Medivac Flight
It was "Shark Week" and the Discovery Channel Building is in Silver Springs, MD
The USS Constellation
View from Ft. McHenry
The Capitol Building
July 2006
As my friends and family already now Mike and I had to go to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland during July so that he could get the medical treatment that he needed. Of course the process of getting on the flight was much worse that going commercial…um…well, unless you happened to be flying from London to the US on August 3rd.
We had to drive to Ramstein the night before, which involved dinner at Chili’s, as any trip to “Little America” does. Then, at the very ass crack of dawn, we schlepped over to the building that would contain us for the next 5 hours. The USO was pretty nice inside, free drink and snacks. In fact I am now convinced that all USO volunteers were all Girl Scouts in their former lives as they kept offering us cookies, cookies, and more cookies. I’ll spare you the details of checking in our luggage and carry-ons, but needless to say it was a long drawn out process and we had to sit through a briefing that made me feel like I was going into war….all I can say is that you better have the right paperwork or all hell will break loose. Oh, and ear plugs….apparently you cannot go anywhere without ear plugs as we were offered a set at every turn. Then Mike’s comedy of errors began. Apparently the correct paperwork had not be put in his folder or sent to the base. This SNAFU was due to the fact that three medical facilities were involved and no one took the responsibility to insure that anything was completed or done correctly. The Geilenkirchen clinic felt that the hospital at Landstuhl should have completed the paperwork because that is where Mike’s cardiologist is located. Landstuhl thought that Spangdahlem should have done the paperwork because that is technically our assigned support base and yada yada yada. So the Sear gent who was supervising the medivac show took charge and got the paperwork that she needed to send us on our way.
The hard part was sitting around and talking to the soldiers that were all coming back from Iraq. I should re-word that, talking to the soldiers was fantastic, but it made us feel a little weird because we were also taking the same medivac flight and we didn’t have any war injuries. I felt a bit…I guess fake is the best word. Mike and I were being treated so well by everyone and we had done nothing to deserve it. Not like the kids who were using canes and crutches. Two soldiers were being relived because of stress issues (hell, I’d be stressed if I was there too!) and many had obvious wounds. In fact it was hard to comprehend how these “kids” could have gone through what they did and still be able to smile and crack jokes. It really, really yanked on the old heart strings.
Once the non-mobile patients were loaded on their bus we were called out in very small groups to walk the 50 feet to our bus. The “crew” held hands on each side of the walkway forming a human chain on either side of us from the door of the building right up to the door of the bus. Basically it was a fine example of taking safety way too far. I mean seriously, did they think that we were going to try and make a break for it? Once we boarded our bus we had to sit in assigned seats and then we were offered more ear plugs. After a nice long wait on the bus at the building we moved over to the flight line to wait some more. After what seemed like forever we got to board the C-17 up the cargo ramp. Of course we were again “guided” by the human chain of hand holders. Again I had to wonder “has anyone decided to not get on the plane or try to wander off onto the tarmac?” Once we were seated in the cargo style sling seats we were again offered ear plugs…I guess that it gets a bit loud on these planes.
The plane is set up with two rows of bunks for the injured in the center of the plane and the seats were along the side of the body facing the center. No in flight movies or drop downs tables for this kid. The bunks were literally about two feet in front of us so we did get to know the two kids strapped in there. One was pretty doped up and slept most of the flight. The other was awake, but doped to the gills. The both had severe leg injuries, one sporting a halo contraption designed to save a shattered leg. I hope it works. The guy next to me was in some sort of “special” group as his hair was too long, but he was wearing the desert BDU’s. He seemed really nice but we mostly talked about his new DVD player that he couldn’t operate.
Once all the patients were aboard the space A passengers boarded. There were two families and a scattered person or two. They had to sit near the tail of the aircraft and believe me when I say that it got really, really cold back there during the flight. Meanwhile all of us in the middle and front were roasting under the heaters. The flight was around 7 hours and we were served a less than delightful boxed lunch. Because we were Medivac and not Space A passengers we didn’t get to choose our lunches. The Space A people pay a few bucks and got some great looking hoagies and other goodies in their box, we were served ham and cheese sandwiches with soggy bread. I would have gladly paid for my meal. The funny thing was that Mike was supposed to have the “Heart Healthy” meal, but he had already chowed down on his lunch before the discovery was made.
Once we landed the Space A passengers off loaded, then the non-mobile patients, and finally the mobile ones. This sounds like an easy process, but each patient had to have a medical “turn-over” to the accepting facility which took around an hour. During that time a member of the Walter Reed Staff went around handing out phone cards, chatting with people, and really making us fell welcomed. He was on old Army guy and he tried to recruit Mike. Of course Mike said “Not only no, but hell no.” Then Mike’s paper work issues hit for a second time. We were told that we didn’t have a ride to Walter Reed as Mike’s papers said that we were renting a car, but that “someone” would get us to the rental place on base. The problem was that we weren’t picking the car up until the next day and the rental place was in Silver Springs, MD and not at Andrews AFB where we had landed. After about 20 minutes the issue was solved and it was agreed that we could hitch a ride to Walter Reed. When it was finally our turn to disembark the plan was pretty simple. All we had to do was stay between the two lines of hand holders. We are no professionals at this. There was another less than tasty box lunch on our bus seats, which was appreciated, but never eaten.
The bus trip took about 30 minutes and was filled with mostly mobile patients except for a guy on the stretcher in the back who had come in on another plane. He was burnt over a good portion of his body and in pretty bad condition. The man sitting behind me was a WWII vet who was teaching American culture at Warsaw University. Upon arrival at Walter Reed the wounded were in-processed and we were greeted by a Red Cross volunteer who gave all of the vets a huge plastic bag full of all kinds of goodies and more phone cards. After that we were taken to the on base hotel were the vet and other who were not as seriously injured were staying while they received treatment. The worst part about this was seeing all of the young men who were missing and arm, a leg, of both. I got to a point that if I saw another young 20 something in a wheelchair I was going to cry.
After a comedy of errors we finally got a bus ride to our hotel and checked in. The room was great and the hotel location was just awesome. We were just a block from the Silver Springs' pedestrian area and mall which has so many great places to eat and shop….sure, Mike was there for surgery, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t enjoy myself.
We had a few days to enjoy Washington DC before Mike’s surgery and then a week afterwards so we did make the most of our visit there…even if it was hotter than Hell. The funny thing is that Europe was having their usual summer heat wave during the same time, so the temperatures in DC were just a smidge higher than in Geilenkirchen. Of course, we had air conditioning in DC, which made it MUCH, MUCH better. We hit all of our favorite restaurants and fell in love with the Whole Foods Market just across the street. I completely blew my budget clothes shopping during the first few days. I blame it on stress (grin).
It was great to visit DC as I hadn’t been there in 21 years. It was weird that so much of it was exactly the same. Our first stop was the Holocaust Museum which I would rate as a “must see” for anyone. The entrance is free, but you want to get there early to get a good time on your entrance pass as only so many people are allowed into the exhibit at one time. At least you can wait inside. Military ID card holders get passes that allowed us to just enter the exhibit as soon as we wanted, which I really enjoyed. You show your pass to the usher then take an elevator to the top floor. The museum is set out in chronological order as you descend through the floors and it tells the stories of the early rise of the Nazis through the creation of Israel. There was also a special children exhibit that told the story of the Holocaust from a child’s perspective. The one thing that I really liked about this museum verses any of the Smithsonian’s was the organization and flow of people. I just hate having to double back and wandering around a museum just to make sure that you see everything.
We went to the Native American Smithsonian next and while it was very beautiful and informative it just didn’t have the “flow” that I love. The architecture of the building is fascinating and the interior was just stunning. During our stay we also went to the Natural History, Air and Space, and American History Smithsonian’s. I was really happy to see the original Kermit the Frog at the American History museum, but the rest was a repeat for me. I really enjoyed viewing the Mall at night (the DC Mall…not Silver Spring’s) and the WWII memorial is…well just stunning and awesome after sunset. I also loved seeing the fireflies in the trees and grass, which was just too cool.
We also took a trip into Baltimore to see Fort McHenry, the USS Constellation, and the ESPN Zone. We went to the fort first to try to beat the heat, but it was still freakin’ hot. It really is amazing that they were able to hold off the British attack and then a few days later I was able to see the original Star Spangled Banner at the Smithsonian also with the flag that hung from the Pentagon after 9/11. The ship tour was really interesting, but a bit long, especially in the heat. I just don’t know how they managed to live in such cramped quarters. I’ll stick to land thank you very much. The Inner Harbor in Baltimore is really beautiful and high on my list of “must sees” too.
After Mike’s surgery I had to take over the driving duties and I rediscovered the joys of driving a SUV. We had rented a compact, but when Mike went to get it they were out, so we were upgraded to a Dodge Durango…poor us! I loved taking that thing out onto the Interstates!! I found a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant (Mike’s favorite) in northern Maryland and took him there for lunch. The drive tool longer than expected, but it was really beautiful as we drove on the county roads instead of the Interstate. Mike did give in and went out for Mexican food one night and I found a great local B-B-Q place that would make you want to slap yo’ MaMa.
Our last few days were also busy as I had seen a TV ad for Luray Caverns in Virginia and I really wanted to go. Mike, being the good sport, took me and we enjoyed a really beautiful drive through part of the Shenandoah Valley. He had visited the caverns as a child and noted all of the improvements that had been made at the visitors’ center. There was a garden hedge maze which was something that I had always wanted to do, so we did that first before it got too hot. Then down into the caverns, which I enjoyed immensely. On the drive back we stopped at an AAA recommended and historical diner that was made from an old railroad car. I can highly recommend the sweet tea and fried chicken!!
Finally we went to the second National Air and Space Museum out at Dulles International Airport. As with the other Smithsonian’s, entrance to the museum was free, but the airport parking Gestapo changes a $12 parking fee, so load up your car with people if you go. The museum hanger has a very diverse array of aircraft, satellites, and rockets from the past century and the displaying on living in space were very interesting for me. They showed the different space meals throughout past few decades and I have to say that the American meals beat the Russian meals hands down….borscht in a toothpaste tube…YUCK!!
While I didn’t like our reasons for going to DC, we sure made the most of it. But as usual our adventure didn’t end there. Our retune flight on United was filled with Russians who simply believed that they rules didn’t apply to them. I was literally the last person on the plane to get my meal, which was just terribly awful. The entire tray had been kept in the insulated cart so my salad was warm and wilted, my pat of butter had melted over everything, and the meat…it that’s what it was, was the worst airline meal I had eaten…well, until breakfast, which was so bad that I didn’t eat anything except for the tiny fruit cup. The plastic covering the pastry had melted trough and the roll was more of a hockey puck.
We landed in Frankfort and scored a ride to Ramstein (where our car was) through the USO in the airport. I’ll admit that I am a BIG supporter of the USO now as they have really helped us out a lot. Then after the hour to Ramstein we had another 3 hours to get home. I think that it took me a week to lose the let lag and get back onto a regular schedule. On a good note, Mike is 100% A-OK, so I guess that the trouble of the trip was worth it.
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