4 December 2010 WATER DROP visits McMurdo Medical – by the staff of the McMurdo Hospital!

With our jobs in Antarctica almost finished, we have at least one member of our group who already has plans for more time on the ice. The WATER DROP from the Delaveaga Elementary school in Santa Cruz was adopted by the hospital here and they hired him. Here is their WATER DROP story.

Water drop found a job at McMurdo!! He will help the doctors and nurses at the McMurdo hospital.

Now that he has a job arranged, he has to go through the Physical Qualifying (PQ) process.

The WATER DROP then is greeted at the door by Lori the X-Ray Technician who has been at the clinic for 8 years. Lori met her husband at McMurdo and they have been married for 3 years. Lori takes Water Drop’s chest x-ray, That was not too bad.

Dennis the Nurse Administrator arrived during win-fly for his first year on the Ice. He takes the WATER DROP's blood pressure, pulse and temperature (in his ear).

After completing a long questionnaire he is evaluated by the Doctors, Harry, Jessie, and Pat. Doc Harry is on his 4th season. Doc. Jessie is on her first season. Doc Pat has already worked a season at Palmer and the South Pole.

Water Drop then goes to see Desiree. Desiree is the Medical Lab Technician who is working her second year here. She draws the WATER DROP's blood and gets his urine sample .

Desiree then analyzes or sends the samples to Christchurch for testing.

WATER DROP now has to see Kressley the Dentist. Kressley is an Aussie!!! She's from Australia. The WATER DROP gets his teeth cleaned and he gets a check-up.

No cavities! The WATER DROP brushes and flosses every day. Good WATER DROP!

Mandy is the physical therapist. Mandy shows the WATER DROP around the Physical Therapy room where he learns the importance of stretching and how to lift properly. She also shows him how she helps those who have sprains, strains and overuse injuries while at McMurdo.

After his visit Water Drop is given a tour of the hospital.

He sees the Ultrasound Machine. If someone breaks a bone the doctors use this machine to look at it. He also sees the VTC room (Video Teleconferencing) which lets the medical team talk to Physicians back in the U.S. If anything really bad happens in McMurdo, then the doctors can talk to specialists in the States who will help.

He then visits the Decompression room where Divers are helped if they are hurt or have an underwater accident.

The Pharmacy Tech Christine then shows him how to order his medications. She will let him know when they arrive.

On his way home, WATER DROP meets Barbara who has been on a Med-Evac, (Medical Evacuation). She is a flight nurse and takes people who are sick at McMurdo back to a larger hospital in Christchurch New Zealand on a C-17 or C130 airplane. The C17 is the same plane that brought most of the people down to Antarctica and will take them back in February.

With that, the WATER DROP has PQed. The WATER DROP is healthy enough to work in Antarctica! Should the WATER DROP stay here and help at the hospital or should it come back home to the kids at Delaveaga Elementary School in Santa Cruz?