Perspective

Last week a meeting was called at the hospital for all the soon to be departing personnel. We were told that we would all need to move out of our living quarters and that our replacements were due soon. For various reasons we would be housed in several different tents and temporary places near the hospital. In the event of a mass casualty event, we were all needed. Space has become a major problem here at Bagram with the Afghan Surge well underway. Some of us were asked to live in the hospital. I was mandated to live in the clinic. Tonight will be my sixth night sleeping on a procedure table. It is designed for minor procedures such as mole removals and toenail extractions. Instead, it is my bed for the foreseeable future. Toxic is the best way to describe me ever since this turn of events. I have been complaining constantly about this terrible situation. After all, how can the United States Air Force treat a doctor like this? This is a gross injustice of immense proportions, right? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Recently, I learned that rank and titles do not matter when it comes to our space problem. Our head nurse who is a colonel is also living in her office. She is sleeping on a cot. The pharmacy supervisor who is a master sergeant is sleeping in the pharmacy. The head radiology technician is assigned to live in the radiology department. This is reality. There are definitely worse places to be. One morning not too long ago some soldiers were spotted sleeping on litters (aka stretchers) next to their armored vehicles. This was in an open space just a hundred meters from the hospital. That's rough. How about our soldiers who are in harm's way at this very moment in time? How about the Afghans who live in mud huts just outside the fence line of our base?

A few of my frieends and I recently watched the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness". It is a good movie about man who overcame incredible odds to make it big. It shows a little glimpse of what it is like to be homeless and to have almost nothing. The movie got me thinking about my situation and how pathetic it is for me to complain. Then, my friend Dr. Mike told me a little of his life story. You see, Dr. Mike was on food stamps for the first year of medical school. He has lived through some very tough times. He and his wife dropped out of high school after having their first child. Mike then graduated in his high school's vocational program. His wife earned a GED. The next decade was struggle. His wife worked the night shift at Wal Mart. Dr. Mike worked as a short order cook. They took college classes and slowly made their way through school. Mike had to donate plasma for money to help pay the bills. At one point, their apartment building burned down and they lost everything. They even lost their car. He rode the bus to school for 2 years at Syracuse University. It was never easy. They lived on $7,000 during Mike's first year of medical school. Then, Mike was awarded an Air Force scholarship. Life got better for his family. And, the Air Force gained an outstanding individual. The rest is history. It has been a pleasure to serve with Dr. Mike here in Afghanistan. He has inspired me to be a better person.

Some time in the near future we all will be home sleeping in our own beds. It will be a great feeling. When the euphoria of being home wears off, hopefully we will all appreciate the little things in life a little more. I can handle sleeping on a procedure table even if I know that someone had a large wart cut off on there the other day. At least I am not out in the cold or the heat for that matter. I guess a little persective goes a long way.