The Story So Far....

For those of you who have just joined, this is what my friends have been reading...



14th September 2008.

Hello everyone.

Well, it's started.

I'm sending this from Girton college, Cambridge, where I've just completed the first stage of my
two-week's Antarctic training, a residential course known officially as the "Antarctic Briefing Conference".

This week has consisted of lectures, demonstrations and briefings about all aspects of the organisation I'm working for (BAS), and living and working on the base. I've also met the people I'm going to be living and working with for the next 18 months.

I arrived here last Sunday, and every day has bean a relentless barrage of information lasting from 8.00 in the morning to sometimes 8 or 9 or 10.00 in the evening (with coffee and meal breaks in between).
We've covered health & safety issues; contingency plans for major incidents on base; our individual responsibilities and our duties on base. We've also had information regarding recreational opportunities in Antarctica.

The second half of the week consisted of our basic first aid training. It was the most comprehensive and intense first aid training you could imagine!!!
I now know how to administer pain-killing injections; I can put plaster casts on arms and legs; I can use an emergency heart defibrillator; I can identify and treat hypothermia and shock; I can reset broken bones, and, oh joy of joys.... I've also learnt how to administer rectal fluid re-hydration (if required)....!!!!

Phew!!!

As well as all the medical lectures we have had lots of hands-on sessions using professional actors and actresses. They recreated scenarios that we are likely to encounter when we go South. They were very realistic, with lots of blood and makeup.
We were judged on our performance by real medical consultants, and we had to sit a 1-to-1 oral exam and a test paper.
I scored a respectable 82% overall.
Now I am confident that I could keep someone alive until help arrives, and that is all anyone could ask for.
The medical training is absolutely first class, and is designed to teach thickos like me how to save and maintain someone's life. All the instruction staff are brilliant, and I can't thank them enough.

I've also done "Oil Spillage Response" training which trained us how to react to a major oil spillage. Antarctica is a unique and pristine environment with a fragile eco-system, and an oil spill of any magnitude would be a major environmental disaster!!

Next week (starting at 8.00 tomorrow) we start the "action man" part of our training, called the
"Antarctic Field Training Course".
This is where we go to the Derbyshire Peak District and live in tents for a while!
We'll learn survival and rescue stuff and how to use specialist Antarctic equipment.
I'll tell you more about the Field Course when I've completed it. I'm looking forward to it. If it's as good as this week has been (and I'm sure it will be) it will be very informative and great fun.

But it doesn't end when I finish Conference. I have more courses to go on before I leave this country. Most are work-related (i.e. generator and fire alarm training), but I am quite looking forward to the
fire-fighting and breathing apparatus training. Yup, I'm going to be a fireman, too!
Ha!!
The obvious reason for this is that Antarctica is so isolated from the rest of the world that we have to be totally self-sufficient in everything we do. As there is no fire-brigade down there we have to train our own people to do the job. (This is on top of my regular day-job as base electrician).
Some are going on a paramedic course and others are getting in-shore boating and rescue training, so we will have a full complement of emergency services.

One other thing that has happened this week involved me directly.

A condition for wintering in Antarctica is that I must have a compulsory dental check-up and x-ray by the BAS dental team, so last Friday I dutifully turned up for my appointment. The check-up showed that my teeth and gums and general dental hygiene were very good, but the x-rays showed that one of my back teeth was badly decayed deep inside. It had to come out or I wouldn't be allowed to go South!!
The dentist ("affectionately" called Ben The Butcher by some of my new colleagues) decided the offending molar was going to come out, there and then!!
So, I went into the dental surgery for a check-up with a full complement of teeth and left an hour-and-a-half later with a huge gap in my teeth and a hole in my gum!!! Nice!

I thought that that was it, sorted, but no!!
I arrived at Conference with a sore mouth, but taking the prescribed antibiotics as instructed.
As the days (and lectures) went on the antibiotics ran out but the pain didn't subside. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. And my gum and jaw were swelling, too!
Fortunately for me, there were a lot of medical consultants and doctors attending Conference.
Earlier in the week I had met our wintering base doctor, Matt Edwards. Thoroughly nice bloke, I might add.
I told Matt about my dodgy gob, and he had a word with BAS's top dental consultant, Penny Grainger. She took me into the college dining-room, sat me in a chair and took a look.
"Oh yes," she said. "A classic case of 'dry socket'". http://www.maxfaxsho.co.uk/index_files/Page2511.htm
The plan was to get some "tools" sent to Conference and she would "sort it out" tomorrow (Friday).

Friday morning and Dr Penny found me and arranged to meet me after morning lectures.
Zero hour arrived and Dr Penny told me that Girton College didn't have a dentist's chair and, unfortunately, we couldn't get access to the medical room as no-one could find the key! In the great Antarctic tradition, we would have to improvise! Hmmm...
At this point, Dr Matt (thoroughly nice bloke) was asked if he would like to attend the procedure. All wintering base doctors undergo basic dental training and the experience could be helpful, so Dr Penny welcomed him along to assist her.

A room was found, I was sat in a chair (ordinary kitchen type), and Dr Matt (thoroughly nice bloke) located a bedside table lamp and shone it into my mouth.
Dr Penny got her "tools" (all of them wrapped in sealed, sterile packs) out of a carrier bag and proceeded to tell Dr Matt (thoroughly nice bloke) about the plan of action.
At this point I took a firm hold of the aforementioned chair and held on tight for what could be a bumpy ride!!
I no longer felt like a brave intrepid Antarctic explorer, more like a trembling, whimpering wuss. (For some reason, dentists seem to have this effect on people).
Anyway, anaesthetic was (painfully) administered and the procedure got underway.
Dr Penny explained to Dr Matt (thoroughly nice bloke) what she was doing, and why she was doing it.
I tried not to listen!
After an unpleasant rummage around in my mouth the mission was finally accomplished. I was given a supply of nasty but effective mouthwash and a week's supply of ferocious antibiotics. The antibiotics contain an ingredient that reacts badly with alcohol and makes you horribly sick, so it's no beer for me for the next ten days, but I don't mind that. It's a small price to pay for being pain and infection free.

Universal popular opinion is that being in the dentist's chair is a pretty unpleasant experience, and this was no exception. However, I have to say that in this case, and especially under these circumstances, the experience wasn't so bad. Dr Penny and Dr Matt (thoroughly nice bloke) were brilliant. They sorted out my problem efficiently and with minimum fuss. I cannot praise them highly enough. Many thanks, guys.

Well, that's the first installment of my adventures in Antarctica. Quite eventfull, and I haven't even got there yet!!
Sorry if it's taken you a while to read, but I can only type with one finger and it is a slow pricess.

There will be further updates, but I don't know how frequent they will be.
When I eventually get to Rothera the base Comms Manager (Andy) has promised to help me set up a blogg, so it should make my reports easier and more accessible. I'll let you know on that.

My provisional departure date is November 8th. I'll be flying out of London Heathrow to Madrid.
Short stop at Madrid then a long haul to Santiago, Chile.
I'll get a 12 hour stopover in Santiago, then onwards to Punta Arenas, Chile, on the southern tip of the South American Peninsular.
From Punta Arenas it's the last leg of the journey on to Rothera Research Station, Antarctica, and my home for 18 months.

That's about it for now.
I'll be in touch again soon.

Feel free to email me if you want to. I will try to respond when I get home from Conference.

Tony

If you've got this far you are clearly as mad as me!!!



To be continued................