3/23/16: After we visited the ANMC Clinic we ventured over to The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) for a tour of the nursing department. It was quite beautiful and full of friendly, welcoming people. I personally liked the baby mannequins and pregnant bellies.3/24/16: I was paired up with a peer to shadow a school nurse at Homer Elementary. My peer and I gathered information the night before and worked on a lesson plan for K-2 grades on hand washing and covering your cough.
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Ok- Did I mention the awesome (maamaakaj) Native American Heritage Center? I loved this place! We had a presenter full of magic. His name was Lauren. He was so interesting to listen to he made the time pass so flawlessly. Before I knew it, it was lunch time. He taught us about culture and the difference between culture and heritage. We drew pictures about what culture means to us and what we grew up with. I shared my story about growing up in two worlds. It was really fun. I was so humbled to be a visitor there. I could feel my voice shake as I spoke. It is just so amazing how much history and knowledge that is carried on in Alaska. I am in awe.
I enjoyed the last part of our day just as much as the first. We had a tour of the Heritage Center, which by the way was opened for us specially that day. Normally it would be closed for the "Culture" holiday in Alaska. At the Heritage Center we learned about many of the different tribes in Alaska. I enjoyed learning about the differences and how each tribe adapted to their surroundings. I especially loved how you could see this in their clothing and kayaks. We had an afternoon speaker named Yaari. She was a beautiful women who shared a portion of her book with us. She opened our eyes to more on culture by explaining her story. She shared information about her family and upbringing to help us understand a little bit more about Alaska Native culture and how our approach as professionals can make a difference. The one point that was reiterated time and time again was on tone of voice and tempo of speaking. We were encouraged to slow down in order to give more space for conversation. Both presenters went into more depth on this, explaining why and how it can make a difference. I had a great time. I would highly recommend it when visiting Anchorage. 3/20 This is backward. But, I forgot after I visited the ER on Sunday that we visited the local museum. I wanted to share the pictures from this day. It was great because it was a free day at the museum. It was so beautiful with a lot of Alaska Native History displayed. There are so many tribes in Alaska it made it all so fascinating. I bought a few things at the museum. I enjoyed browsing at the different crafts and jewelry that they make here. There is a lot of ivory used. The designs are quite different than Ojibwe, except that Athabascan tribe. Athabascan is closely related to Ojibwe with their floral and beadwork. Very pretty! Saturday 3/19/16: Only the second official day we were in Alaska and we went to Alyeska for some outdoor adventure. Options included skiing, snowshoeing, or the tram ride. I have only attempted skiing once 20 years ago and decided I would be adventurous and try ski lessons in Alaska today. The morning was spent making our way to Alyeska in the heavy snow. Then when we arrived we checked in and brought all our bags in for 12 students and 2 staff. Then we made our way to rent ski's. I was told I needed to take the shuttle (which runs every 40 minutes) to the "Day Lodge" to sign up for lessons. I waited about 30 minutes for the shuttle while some students and staff sorted out their rentals. When I arrived at the Day lodge I excitedly signed up for ski lessons, then found out they only do lessons twice a day. I had to wait 1.5 more hours until my lesson would begin. The morning was pretty slow to say the least. But, I had all my equipment and was looking forward to what was to come. When lessons started it was beautiful outside. I barely needed a winter jacket. I was in a group of 5. We were all fresh beginners. The instructor started us out very slow and I learned some good techniques. At the end we were swooping slowly in and out of cones.
Our instructors name was Josh. He said he began skiing as a young child. I began asking him questions about it. I wondered if he was Native American or Alaska Native. I asked if his parents brought him skiing as a child. He said no. I asked him where he was from and he told me about a place in AK. I told him where I was from and then that is when he told me he visits the area once a year, because he is descendent of Turtle Mountain in North Dakota. I was pretty thrilled about the connection. Once ski instructions wrapped up he explained where we could go next for beginner skiing. I decided I would try it. I rode a ski lift chair for the first time in my life. I was overwhelmed with the height and a little excited. I had a great guy next to me who said to just breath while going down the hill. He said he began skiing in his mid 30's and is an instructor now. I did. I breathed and recalled the techniques I learned. I was so scared of the mountain. It felt to big and powerful and I was on the lowest level. I watched kids fly by and thought "okay- Ive go this. Just take it slow." I stopped three times. I would look around, recompose myself and go again. The last time I stopped I realized I was close and thought "okay, just one more time and you are there." I began to make my way to the bottom and was picking up speed. I was uncomfortable with how fast I was going and began the technique I was using to stop before. But, I was going too fast, the snow was icy. I was turning to the right toward the side of the hill. I felt myself loosing control and suddenly my left leg was trailing behind me. My left ski was catching on the thick, wet, icy snow and I heard "POP!" in my left knee before I landed on the side of the hill. The pain! I couldn't talk, just think. I thought "HELP! Please help. I'm not screaming. No one is going to know I need help." Then the third skier was a man with a white cross on his jacket. I knew he was help. I said "Take my left ski off please." I struggled with my words as the pain is all I could focus on. I said it again. "Please take of my ski. The weight is hurting my leg." He told me he was going to. He had to take off his ski's . I saw him situate himself and lean down closer. He asked me my age, then made a call to "dispatch" I heard. Once dispatch was called I saw more people with a white cross and red. They surrounded me. I just looked while feeling the sensation of my brow clenched. I heard them discuss the plan. "Go get the snow machine and we'll need a splint." I held my left knee and grunted "aaaagghhh". I felt disappointment. I felt alone. I felt discouraged. I was lifted onto a sled and brought to the aid station where I thought I was going to throw up. My nerves and the pain were getting the best of me. After I was on the gurney I text a few people to make them aware of my situation. I had a peer (Deb) who came to be by my side. We decided to stay at the resort, as planned, and then go to the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) the next day. Besides, the roads were too bad to return to Anchorage and we all agreed it was not an emergency. On Sunday 3/20/16 we returned and visited the ER at ANMC. They put me on the "Fast track" so I could get x-rays and get in right away. It was very fast indeed and I had a very nice, young and handsome Doctor. I found out I have no fractures in my knee and the Dr. recommended I see my primary provider back home. For now I am to wear the brace I was given at Alyeska, ice, and elevate my leg. The nice, young, handsome Dr. said I may have stretched or tore my ACL or MCL. I think the nice, young, handsome Dr meant LCL because that is where I heard the pop. We will see when I return. For now crutches and elevation....but not the type of elevation that got me into this situation. However, next winter you will see me back in ski lessons and hitting the slopes. 3/22-3/23: We visited the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage Alaska. Day 1 was filled with meeting a variety of staff from the ANMC. We first met with a recruiter. Next, we were placed in a meeting room where we learned about Community Health Assistants (CHA's) and Dental Health Aides (DHA's). Both are beneficial to the rural communities served in AK. We moved into another room after this to learn about telehealth. We were able to see the technology used and speak to an assistant through their telehealth video technology. The stories were interesting in how helpful this technology is. For instance how CHA's are able to call Emergency MD's for help in trauma situations. At the end of our morning session we met with an engineer who discussed sewer systems in rural areas of AK and what his part has been in creating new systems that work for specific communities. You will see in the pictures that he gave me a "traditional" toilet to elevate my leg during his presentation.
Midday we enjoyed a healthy lunch at their cafeteria. I noted the difficulty in finding a soda, as the healthy options of juice, water or coconut water were displayed more abundantly. They also had a menu full of local healthy food such as salmon wraps with romaine and cranberry. After lunch we moved into a new location for more learning from the medical center staff. The first speaker was quite the story teller. She said in her culture they introduce themselves by their parents and grandparents. This way they can make connections to those around them and they don't forget where they came from. She told a story about her family hunting moose and how one of them got hurt and went to the hospital. She ended the drawn out story by saying "So, be prepared when you ask us what brought us in to the hospital. You will not just get a short description. We will tell you the whole story". She wanted to reiterate how important it is to give people the time to speak and give more detail. I also enjoyed the H.R. presenter Lina. She had so much useful information on the model of care at ANMC and she was such a sweetheart. She also shared some of her personal stories about being a patient and how she envisioned changed. I plan to gain the powerpoint she presented from that day so I can shared it with people back home. On 3/23 we had a brief tour of the ANMC Clinic and Traditional Healing Unit. We were led by a woman by the name of Mary. She showed us the lobby that is intentionally decorated to soothe "customer-owners" as they wait to be seen. You could feel the change walking through. The lights where dim and the furniture was plush. We walked into the "pod" area where nurses, providers and other assistive staff work together as a team for the patient. Mary described how they are intentional about creating an even playing field for all staff. Providers are not viewed as more important than the medical assistant. She said they are all needed equally in the team. After the clinic tour Mary led us to the traditional healing unit. There we met with "Buzz" the director. He was a handsome Dr. who reminded me of an older Anton Truer. He even had his pretty bright smile. I wondered if he was Native American rather than Alaskan Native because of his long braided hair and bone and bead lanyard. Buzz had a beautiful spirit and spoke highly of the people he works alongside. He invited the elders to speak on their behave of what they do. I loved hearing them speak and talk about the body work they do, about slowly bringing out trauma, instead of forcing it. I listened to one elder speak and so much of it reminded me of my grandmother I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I think it was when she began speaking about boarding schools trauma and the full moon circles she facilitates. Afterwards we received a tour behind the scenes and enjoyed some fresh spearmint tea from their healing garden. I asked a women who does body work for her card. I asked her if she worked much with the pregnant mothers who hold trauma within when they are carrying their babies. She said she did. I would like to learn more from her on the future, so I plan to connect with her after this trip. I also asked Buzz if he ever travels to do conferences and share the work they do here at ANMC. He gave me a "save the date" card for a conference coming up in September. I would also love to invite Buzz and the elders to come speak at Fond du Lac and/or Duluth Clinics. We have a lot to learn from them. They carry a lot of knowledge. Some take-aways from these 2 days:
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