10/20/2011
Been a while since I opened this up. Had to leave the ice early last year on the 27th of December due to family emergency. Actually never expected to still be employed at Raytheon Polar Services and returning to Antarctica. Like they say, "Never say Never"! Looks like I'll be headed south again in the next month, and definitely by Dec. 1st 2011 unless something drastic happens.
Just a few things about this job and the process of being able to work in Antarctica. Due to the remoteness, cost and logistics of getting a worker to the Antarctic area, and the lack of good medical assistance for the more severe injuries one has to pass a medical exam to be able to head to the bottom of the planet. Last year I sustained an injury (pinched nerve in my neck) that took quite a while to reverse. Anyone that has had a pinched nerve (serious) knows the pain and discomfort of moving or not being able to move the parts affected, the numbness and even the hypersensitivity of the nerves that can cause extreme pain when even touched. Long story short, I was being treated with some pretty serious "nerve" drugs up to two days before my medical exam. Being the honest person I am, I told the Dr. I was on prescription drugs but didn't say I would quit taking them in two more days. Anyway, unknowing to me (lack of experience) this immediately disqualified me going down this season. I didn't find out until two weeks later that I had been "NPQ'd" (Not Physically Qualified). I immediately started the "Waiver" process since I had quit taking the drugs and no longer needed them. For this I needed a letter from the treating doctor stating I was in good health and that the injury wasn't going to need any special attention on the ice and that I could perform my job (RF Engineer).
Thinking this wouldn't take long and I could still make the first flight down with the others for WINFLY (Winter Flight) in mid August, I contacted the Doctor. Unfortunately they took 5 seeks to get the letter, they couldn't find my medical records as they had been placed in off-site storage. Anyways, I got the waiver (Late) and now wouldn't be able to go down till after the sun is up (Winfly it's still dark 24/7 and you can see the Auroras once you are out of McMurdo and not blinded by the lights) at the beginning of Dec.
Due to other circumstances I will now be going down within the next three to four weeks (Mid November) and I figure I will add more photos to the blog along with tidbits of info that I experience now that I have a job that doesn't require me to work 10 to 16 hour days seven days a week (Inventory control SUX!, but is an important aspect of making sure the science teams succeed in their research in the field aand it did get me down to Antarctica, plus, my foot into the door to a better job). I missed "Icestock" last year having to leave early. I heard the bands were great and played all day and into the night on New Years eve. Hopefully I get to experience it this year, and maybe see the marathon race they run down there.
With Christchurch, New Zealand still recovering from the devastating earthquake in February of this year, it will be interesting to see how the trip down to the ice turns out. I will miss the great Thai restaurants that were so abundant in the city center I visited last season. So far there hasn't been any complaints from others that have went down, so it should be no problem. We'll see.
