So sweet.

Something interesting happened yesterday- the ER at Rambam, one of Israel’s biggest hospitals, was officialy closed. Apparently, they were completely full! They got in touch with the minister of health and made a public claim that it was officially closed and would not be taking any more patients. You don’t see that very often..

After our long shift, me and Ian went on an adventure trying to find Wadi Nisnas- a supposed market area of Arabs, Christians, and Jews that work and live in harmony. They represent this idea that we can all live together in Israel. I was expecting something a little more vibrant and market-like, but I think we didn’t go deep enough into it, and Tuesdays are a bit of a bust day. Apparently on Saturdays it gets pretty busy and hectic.. so maybe I’ll check it out another time.

After we did a bit of fruit and nut shopping, we came back to the apartment, and the head of our program Aryeh came to visit us. We made some dinner and just hung out, then eventually he left and we all went to bed.

Today was a bit more interesting. I had a total of four calls, two of which were Nessiot Shiruts (just dropping off and picking up things for MADA), and the other two were actual calls. The first call was a ridiculous drunk Russian man who smelled horrible- the whole ambulance had this horrible stench the entire day, even after we washed it with septol and ethanol. The man was actually quite young, but he was dirty, and clearly soiled himself a few times. There were flies around him, and we found him amidst some bushes, almost unconscious. It was horrible. The driver told me to sit in the front, and I willingly did so. Our second call was another helicopter call – we picked up a conscious man- apparently  20 tons dropped on him. His leg was clearly broken, and he was in a lot of pain. I had to hold his right leg so his body wouldn’t move as the ambulance drove to the hospital ER from the heli pad. We brought him to the ER, when another ICU ambulance arrived with a man who was in an accident- His head was completly cracked open and he was leaking blood everywhere. Apparently, you could even see his brain. His situation was really severe..

This was my sescond time in the trauma room. It wasn’t as interesting at my first time, but it was still really nice ( probably not the right word to use in this context) to have more exposure to it and how it functions. I’m quite surprised at how much I’m interested in trauma.

When we got back to the apartment, I fell asleep and then showered. I’m preparing for an interview with McGill tonight. It’s a bit late for me, but what can you do.. the whole time difference clearly plays a roll. I’m a bit apprehensive, but I’ve gotten a lot of reassurance from my parents, Eran, and my roommates, which has greatly been appreciated.

Well, that’s it for now.

lots of love

sjjt xo

March 10, 2010. Israel- During MDA. 3 comments.

Tira

The more I think about it, the more I realize how fascinated I am with the Trauma ER- I really couldn’t stop watching the doctors performing quickly and so efficiently on their patients. Maybe this is a field I may consider? Who knows..

Today started off with a complete switch of people’s locations at the station. I was originally stationned to work with Hila, the crazy Israeli girl, but I ended up working with Ian, another overseas volunteer from Maryland, and Moti, one of the more experienced and senior medic drivers. We were scheduled to work in Tira- a satellite station outside the main part of Haifa. The station is literally a house- a main room witha  kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. We spent most of the day chilling out watching TV. There was a good internet connection there too, so I worked on translating one of my essays from English into French. We got two calls today- nothing too exciting. Our first call was a middle aged man who had fainted- but to me it looked like he was suffering from something more serious. He was completely pale, with very low blood pressure, and had a medical history with many conditions. It was quite sweet watching him and his wife sit in the ambulance together- they held hands the whole way to the hospital. Once we dropped them off at the Carmel Hospital, we got another call right away. This call was more interesting. It was in the Druze village just next to the one I went to on Saturday, outside of Haifa. A young man aged 34 was attacked by some guys- they hit him in the head and back, and put some sort of gas in his eyes. When we got to him he was fully conscious, but in excruciating pain. His eyes were tearing like crazy, and he was holding his lower left back with one hand, while putting a cloth on his head to stop the bleeding from his cut. We got him onto the stretcher, and the long ride to the hospital you could see just how much pain he was in, but he just kept smiling. I was able to talk to him in Hebrew, and to encourage him to breathe deeply and slowly, and to just smile, and everything would be fine. And he did. He said that no matter how much pain one is in, it is always important to smile. It was so inspiring to watch. When we finally got to the hospital, his eyes were so red, he said he could barely see. I felt so bad for him. I wonder what happened to him.. After we dropped him off, he said thank you for our help, and we went back to the Tira station for the rest of the day. I bought some bourekas, which were delicious, and just worked on my paper for the rest of the day. Moti’s father came by, and he was so sweet. A typical Israeli/Moroccan grandfather. He was so funny, speaking in Hebrew and broken English. I had a good time with them.

At 2:30 we drove back to the main station, and then headed back home around 3:00. Some of the roomies and I decided to go watch the sunset on the beach. It was my first time going to the beach in Haifa. It was really hot and sunny today, but by the end of the day, it became quite hazy, and then the temperatures started to drop as the sun went down. It was nice to sit on the beach. I really wish we had one back home- I love the feeling of sand on my toes. I could have done without all the noisy Israeli kids who were clearly skipping school or just procrastinating their homework by being loud and obnoxious beach bums. Oh well. We then caught the bus back to the apartments and are now chilling on the computers.  I am trying to figure out plans with our family friends for the next upcoming weeks. I think I am going to Netanya next week, and Tel Aviv this week.

Lots of Love

SjjT

March 8, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.

MADA- third shift.

Today I was stationned with Sarit and Ofer. The day started off slow, but by the end I had quite en exciting day. We got our first call around 10:30- it was a man with severe breathing problems, pain, and a high pulse. Because we suspected an MI, the NATAN (mobile intensive care unit) was called, and took over the shift. I measured his pulse. Our following call was quite far away, and wasn’t a real call- another ambulance needed assistance lifting a patient onto their stretcher. After that, we got a a call to the Arabic college of Haifa, where a 6 month pregnant 23 year old had syncope. It was actually quite scary, she had a very low level of consciousness. We gave her oxygen, and she didn’t always respond to us, or when we gave her a pain stimulus to see if she would respond to us. Once we got to the hospital and transferred her, she was still going in and out of consciousness ( but she was breathing, meaning she had a pulse), and the doctors and medics took care of her from there. Our last call was the exciting call. Since we were right near the hospital, we were called and told to go to the back of the hospital to transport a patient in a critical situation to the trauma ER. The helicopter pad was right next to an army base, where we saw soldiers that were meant to be water soldiers training by running in and out of the ocean and doing laps. It was so cool seeing the helicopter land, and having the paramedics come out with the young patient all bundled up on the body board. He was clearly unconscious, but breathing. He was covered in bandages and blood, and had tubes coming out of his arms with IVs, and a monitor making sure his Lachatz Dam and Dofek (BP and HR) were regular. Once we loaded him onto the ambulance, we rushed back to the hospital, and we turned left rather than right and entered the trauma ER. The doctors and nurses immediately started working on him, getting him off the backboard and taking off the bandages. They sterilized him, washed away the blood, and started giving injections and taking Xrays. The next bed over was a young girl, probably around my age, who got into a severe car accident. Her body  was all cleaned from the blood, but her head was still in the neck brace, and her face was completely covered in blood. You could see just how severe the car accident must have been. I watched the doctor sterilize her chest and then puncture between her ribs to allow air into her lungs- blood came pouring out, meaning she must have had a hemopneumothorax. They were prodding and poking her with needles and electrical scopes to see if she had any internal bleeding. It was really interesting to see. There was blood all over the floor, and you could smell the disinfectant mixed with the ironey scent of blood. It really lingered in the room, and even in the ambulance.  It was such an interesting experience. I really hope that both those patients recover- but it seems like their accidents were pretty severe. I only hope for the best for them.

After our shift was over, we came home and hung out for an hour. Our bathroom and stove got fixed ( might I just say,that it is so typical Israeli that the repair man comes, makes a mess, and doesn’t clean it up. Leaves it as a big mess for us to clean up, when he could have easily cleaned it. He also left a big  dirty puddle and made no attempt to watch where he stepped or worked or anything..). That was a nice relief. So, in the end, we didn’t have to move into another room.. the boys are still stuck in their tiny room, awaiting for the ok from the building to move rooms. We got ourselves together, took the 23 bus and headed to the Grand Canyon (the main mall- it’s kind of funny it’s called the Grand Canyon, because it’s actually built in a canyon). There, we all got something to eat, while some of us did some shopping. After a couple of hours hanging out all together, we came back to the apartment and are now on the computers typing away.

I seem to have caught another cold. I actually don’t even know how it’s possible- every week I have some sort of new sickness. Quite ridiculous. I’m congested and sniffly, and thankfully I have the meds I bought when I first arrived.

Well, it looks like I’m goin to have an early night and try gain a few extra hours of sleep… it’s quite clear that I need it! (It’s about 9:35pm here.)

Lots of love

SjjT xo

March 7, 2010. Israel- During MDA. Leave a comment.