#i also post about thursday and fob sometimes | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

newstfionline · 4 years ago

Text

Friday, January 8, 2021

Spending the pandemic talking to yourself? If you live alone, you’re not alone (Washington Post) One bleak pandemic day in November, Aisha Tyler caught herself vacuuming the inside of her freezer. Then she scolded herself. Yes, out loud. Sometimes the Los Angeles-based actress will tell herself to “snap out of it.” On brighter days, she’ll congratulate herself on what a good job she’s doing and call for a celebration. Humans leave little unspoken, and this past year, as many of us have avoided social events and worked from home alone, we’ve been forced to talk out loud to the only person still around to listen: ourselves. Sure, it may take the form of bantering with our pets, scolding the politicians on TV or cajoling our malfunctioning printers, but that’s really just another way of hearing our own voice, helping us discern what exactly is going on inside that head of ours. What’s going on here? Charles Fernyhough, a psychology professor at Durham University and author of “The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves,” says research shows people talk out loud more when under stress or facing cognitive challenges. It was praying aloud that kept 44-year-old April Harris going during her 32 days in quarantine with a deep cough at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif.—not just self-encouragements like “I can do this” and “You got this, April,” but repeated declarations like “by His stripes, I am healed.” “I would pray for our country and for a cure to this virus,” she says in an email from the prison, where she has spent 24 years but had never previously talked out loud to herself. “Now I pray that I am covered by His blood, not wanting to endure that again. I pray for the women who are in isolation now.”

Here’s Why Car Thefts Are Soaring (Hint: Check Your Cup Holder) (NYT) After years of declines, car thefts appear to be surging in cities and suburbs all over the country. The spree, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, does not appear to be the work of sophisticated crime rings, the police say. Instead, this new wave of car thefts seems to stem from a combination of simple carelessness and the same technological advancement that once made stealing cars nearly impossible: the key fob. The broad adoption of keyless ignitions that began in the late 1990s ushered in a dark era for car thieves. New cars had engine immobilizers that only a microchip in the key fob could unlock, and vehicle thefts quickly plummeted. Technology, it seemed, had largely solved the problem of stolen vehicles. Until people started leaving their fobs sitting in their cup holders. Now, the police say forgotten fobs and keyless technology have contributed to soaring stolen car cases. In Hartford, the police have traced the surge to teenagers joyriding in from the suburbs. In Los Angeles, stolen cars reappear so frequently that the police believe thieves are using them like Ubers. And in New York City, a related but different problem has emerged as more drivers leave their cars running to make pit stops and deliveries during the pandemic, making their cars easy targets for thieves who can simply drive away, even without a fob.

Canadian compensation (CBC) Based on companies that trade on the TSX, in 2019 the average total compensation for the 100 best-paid CEOs of Canadian corporations was $10.8 million, while the average annual salary for a worker in Canada was $53,482 the same year. That means top CEO pay is about 202 times that of the average Canadian worker, which is actually down from the 227 observed the previous year. It also means that at 11:17 a.m. on Monday, the average CEO had already made the annual salary of a typical worker.

An unimaginable moment in America (AP) To see it unspool—to watch the jumbled images ricochet, live, across the world’s endless screens—was, as an American, a struggle to believe your eyes. But there it was, in the capital city of the United States in early January 2021: a real-time breaking and entering the likes of which the republic has never seen. The U.S. Capitol was overrun by violent supporters of Donald Trump, who exhorted them to march on the domed building as lawmakers inside carried out their constitutional duty by certifying his electoral defeat. The proceedings were quickly abandoned as the selfie-snapping mob smashed windows, marched through hallways and rummaged through lawmakers’ desks. Fourteen days before Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on the very same site, elected officials sheltered in place in their own building. Agents barricaded themselves inside congressional chambers, guns drawn. The stars and stripes—soaring over public property—was lowered, then replaced as a blue Trump flag ascended. In one of the day’s most indelible images, a hoodie-clad trespasser sat in a chair overlooking the Senate floor—minutes after it had been vacated by Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence—waving his fist in front of a thick, ornate curtain designed to summon the trappings of democracy. The United States on Wednesday seemed at risk of becoming the very kind of country it has so often insisted it was helping: a fragile democracy.

World reacts to US mob (AP) Amid the global outrage at the storming of the U.S. Capitol building by angry supporters of President Donald Trump was a persistent strain of glee from those who have long resented the perceived American tendency to chastise other countries for less-than-perfect adherence to democratic ideals. In China, which has had constant friction with the Trump administration over trade, military and political issues, people were scathing in their criticism of Trump and his supporters, citing both his failure to control the coronavirus pandemic and the mob action in Washington. The Communist Youth League ran a photo montage of the violence at the Capitol on its Twitter-like Weibo microblog with the caption: “On the sixth, the U.S. Congress, a most beautiful site to behold.” That appeared to mock House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her June 2019 comments in praise of sometimes violent antigovernment protests in Hong Kong. Iran, another country that faces routine U.S. criticism over violations of human rights and democratic values, jumped on the insurrection as proof of American hypocrisy. The semiofficial Fars news agency called the United States a “fragmented democracy,” while Iran’s pro-government Twitter accounts gloated, circulating photos of the mobs with hashtags that included #DownfalloftheUS. “The beauty of democracy?” with a shrug emoji was the reaction tweeted by Bashir Ahmad, a personal assistant to the president of Nigeria, which has seen several coups since independence—including one led decades ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, who most recently entered the office via a vote. Venezuela, which is under U.S. sanctions, said the events in Washington show that the U.S. “is suffering what it has generated in other countries with its politics of aggression.” Several countries, both allies and antagonists of America, issued travel warnings to their citizens.

America the exceptional? (Foreign Policy) It’s not easy to say how much the storming of the Capitol will contribute to the decline in the reputation of the United States abroad. That’s because that decline has already been so steep: A Gallup poll of 29 countries in 2020 found that 20 already had approval ratings of U.S. leadership that are at new lows or that tie the previous record lows.

‘The power of life and death is in the tongue,’ Senate chaplain says (NYT) “We deplore the desecration of the United States Capitol building, the shedding of innocent blood, the loss of life, and the quagmire of dysfunction that threaten our democracy.” Those words, spoken by Barry C. Black, the Senate chaplain, resounded through the government chamber in the early hours of Thursday, as he declaratively closed a joint session of Congress marred by violence with a prayer. A Seventh-day Adventist minister and former Navy rear admiral known for his penchant for brightly colored bow ties, Mr. Black has been the Senate’s official clergyman for nearly two decades. His prayers in the chambers have long been laced with rebukes for the infighting of the lawmakers surrounding him, and his words have often served as a conscience check for those on both sides of the aisle. That was never more true than on Thursday morning, as he warned lawmakers that their words could have great consequences. “These tragedies have reminded us that words matter, and that the power of life and death is in the tongue,” he said. “We have been warned that eternal vigilance continues to be freedom’s price.” His prayer also urged new unity in the face of the deep divisions among lawmakers and within the country, driving home a need to “see in each other a common humanity.”

Twitter, Facebook muzzle Trump amid Capitol violence (AP) In an unprecedented step, Facebook and Twitter suspended President Donald Trump from posting to their platforms Wednesday following the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Twitter locked Trump out of his account for 12 hours and said that future violations by Trump could result in a permanent suspension. The company required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets. Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns, followed up in the evening, announcing that Trump wouldn’t be able to post for 24 hours following two violations of its policies. Facebook later said that Trump would be banned indefinitely.

Indian farmers take to their tractors (Quartz) On the other side of the world, a protest of a different kind is taking place in Delhi, as farmers who oppose India’s newly passed agricultural laws plan to march into the city with 2,500 tractor trolleys today. It’s the latest action in nearly two months of demonstrations that have grabbed headlines globally for their scale, but also for their inventiveness—some of the tractors have previously doubled as screens for movie viewing as protesters dug in for the long haul. The latest round of talks between the government and farmers is scheduled for tomorrow. If the two sides can’t agree on a path forward, farmers’ union leaders say a tractor rally and nationwide protests will start on Jan. 26, when the country celebrates Republic Day.

With Mass Arrests, Beijing Exerts an Increasingly Heavy Hand in Hong Kong (NYT) They descended before dawn, 1,000 police officers fanning out across Hong Kong to the homes and offices of opposition lawmakers, activists and lawyers. They whisked many off in police cars, often without telling relatives or friends where they were being taken. Within a few hours on Wednesday, the Hong Kong police had arrested 53 people, searched 76 places and frozen $200,000 of assets in connection with an informal primary for the pro-democracy camp—all under the auspices of Beijing’s new national security law. In one swoop, the authorities rounded up not only some of the most aggressive critics of the Hong Kong government but also little-known figures who had campaigned on far less political issues, in one of the most forceful shows of power in the Chinese Communist Party’s continuing crackdown on the city. The message was clear: Beijing is in charge. The mass arrests signaled that the central Chinese government, which once wielded its power over Hong Kong with a degree of discretion, is increasingly determined to openly impose its will on the city. In the months since the law took effect, Beijing and the Beijing-backed Hong Kong leadership have moved quickly to stamp out even the smallest hint of opposition in the Chinese territory, where the streets once surged with huge anti-government protests. And they have shattered any pretense of democracy in Hong Kong’s political system.

Japan declares emergency for Tokyo area as cases spike (AP) Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to surge, hitting a daily record of 2,447 in the capital. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued the declaration at the government task force for the coronavirus. It lasts from Friday until Feb. 7, and centers around asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and people to stay home and not mingle in crowds.

The next catastrophe has already been predicted (Les Echos via Worldcrunch) The epidemic surprised us, but it was predictable. In the risk report regularly published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for its annual Davos summit, infectious diseases were listed every year as one of the 10 biggest threats. The report’s description of a virus spreading uncontrolled around the world was exactly what played out in 2020. There were frequent discussions at Davos about this type of danger. For example, in 2016, after the damage caused by Ebola, the general director of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, sounded the alarm about the next pandemic. Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, drew a parallel with the Spanish Flu, evoking the risk of an illness that killed 30 million people. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft-cum-health philanthropist, insisted on the necessity of training teams in public health management and logistics. If this health crisis is causing so much suffering, it’s because we refused to seriously prepare for it. We didn’t follow the advice of the philosopher and engineer Jean-Pierre Dupuy, who pushes us to think about catastrophe to prevent it from happening. The time has therefore come to think about the next global catastrophes—the less predictable ones.

#headlines #news

1 note · View note

solitudeatitsfinestxo · 7 years ago

Text

Endometriosis?!?!?!

As many of you are aware I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis on Thursday. I said after about a year or two but in reality I’ve been battling this since 2014. In a nutshell, Endometriosis is where tissue grows on the womb, and other places including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, inside the tummy, and in or around the bladder or bowel. My aim of this post is to raise awareness and educate people on endometriosis as I think it is such a bleak subject. This thing on a whole is still very raw for me and I’m only touching the base of my story as I am very emotional about it all.

In 2014 I started noticing significant difference in my periods. They were becoming less and less but more painful. My normal menstrual cycle would be around the same time every month on the dot, for about 4 days and I very rarely suffered from pain at all. From 2013- 2015 I had the most stressful period of my life, this is where lost my dad and my mental health state went to pot. I eventually managed to get myself to go to the doctors in 2016 where by this point I had a mega long list of symptoms that didn’t make sense.

As I stated before my first noticeable change was my periods:

My periods had become less and less but more painful. They would only last a day or two, I’d have one very heavy day usually the first but then after the second day it would just be spotting but the pain would linger for the length of normal period ranging from 4-7 days. I began noticing very strange things happening such as bleeding upon wiping after going for a wee when I wasn’t on my period, or after a no.2, I had streaks of blood in both. My bowels have always been temperamental, which is why it was harder to diagnose. Often I’d wake up in the middle of the night in a pool of blood (no exaggeration) and eventually ended up sleeping with a towel in bed my so I didn’t ruin any more sheets. I honestly must’ve ruined about 10 bed sheets. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t use a tampon or sanitary towel: the answer to that is because I didn’t know when I would bleed or not.

Throughout the day I would pass blood clots, again without being on my period, my underwear would constantly be blood stained, as if I was spotting.

I’d have a constant dull ache sometimes sharp in the lower region of my stomach, with occasional lower back pain which worsened in the week before my period, the week of my “period” and the week after, so essentially I would have one week free of pain. I ended up living of co-codamol, which probably isn’t advised but my GP refuses to give me anything stronger, especially as I have a sluggish bowel.

I am constantly bloated, which makes me incredibly self-conscious, body image and body positivity had disappeared I don’t feel attractive. Which I won’t lie I am finding incredibly difficult at the moment. I just don’t want to make effort with my appearance, I can’t stand the way my stomach look, my face is constantly puffy and I look exhausted 24/7. If I could wear a balaclava ALL the time I actually would. I know looks aren’t everything but it’s making me miserable.

LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX BABY. Haha no jokes here though. I experience pain during sex a lot of the time to the point where sex doesn’t even appeal to me anymore because I’m petrified of the pain during and after sex, I also bleed a lot after sex, it’s rather messy. (sorry to be grim) It puts a massive strain on the intimacy levels, because ive found that my partners always think they’re hurting me. Which isn’t the case.

My GP in 2016 diagnosed me with stress, and put me on the pill to help regulate my periods. Which I wasn’t 100% for because I knew something else was going on. I stayed on the pill for around two months and decided I still wasn’t happy. Nothing had changed either.

Two months later I returned and said I still wasn’t happy. She sent me for an external and internal ultrasound. My ovaries and other parts of my reproductive system all came back normal, a relief in one sense but still a pain because I still knew something wasn’t right.

I was made to feel like I was over exaggerating.

I knew something was majorly wrong with my body, as I used to have normal periods, I never had all of these problems when I was younger, so why now?

After being fobbed off so many times I decided to leave it, as they were obviously right.

In 2017 a lot of things started to get worse, I was having time off work because of the pain, I was bleeding irregularly more often, and I was miserable, I was stressed out and I thought there was something malicious going on.

I went back to my GP, ended up seeing a male doctor this time, and demanded that he sent me to a Gynaecologist. I showed him my symptoms and for once someone didn’t argue with me.

A month later I had my first appointment with my consultant, who listened to my concerns and explained to me that she thought I had endometriosis. DIDN’T HAVE A CLUE WHAT THAT WAS. After our chat my consultant tried to examine me, she didn’t get very far, I was in so much pain, and was bleeding on examination she decided to leave me be.

I was booked in for my Laparoscopy on 21st September 2017.

On the day of my laparoscopy I was mega nervous, I hadn’t slept a wink and I just wanted it over and done with. I got there about 11am and was sent down to theatre at 1pm. I didn’t return to the ward until 14:45 as I spent a lot of time in recovery (Didn’t come round well apparently)

When I was finally awake properly I was in agony, my body was so weak I couldn’t speak, all I could do was cry, I was in the worst pain imaginable they gave me some morphine when I was in recovery, and I had some codeine when I was on the ward. When it all had kicked in, I was high as a kite, my consultant came round to see me and explained that things had gone well but like we had expected I do have endometriosis, it was found on my womb and was burnt away as much as she could possibly could. I was initially shocked, tearful, but at peace because I finally had answers. When I was under general anaesthetic I had a hormonal coil inserted which will hopefully help with the pain, fingers crossed it does or that’s a waste of time.

My main concern with all of this is that I wouldn’t be able to have children, I still don’t know whether I can but I do know that if I get any growths on my ovaries then it will make it a lot harder for me to conceive, then I have the battle with my lungs, I’m hoping that they stay on my side and keep me healthy enough so that if I am ever lucky enough to conceive I am also healthy enough to carry a child. Right now it feels like my body hates me, I know that my health can be a lot of worse and I’m not complaining but I just feel like a ticking bomb. Ticking away and I don’t know which ones gonna blow first, my Endometriosis or my Cystic Fibrosis.

My recovery seems to be going okay, I’m able to walk around a lot more, I can’t bend as much as Id like, the pain is unbearable of a night time, and I’m sleeping most of my days as I’m so tired. So if i don’t reply to you all for a while I’m not being rude I’m literally exhausted.

but on a more positive note Thank you all for your lovely get well soon messages and feel free to message if you have any personal questions, I will always try and help you as much as I can x

Love Amy x

#endometriosis #endofighter #periods #chronically ill #chronicillness #cystic fibrosis

5 notes · View notes

memsmedic1 · 7 years ago

Text

A different part of Asia 05/29/17-07/01/17

Back in February, just after the Iraqi army and coalition forces had liberated eastern Mosul from ISIS and initiated the West Mosul offensive, I had contacted the Academy of Emergency Medicine (AEM), a Slovakian NGO, and requested information on what was required to volunteer with their organization. I sent in the required documents, but not a peep did I hear back from them afterwards, so I figured that it was a no go- plus I am so busy with M-EMS that I didn't think I would be able to volunteer with them even if I was accepted. So I was completely taken by surprise when on Thursday the 25th, on our second to last day of EMR training in Myawaddy I received an email from AEM stating that not only had I finally been checked and approved, but that if I was available there was currently an urgent need for medics to treat escaping civilians as well as the soldiers fighting ISIS. The only problem was that I knew I wouldn't be able to take that much time off on such short notice so I didn't even get my hopes up. However, the month of June was when we had planned to teach a large EMR course up in northern Myanmar, and because of multiple setbacks in that area we were forced to cancel. So now we actually did have an entire month where we weren't scheduled for anything major. When I mentioned the opportunity at our post-training team meeting on Friday, Myanmar EMS was excited about the prospect and volunteered to sponsor my time to make the mission happen pending finalization of a couple of scheduling issues with the AREMT. So now I was excited! I spent an agonizing weekend not knowing what I was going to do, but finally Sunday night we received the confirmation that assured I would be able to go! Monday the 29th I purchased my ticket and started getting packed. Tuesday morning though I woke up and found an email canceling my ticket with no explanation so I had to quickly go through the entire ticket finding process again and was able to find a replacement that wasn't too expensive and only pushed my flight back by one day. (Which is amazing because for some reason there aren't too many flights headed to Iraq!) Thursday, June 1st I woke up super early to make it to the airport on time for my flight. Some of my team were traveling to Thailand to take care some banking business (Myanmar's banking system is Byzantine) and show our school property to a potential buyer so it worked out perfectly for them to drop me off at the airport on their way. The first leg of the journey went from Yangon out over the Bay of Bengal, straight across India, and over the Persian Gulf to Doha, Qatar. The airport sits right on the water and the end of the runway is actually a seawall so I felt like we had taken a wrong turn and were on final approach to Saint Martin before we actually landed and I could finally see that we were in the middle of a sandstorm that was partially obscuring my view of the skyscrapers and sand dunes! Inside the airport everything was extremely plush and lavish, there's an entire mall inside with every exclusive retailer in the world seeming to have a storefront. There's Mercedes, Ducati, and Lamborghini showroom models for sale and raffle scattered around, and if you're interested you can buy gold bars or coins in any of the jewelry stores! After a 3 1/2 hour layover, I boarded another almost empty flight that flew me northwest over the Persian Gulf towards Mosul and ISIS. The destination for this flight is Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, a fully autonomous region in northern Iraq about 90 km from the city of Mosul and a major staging ground of the Battle for Mosul that has been underway now for the better part of a year. At first after crossing into Iraq the terrain was flat, bone dry, and arid desert, but the farther north we flew the more rugged and mountainous it became. Eventually I started to see trees on the higher hills and finally we started flying over snow covered mountains! Shortly after leaving the mountains behind we began to prepare for landing. Instead of beginning our descent a couple hundred miles away from our destination, we remained at nearly cruising altitude until we flew over Erbil. Then the pilot flew in a figure eight pattern while dropping us down towards the runway. We descended so fast that I felt like I was training for a trip to the space station while nearly levitating under my seatbelt! In the airport I went through customs and then took a shuttle to the civilian meeting point where I was picked up by Oliver and Sven, who run AEM operations in Iraq. After introductions they took me to their main base in Erbil. This is in what used to be a very nice mansion but it's been neglected for a while now and is surrounded by mostly abandoned and run down compounds. After we got there I was introduced to Monir, another paramedic who had arrived last night. Oliver gave us an orientation talk and then we went to the market to buy whatever gear we didn't already have with us. By this time it was 0130 for me with time change so I went to bed. In the morning we loaded up and met with Pete and Walter from Global Response Management to form a convoy on the 90 km drive to Mosul in Nineveh province. I was even allowed to drive one of the Toyota hiluxes in the convoy! After leaving Erbil we drove northwest through the desert passing countless checkpoints and places in the road where at some time either a large dirt berm had been across it and recently bulldozed through or where the road had been mined and the craters filled in with dirt. The closer we got to Mosul the more damage there was. Houses completely riddled with holes, burned out, or with blast damage. Finally ahead of us we could see the smoke over the city and as we stopped at the last checkpoint before crossing the floating bridge over the Tigris River we could hear the fighting. After arriving in western Mosul we stopped along the side of the road as refugees flowed by going in the opposite direction, a Predator drone circled overhead, and one of ISIS' Dushka heavy machine guns intermittently barked out strings of epithets a half mile to our left. We had stopped in this prime location for our mandatory security briefing:...Don't talk to the jihadi's...don't get shot or exploded...Don't run outside and wave at unidentified drones...If there's a problem run in that direction... Etc. Afterwards we struck off towards the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) forward operating base 1 and 3, which were combined after they sustained too many losses to operate separately. They are stationed in a couple large abandoned houses just west of the Old City. Along the way we had to drive within 700 meters of ISIS around the outskirts of ISIS controlled Old City. Here we dropped off a truck full of supplies as well as Monir to help reinforce two paramedics and several Iraqi medics who are already staffing this trauma stabilization point (TSP) co-located with ISOF. As the name implies, a TSP is located as close to the fighting as is safe and is where front line injuries come for stabilization so they can survive the trip to various field hospitals located several kilometers farther away from the front where they will receive additional stabilization or definitive care. Then we continued on to ISOF 2's FOB where Walter and I would initially be stationed with a team of several Iraqi medics and two Americans, Chris and James, at a second TSP that AEM is staffing. ISOF 2 is based in an old mosque just southwest of the Old City and had been an ISIS stronghold up until less then 2 months ago when this block was liberated. ISOF are US trained, urban warfare specialists who are engaging ISIS in close quarters, sometimes in hand to hand combat as they work in cooperation with the Iraqi army and the various militias and coalition forces to liberate the maze of alleyways and neighborhoods of Mosul's Old City inch by bloody inch. The challenge that makes this so difficult is that the streets of the Old City are so old that they are too narrow for tanks, Humvees, or even pickup trucks so all the fighting must be carried out via drone or other air strikes or dismounted, on foot. Also, ISIS refuses to let civilians leave the war zone and tries to shoot anyone who does, currently holding approximately 180,000 civilians (6/2) as hostages for their own enjoyment and as human shields, preventing coalition forces from simply razing the entire area to the ground. We threw our gear into the library aka bunk room and started introducing ourselves to the ISOF medics who were there at the moment. Before we even finished this our first patient came screeching up to the front gate in the back of a Humvee. An old man had been attempting to flee the Old City with his family when he was spotted by a sniper and was shot in the flank which also fractured his pelvis. We quickly stabilized him as much as possible and then called up one of the ambulances donated by the WHO and staffed by local volunteers to transport him to the hospital. It is amazing how all the civilians here in the neighborhood around the TSP and in all the liberated areas, many of whom escaped from the Old City only within the last week or two, are attempting to pick up their life where it was interrupted by ISIS. While many houses have been completely destroyed and thousands of homeless people are making their way to relatives homes or the IDP camps, even more are staying behind to begin the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and city. Some people are opening up their market stands and other businesses again, others are repairing damaged buildings and plastering over bullet holes, and city employees are repairing water, power, and sanitation infrastructure and clearing away as much of the rubble as possible. There are IED's camouflaged everywhere in the liberated areas, as well as unexploded ordnance, broken glass, disabled vehicles, and craters in the roads either from air strikes or IED's. Many roads are still barricaded on purpose to deter ISIS from driving their never ending supply of VBIED's (vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices) past the siege of Iraqi and coalition forces and into the liberated areas of the city. At first our patient volume was fairly low with just a few soldiers per day and the majority being civilians. The most common civilian problem was symptoms resulting from observing Ramadan which is from May 26 through June 24 this year- dizziness, weakness, tiredness, syncope, and kidney failure from not eating or drinking all day and then eating loads of salt and sugar at night. During the day the temperature rises to 115-119 degrees Fahrenheit and everybody is chronically dehydrated. Next most common problem is injuries resulting from exploding IED's- burns, shrapnel, head injuries, soft tissue injuries, "danglies", and amputations. Anywhere ISIS occupied for any length of time (all of Mosul) is infested with ingeniously disguised explosives. Candy bars, coke cans, toys, microwaves, refrigerators, faucet handles, livestock (we saw both a chicken bomb and a donkey bomb), doorknobs, and pressure plates under the tile floor running to a claymore built into the wall and plastered over are just a few of the items ISIS rigs to explode when families try to return home. Every day the sounds of the fighting echo in the background of everything we do. The sharp ringing and cracking of small arms fire that occasionally sends a bullet ricocheting off the wall of the mosque, deep heavy whumping of coalition air strikes and ISIS mortars, brrrrrrrrrrrping of A-10 Warthogs strafing insurgent positions, and the chest resonating kaboom of the occasional VBIED that would cause the curtains to jerk and the doors to shake and send up a massive fireball into the dusty sky became so normal that we hardly noticed them any more. After 10 days of working at ISOF 2 being on call 24/7 Walter and I took our truck and convoyed with Oliver and Sven back to Erbil to rest for a couple days and bring back supplies for the TSP's. In addition to sleeping and washing clothes we enjoyed exploring the city of Erbil which happens to hold the distinction of being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world! You could probably say that we were all pretty exhausted and happy for a respite from the constantly "switched on" mode of the front but occasionally it went too far. One day while we were back in Erbil a huge shipment of medical supplies arrived at the airport for us and Oliver and Sven went to pick it up with one of the trucks and a cargo van. Unfortunately it was stuck in customs and wasn't accessible that day so they came back home. After getting back they realized that they had both ridden back in the truck and forgot the van at the airport! That very next day Monir, who had come back a day after me from the other TSP for a quick break also, went to get food from a great little restaurant close by and not only could he not find the shop, but when he walked back to where he thought the truck was parked it was gone! After frantically searching for it everywhere without success he got a taxi back to the house and told Oliver. Oliver and Sven took the keys and went to do a quick drive-by before calling the police and found the truck sitting nicely parked and locked within sight of the restaurant! After the break when we returned to Mosul Walter and I were assigned to staff ISOF 1 and 3 along with Monir, a paramedic named Anthony who was the team leader and a nurse named Steve, because two paramedics from Australia had arrived to volunteer for a while and were placed at ISOF 2. The Australians were very friendly and fun to hang out with. They were super health oriented and tried to work out on the roof of the mosque two or 3 times per day. It was extra funny because after just 2 days they both got violently sick from the food or water or both and had to go back to Erbil for a while to recover! Working at ISOF 1 and 3 came with a couple perks. For one, the ISOF medics here weren't as incompetent and tried to be proactive when treating patients. For another, there's a kitchen and a cook here so food doesn't have to come from ISOF headquarters! Only downside is that we have to keep our heads down behind the low wall on the flat roof because ISIS snipers have a clear line of sight to this position. On Wednesday the 14th ISIS rushed the front line and launched a counterattack with 7 VBIED's and approximately 100 men. At least 23 ISIS (aka Daesh) were confirmed killed and the rest were pushed back into the Old City. Casualties were plentiful and were divided up over several TSP's. On Sunday the 18th the Iraqi army and coalition forces officially announced a new assault on the Old City after almost a week of fighting at a standstill. This lull had occurred because one of the regiments of the 9th division had become bogged down while clearing their assigned section of the the Old City and everyone else had to stop their advance and wait for them to catch up again. Because there are so many players assisting in the Battle for Mosul, there are huge variances in training and proficiency and effective communications between everyone is sometimes lacking. Now that everyone is back in place the Iraqi army is confident that this is the "final chapter" in the Battle for Mosul that has been dragging on for almost a year. On the 22nd we woke up to discover that during the night the 844 year old Great Mosque of al-Nuri, from which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had announced Islamic State's so called caliphate on July 4, 2014, had been blown up by retreating jihadists. 😥 The Great Mosque is where the world-famous 148 foot tall leaning al-Hadba (the hunchback) minaret had been before it was also destroyed. Our TSP had been close enough to this piece of history that we could clearly see the black flag of ISIS flying at its peak. As the coalition continued gaining back ground from Daesh our TSP's at ISOF's forward operating bases started getting farther and farther away from the front line, which meant that anyone injured in the fighting had a longer way to come to reach medical care. So one day Oliver, Sven, and I went to find a new building to use as a stabilization point. After driving down the main road a little over a mile we found a water purification facility with a walled compound that would work great for us once it was de-mined. Unfortunately, the very next day it received several direct hits from a 120mm mortar and was completely destroyed. We then made contact with the 16th division of the Iraqi army who had a small first aid station set up in a carpentry shop a couple hundred yards further back from the water plant. They had three army medics working around the clock treating dozens of soldiers and over 150 civilians per day with almost no supplies. When Oliver asked Major Ahmed if we could bring in some medics and supplies to work with them the Major almost started crying. So starting the next day AEM started staffing medics at 16th division including myself, being sure to keep some volunteers at ISOF 2 and ISOF 1 and 3 to maintain coverage. Although some civilians just can't take it anymore and try to escape before the army recaptures their house or street most wait because one of the things ISIS enjoys the most is shooting men, women, and children in the back as they try to escape. Those who are liberated or make it to the Iraqi lines and searched and questioned and then walk down the road right past our TSP on their way to a family members home or an IDP camp. If they were shot or wounded by an IED on their way out of the Old City we would treat them and send them to the hospital via ambulance. There were also many patients with old injuries that we would assess and clean, and we treated hundreds of patients with life threatening dehydration. When the civilians were uninjured, we would simply greet them as they walked by, celebrating with them if they were happy and consoling them if they were sad. And there was always work to do assisting other humanitarian agencies in passing out food and water to the starving, malnourished children and their families. If the TSP was relatively quiet we would sometimes go and pick up loads of elderly, sick, or injured civilians in our ambulances or the large open freight trucks that the UN funded NGO 'Muslim Aid' uses to haul in food and water for the refugees passing our TSP and haul away dead bodies. This helps take some of the load off the Iraqi army who have evacuated hundreds of the injured on their armored Humvees either sitting or lying on stretchers tied to the hood. On the 23rd our position was overrun with overzealous reporters who had found out about our TSP and all the refugees fleeing down our road as the army pushed in opening escape routes and were trying to get stories. We banned them from the critical patient side of the carpentry shop and kept on working as best we could. After an hour and a half however, we began coming under mortar fire and all the journalists quickly started leaving. The army intelligence officers who worked with us at the TSP sniffing out disguised Daesh and their families discovered that one of the reporters had been hosting a live news broadcast and ISIS had used it to work out our location. Those reporters won't be coming back. They quickly called in coalition air support to locate the source of the offending projectiles and after several air strikes that were close enough to set off car alarms and rattle all the metal doors up and down the street everything was back to normal. Across the Tigris in east Mosul, which has been a liberated and semi- functional city for the past 5 months, three suicide bombers blew themselves up in a residential neighborhood in retaliation for the increased pressure they are feeling from the offensive, killing 5 and injuring 19 others. The next day on the 24th Major Ahmed received intel that we had a suicide bomber of our very own who had made his way through the army lines disguised as a cripple and was targeting our TSP. We quickly shut everything down and went to evacuate when Monir realized that he had lost the truck keys! We waited for several tense minutes until Pete arrived from ISOF 1 and 3 and we all piled into the back of his truck and called it a day! A total of 5 suicide bombers infiltrated the city that day and later that night we were woken up to care for some of their handiwork. On the evening of the 25th I was just relaxing after a suspiciously quiet day when I started hearing shouting and extra shooting and then convoy after convoy of Humvees, MRAPS, and M1 Abrams tanks screaming past the TSP away from the direction of the Old City. When I went up to the roof and looked around the entire city to the Southwest of our position was nothing but smoke and fire and shooting. It turns out several dozen Daesh had slipped past the Iraqi army's siege around the Old City through a series of "rat holes" (holes punched through the walls of interconnected houses as well as subterranean tunnels) and launched a massive surprise counterattack after popping up just on the the other side of ISOF 1 and 3 where I had been working that day. They lit houses and cars on fire and then began fighting their way back towards the Old City and us attacking Iraqi and coalition positions from behind. For a couple hours we were within line of sight of the new front line and I could see ISIS muzzle flashes and angry red tracers cracking through the air past the TSP. As you can imagine we were busy that night as panicking civilians tried to evacuate and fled in all directions without rhyme or reason, some fleeing east toward the Old City and some west towards the new offensive with cows and flocks of sheep and goats all mixed in. After the army got organized and started pushing back the offensive quickly crumbled and by midnight victory was declared although there was a thorough house to house mop-up in the morning. The last 3 jihadis involved in the counterattack who weren't killed barricaded themselves in a house holding a family of 14 hostage. After an 18 hour standoff 2 ISOF snipers were able to get in position to shoot two of them and the third was overpowered by his hostages. Before the army could move in the family opened the front door and tripped a claymore placed by the 3 Daesh to deter an attack on their position. Five family members were rushed to our TSP in critical condition and after doing what we could to stabilize them they were transferred to Mosul General. On June 29th, my last day in Mosul, the Iraqi army recaptured the destroyed Great Mosque where the iconic leaning al-Hadba minaret had once stood. This was met with great happiness by Iraqi army and citizens alike as a symbolic victory over ISIS in Mosul. That afternoon I had to tell all the medics and soldiers I'd lived and worked with for the past month goodbye, then I left Mosul and drove back to Erbil to clean up and pack so I would be ready to leave the next morning. In Erbil also I had to say goodbye to many friends that I had met and spent time with over the last month. Afterwards Sven dropped me off at the airport and after barely catching my flight I flew back to Doha, Qatar, and then on to Yangon, Myanmar arriving at six o'clock in the morning on July 1st. Volunteering in Mosul for this month was an amazing experience, making lifelong friends and memories. Even though there were so many sickening and twisted things happening while I was here I was able to help a little and make a difference for a lot of people and I am hoping to come back again sometime!

2 notes · View notes

misssophiachase · 8 years ago

Note

NikMik: i don't care for 50 shades but a song from the soundtrack came on the radio. "i don't wanna live forever" by zayn & taylor swift. i really like the song. should you be inspired, can you please write a klaroline drabble based on this song? not a 50 shades vibe though. preferably human but whatever works best for you. also i cannot wait to read your darvey/klaroline drabble! :) :) :)

Thanks for the prompt. I’ll admit, I struggled writing this, mainly because it seems like such a sad song and I’d just watched that horrible episode of TVD (I’m a glutton for punishment.) It’s okay though, the sadness and angst finally abated for the most part thanks to my fairy godmothers (you know who you are) so I hope you like my take on this mini drabble, lovely lady. All lyrics in italics are from the song.

Edit: This has been amended since my first post FYI

I Don’t Wanna Live Forever

I don’t wanna live forever, ‘cause I know I’ll be living in vain.And I don’t wanna fit wherever…

April 4, 2013 - Tucson, AZ

She remembered that day clearly. It was a Thursday morning and from the window Caroline could make out the dark clouds that had begun to gather in the sky, she hugged her arms around her hoping that the mailman would arrive before the ensuing rain did.

It was silly, she knew that, but it was their tradition. Yes, there was Skype and email these days but Caroline preferred a more traditional type of communication. It also didn’t hurt that his neat cursive was beautiful enough to evoke even the smallest of feelings as well as the sketches he included with each letter. They were usually depictions of them together doing all the things they’d planned when he finally returned home. Home. Home to her.

Caroline knew that life would never be the same without Klaus, she felt incredibly at ease with him. They’d met at sixteen at a local town fair. He was a cocky, English exchange student that pursued her relentlessly. Caroline had fobbed off his attempts, she wasn’t one to give in easily, especially to someone so arrogant but he’d persevered. It wasn’t that she didn’t find him attractive, in fact she was sometimes rendered speechless by those disarming dimples, not that she’d ever admit it.

It was only when he arrived on her doorstop at her dorm room at Stanford years later, those crimson lips forming into a hopeful smile she couldn’t deny him any longer. It hadn’t taken them long to reacquaint themselves, their lips discovering each other hungrily and falling into bed together. Turns out the more you resisted the attraction the more mind blowing the reunion. Caroline and Klaus wouldn’t separate again given their insatiable attraction and the fact they were home. That was until he admitted his plans to Caroline about joining the United States Airforce.

That’s when life had really changed between them.

Until you come back home, I just wanna keep callin’ your name…

She’d certainly struggled in his absence, some nights she’d wake up frantically covered in sweat, calling his name in loud stifled gasps while trying to calm her breathing and telling herself that he was okay and it was just another nightmare. She learnt to live with it even though it was difficult but she refused to let fear win.

His return seemed like a dream all those months ago and although the time apart had dragged, Caroline could finally see the end. Friday, May 17. She’d marked it on the calendar and was crossing off each day until Klaus would be back in her arms. She’d wear his aftershave laced henleys to bed revelling in his scent and dreaming of the day when she’d have him back for good.

She was broken out of her trance, hearing the sound of the mailman’s motorcycle. Her excitement that had been rising steadily was suddenly full force and she raced outside, skipping as she did it. Some people would call her juvenile but Caroline didn’t care, she was about to receive a letter from the love of her life. He looked at her knowingly as she approached, holding out a stack of mail for Caroline to grab.

“This is my favourite time of the working week you realise?” Matt chuckled.

“Well, we all know it’s mine too,” she grinned. “Every Thursday at 10am.” Caroline never thought she’d have a close relationship with the mailman of all people but Klaus’ absence had made them closer and she was so glad for his friendship.

“I think it’s safe to say that even though I look forward to seeing your excited face every Thursday, I’m glad that he’ll be coming home for good soon.”

“You and me both,” she giggled. “Then we’ll have you and Lexi over for dinner to celebrate and thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“I haven’t done much,” he smiled, his blue eyes dropping slightly. “I think it’s all that boyfriend of yours.”

“You don’t know how much I’ve appreciated your support, Matt,” she said sincerely. “It’s been such a difficult time but having people around me that care is so important, you have no idea.”

“Well, I’m happy to help,” he murmured. “Be sure to tell that guy just how lucky he is to have someone so amazing.”

“I guess I’m pretty lucky, too” she sighed. “I really should…”

“I know,” he grinned knowingly. “Go and read your letter. I’ll see you later.” Caroline practically floated towards her front door wondering just what he’d written and sketched for her this week, the anticipation making her giddy with excitement.

She sat at the kitchen table excitedly rifling through the pile but his familiar writing never appeared. She double and triple checked it, the fact that he’d missed their first week for over a year not sitting well. The unease she experienced often sitting in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. Klaus never missed writing her, there were so many uncertainties in their situation but this was the one constant she had in her life.

She felt the anxiety taking over, all of the possibilities rushing through her mind. Had something happened? Was he okay? It was all too much to take. She decided that some fresh air was needed and found herself on the porch drinking all the available oxygen in large gulps. How much longer could she take this? It certainly had taken its toll and she was struggling. Especially since his missing letter. The fact he was now possibly MIA was filling Caroline with dread. Klaus was her life, what would she do if he wasn’t part of it?

Until you come back home

Caroline wasn’t sure how long she sat there on the porch staring into the starry sky, the only thing that seemed to calm her nerves was the fresh Arizona air this time of night. She couldn’t sleep, her thoughts plagued with his crimson lips, blue eyes and dimples. If this was going to be it, she’d like to remember him exactly like this.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime, love?” A familiar voice uttered into the darkness. Caroline wasn’t sure if she was imagining things given her heightened emotions. She looked over, taking in his blue, Airforce uniform slowly.

“I don’t like being told what to do,” Caroline exhaled, her heart beat speeding up at his sudden appearance. “What are you doing here?”

“And here I thought you’d be excited to see me.”

“But, you’re not due back until May,” she squeaked, still uncertain whether he was there or a figment of her imagination. Given how much she wanted to see him, Caroline wasn’t so sure.

“What if I told you it was good behaviour?”

“You? Good behaviour?” Caroline joked. “Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”

“I’m kind of hurt,” he scoffed, walking up the front stairs and standing before her. He looked even more handsome than when she’d last seen him, if that was even possible. “You know I can be good when I want to be, especially when it concerns you, love.”

“Maybe so but you realise I’ve been sitting here worried about your ass for a while now, Mikaelson,” she mumbled, her false bravado making way for the pent up dread she’d been feeling all day. “I thought something had happened.” Caroline let out a sob, unable to help herself because the emotion she felt was so raw.

“I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Well, some kind of message you were okay would have helped,” she whimpered, her resolve slowly disappearing with every word Klaus uttered. “I thought you might be dead or something.”

“You should know by now that no one could kill me,” Klaus replied smugly. Trust him to say something arrogant at that exact moment. Caroline looked into his blue eyes knowing that he was right. “I’m far too annoying for that to happen.”

“I can certainly attest to that,” she murmured. Klaus bent down so that his eyes were staring into hers. All Caroline wanted to do was reach out and touch him but was afraid he’d disappear like some kind of nightmare.

“I did write you,” he admitted. “I just wanted to be able to give you this in person.”

“Why?”

“Take a look,” Klaus said, offering her the folded paper. Caroline didn’t like surprises, in fact she was still the same control freak and this situation, even though he was apparently back from Afghanistan, was completely playing with her emotions. She opened it, the sketch of him kneeling before her too clear to deny. She looked over, realising that he was now in the same position but holding out a sparkling diamond as he did it.

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“I thought it would be romantic,” Klaus offered, feebly.

“Have you met me? You know I’m not so good with surprises.”

“You also have the ability to sap any romantic moments of any feeling whatsoever,” Klaus quipped.

“And whose fault is that exactly?” She asked, her blue eyes boring into his as he leaned closer, his nose grazing hers softly in the process.

“I’m pretty sure a dutiful husband would say that it’s his fault,” he teased. “But I’m not like most guys.”

“And that’s surprisingly why I love you,” Caroline smiled, finally giving in and running her hands through his dark blonde curls. “Just don’t get used to getting your way mister.”

“We’ll see about that, love,” Klaus purred. “Any chance you’d be willing to accept my ring and subsequent offer of marriage before my knees decide to buckle?”

“I’ll definitely take that into consideration,” she grinned cheekily.

“You always liked to play hard to get, love.”

You bet you ass,“ Caroline agreed, capturing his lips with hers, unable to control herself if she tried. She’d missed him so much and this was the perfect reunion after so much time apart. "But I’m feeling generous and I think I will marry you.”

“As much as I love sparring with you love, how about we take things upstairs? It has been a while after all.”

You Can read and review it HERE

#i don't wanna live forever #misssophiachase #klaroline drabbles #perhaps one day #NikMik #reblogging because I changed this

26 notes · View notes