Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Love is in the air...
I'm not exactly sure who is the luckiest (probably me) but Brayden and Sophie are just smitten with each other...and I love to catch it on film! They are just too cute!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
A bathtub full of love :)
Brayden and Sophie's joint bath is part tidal wave, part flood zone, and a whole lot of fun!!
(Beware of nudity!)
(Beware of nudity!)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
3rd Update from the Desert!
Hello everyone:
Sorry for the bit of a delay since my last update. Things have been busy over here. Please see the links below for two recent stories about our exploits. You can see me in 2 photos in the first story.
Training with the host nation:
http://www.380aew.afcent.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123285988
Mass Accident Response Exercise:
http://www.380aew.afcent.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123286527
A number of you have asked about the patient I discussed who had collapsed. He is now walking, talking, showering on his own, doing pushups and back to mostly normal activities. However, he does not remember any part of the 3 months that he was deployed prior to his accident. His speech is slow and he needs re-orientation frequently. These are all markers of his significant brain injury due to lack of oxygen. He has a long road ahead of him with cognitive and speech therapy. It is absolutely amazing that he was without oxygen for that long and is doing as well today as he is.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have really been working to prepare for the Mass Accident Response Exercise, which is featured in the 2nd link above and took place on Wednesday. Things went well. I was responsible for handling all patients that were moved from the flightline back to our clinic. Because we are a small clinic, I set up an alternate medical facility at a local building, with 13 medical and 7 additional personnel. I transferred and organized equipment to handle 15+ patients, arranged for pharmacy, public health, stress response (mental health), the chaplain, security forces (cops), manpower (to carry litter patients and provide door security) and all of our health care personnel to respond. I then kept in contact with the providers on the flight line and our medical command and control center throughout. As many of you would suspect, I was very specific with goals and directives for everyone, and things went very smoothly. So smoothly in fact, that when we had a real-world patient appear with chest pain right in the middle of the exercise, I was able to go handle that with our team and get him transported to a local hospital without a hitch.
We have continued to broaden our relationships with our host nation. I meet weekly with one of the host nation military doctors, which has been enlightening and interesting. Because of this I have had to start drinking coffee! I have had more coffee in the last month than I have had in my previous 30+ years. Arabic coffee has a bit of a different flavor; a little bitter, but weaker than most american coffee I have sampled. The porter (every facility has one) brings small china cups (like shot glasses) and pours coffee for each person at the meeting. You should drink 2 cups to be polite per custom. You then wiggle the cup, and he knows you are done. He stands next to you the entire time, which was a bit unnerving at first. If you put the cup down on the table, he will fill it again (learned that lesson the hard way). After you finish your two cups, then he goes and will make a tea or coffee and bring it out for everyone. (It doesn't matter whether you want it or not). The teas are amazing. Definitely try cofftea if you ever get the chance (coffee and tea together)-not that good IMHO, but worth a try. Everyone exchanges pleasantries for 10-15 minutes (or longer for big meetings) before we get down to business. I actually really like that approach, very different from the US though.
I am swimming twice weekly and running in the pool with an aqua jogger twice weekly. Abs class is 3 nights a week, and I am lifting 2-3 times a week. The pool is still really cold. My dad sent me a neoprene cap, which has made a world of difference. I am sure that things will be warming up soon, and the cold pool will be a distant memory. As it is right now, I am often the only person even at the pool!
Family news: My brother Jon and his product "Rebloom" were featured on QVC yesterday. During the session, Jon had the opportunity to talk about the development of his natural sleep beverage. You can access more information about his product and support his retail effort by going to: www.rebloom.com or QVC: http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.A217214.desc.reBloom-Natural-Sleep-Drink-7pack
Steph and Brayden and Sophie have been enjoying some visits from friends and family recently. I have really enjoyed being able to skype with them daily. You can say hi to Steph at stephkwhite@yahoo.com
Thank you for all of your emails, letters and packages. It really helps. Talk to you all soon.
Love,
Chris
Sorry for the bit of a delay since my last update. Things have been busy over here. Please see the links below for two recent stories about our exploits. You can see me in 2 photos in the first story.
Training with the host nation:
http://www.380aew.afcent.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123285988
Mass Accident Response Exercise:
http://www.380aew.afcent.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123286527
A number of you have asked about the patient I discussed who had collapsed. He is now walking, talking, showering on his own, doing pushups and back to mostly normal activities. However, he does not remember any part of the 3 months that he was deployed prior to his accident. His speech is slow and he needs re-orientation frequently. These are all markers of his significant brain injury due to lack of oxygen. He has a long road ahead of him with cognitive and speech therapy. It is absolutely amazing that he was without oxygen for that long and is doing as well today as he is.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have really been working to prepare for the Mass Accident Response Exercise, which is featured in the 2nd link above and took place on Wednesday. Things went well. I was responsible for handling all patients that were moved from the flightline back to our clinic. Because we are a small clinic, I set up an alternate medical facility at a local building, with 13 medical and 7 additional personnel. I transferred and organized equipment to handle 15+ patients, arranged for pharmacy, public health, stress response (mental health), the chaplain, security forces (cops), manpower (to carry litter patients and provide door security) and all of our health care personnel to respond. I then kept in contact with the providers on the flight line and our medical command and control center throughout. As many of you would suspect, I was very specific with goals and directives for everyone, and things went very smoothly. So smoothly in fact, that when we had a real-world patient appear with chest pain right in the middle of the exercise, I was able to go handle that with our team and get him transported to a local hospital without a hitch.
We have continued to broaden our relationships with our host nation. I meet weekly with one of the host nation military doctors, which has been enlightening and interesting. Because of this I have had to start drinking coffee! I have had more coffee in the last month than I have had in my previous 30+ years. Arabic coffee has a bit of a different flavor; a little bitter, but weaker than most american coffee I have sampled. The porter (every facility has one) brings small china cups (like shot glasses) and pours coffee for each person at the meeting. You should drink 2 cups to be polite per custom. You then wiggle the cup, and he knows you are done. He stands next to you the entire time, which was a bit unnerving at first. If you put the cup down on the table, he will fill it again (learned that lesson the hard way). After you finish your two cups, then he goes and will make a tea or coffee and bring it out for everyone. (It doesn't matter whether you want it or not). The teas are amazing. Definitely try cofftea if you ever get the chance (coffee and tea together)-not that good IMHO, but worth a try. Everyone exchanges pleasantries for 10-15 minutes (or longer for big meetings) before we get down to business. I actually really like that approach, very different from the US though.
I am swimming twice weekly and running in the pool with an aqua jogger twice weekly. Abs class is 3 nights a week, and I am lifting 2-3 times a week. The pool is still really cold. My dad sent me a neoprene cap, which has made a world of difference. I am sure that things will be warming up soon, and the cold pool will be a distant memory. As it is right now, I am often the only person even at the pool!
Family news: My brother Jon and his product "Rebloom" were featured on QVC yesterday. During the session, Jon had the opportunity to talk about the development of his natural sleep beverage. You can access more information about his product and support his retail effort by going to: www.rebloom.com or QVC: http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.A217214.desc.reBloom-Natural-Sleep-Drink-7pack
Steph and Brayden and Sophie have been enjoying some visits from friends and family recently. I have really enjoyed being able to skype with them daily. You can say hi to Steph at stephkwhite@yahoo.com
Thank you for all of your emails, letters and packages. It really helps. Talk to you all soon.
Love,
Chris
Friday, January 20, 2012
Bath time
Always lots of cuddles in the Bunt house :) Although Brayden looks like he is not sure quite what to do with his "baby"!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Christmas with the Korvers
It's Christmas in mid-January and the kiddos got to exchange gifts with their friend Grae :) Always exciting to see great friends and get gifts too!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Sometime "friend" is just another word for family
My friend Erica came to visit us. Seeing as she lives in Brussels, that her husband and two kids had to fend without her for a week, and that this was her 6th trip here in the 41/2 years that we have been here, this was no small thing. She came to keep us company while we weather Chris' absence, to squish my kids, and to lend me a giant helping hand for six wonderful days! We played house with the kids, and I played hookie from work on weekdays while the kids were in school and we saw movies, had lunch, got pedicures, went shopping, and had the most wonderful break! For her help, love and friendship, I am forever grateful!
Swim lessons begin!
We decided to start swimming again for Brayden at the local YMCA with his buddy who is exactly his age (born on the same day!). As usual, it was quite the experience trying to get Brayden into the pool for the first time with him backing into one of the lockers in the locker room while completely nude trying to avoid putting on his swimsuit...This was after cheering the idea of swim class. Clearly the multi-personality of the three year old does not end when one turns four! But he had a great time and Sophie cheered him on!!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Happiness is a destination...
Sophie's presence in our lives is one of joy, happiness, and love but also grief, sadness, and worry. As we navigate this new road, we are learning to embrace all the wonderful things about Sophie and learning that, well, Sophie is just Sophie. We learn to let go of what is she is "supposed" to be doing and focus and cheer her on in all the small steps she achieves, knowing that she will get there in Sophie's time. This, of course, is not a road without potholes. I share here a poem written about raising a child with special needs that gives me strength without diminishing the roughness of our path through "Holland".
Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
Peekaboo Sophie!
Sophie plays peekaboo now:) She is such an easy going girl that she would just happily stay under covers smiling under there but no more!!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Papi plays the "drums" and Brayden....dances?
Brayden loves to dance around; however I am not sure what they are teaching him in dance class....
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy 4th birthday Brayden!!!
It is impossible to believe that my first baby is four! I can still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday, and although I can't remember a time without him, it still seems as though it hasn't been that long! We had an airplane themed birthday party for Brayden before Chris left, complete with airplane pinata, cupcakes for his friends at school, and of course cake and presents on his actual birthday :)
Birthday gifts on his birthday...
....and lunch with his little girlfriend Navy :)
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