What I Did On My Hiatus - Thursday Jan 3rd

Today we are going home. We arrived at the airport early in the morning only to find out the flight will be late. By this time I had been up for 26 hours and all I wanted was to sleep. My lungs are filling up and I am having chest pain all the time. I did confide in Medic Mark two days early that the chest pain was happening a lot and getting worst. Mark had Medic Tom check my blood pressure and it was high. They both wanted me to go to the hospital and I refused. I did not want to be sick and miss out on anything. I also did not want to stay in the hospital when everyone went home. All I wanted was to sleep and the only way I was going to get any good sleep was to be home in my own bed.



The flight was two hours late. When you fly military this is not uncommon. Once we were in the air I snuggled into my seat and went to sleep. The landing was outstanding with all the snow and ice on the runway. When I got outside the cold air hit me like a mac truck. I had the worst chest pain and felt like passing out. When we got home I went to bed and that is where I was for the next three days. My bed felt so good and being snuggled up with my dogs was wonderful. By this time I had been sick for two weeks, lost ten pounds and felt very weak. I hate being sick and need to get out of bed and live again. My goal for Monday was to take a shower, get dressed and begin reading blogs and emails.


Debbi
dubiquilts@dubiquilts.com (email)
©2006 - 2008 DubiQuilts

What I Did On My Hiatus - Wednesday Jan 2nd

Today we visited Whiting Field. This is the Helicopter Flight Simulator I flew. It was so cool. I did not crash the helicopter so I was very happy. We saw more Coast Guard Helicopters and planes. The Cadets enjoyed sitting in the pilot seats.
This is another flight simulators.

This is a test plane.

Today is our last day in Pensacola and I am not looking forward to going home to the cold. Florida is having a cold wave but it is not freezing cold like at home. I have watch from 0400 - 0530. I will be waking all Cadets and Chaprones so we can get to the airport on time.

Debbi
dubiquilts@dubiquilts.com (email)
©2006 - 2008 DubiQuilts

What I Did On My Hiatus - Tuesday January 1, 2008

Welcome the first day of the new year and a beginning of my new life, new goals and new plans. Most new years day I sleep until the late afternoon but this year started very early with a bus ride to the USCG ATC in Mobile, Alabama.



These photos are from the USS Alabama. The USS Alabama is a Museum and it 13 stories tall. You can spend hours inside just looking around. Because I was not feel well and had very little strength I only went on her deck and inside a big room just off the deck. I had my own tour guide, Medic Mark. He is another parent chaperon and has been on 10 trips with the NJROTC unit. He has been to Pensacola before. He also has been on the USS Alabama before so stayed with me.

These photos are of the Submarine USS Drum.

As you can see we had a very busy day. On the bus ride back to Pensacola NAS most all of the Cadets and Chaperons slept. I was able to sleep for about and hour. I had watch again in the early morning from 1200 to 0200 hours so what little sleep I did get was welcomed.

I am enjoying watch because it give me time to think, design quilts and just be alone.

As I walked the floor doing room checks I made a decision that the new year was going to be filled with new beginnings. I want to change my life so I set new goals for myself, my art and my family life.

Debbi
dubiquilts@dubiquilts.com (email)
©2006 - 2008 DubiQuilts

What I Did On My Hiatus - Monday Dec 31

I was so tired and all I wanted was to sleep but I had places to go and things to see. Today in the morning we visted the USCG Pensacola Station and went for a boat ride.



After lunch we went to the beach for a picnic and I got to lay in the sand by the water. Most of the trip it rained and temp were in the low 40s. Today the sun shined and it was about 60. For a Chicago girl this was a heat wave.



To celebrate the New Year the cadets bowled and I slept on a chair in the back of the bowling alley. How I could sleep with all the noise and flashing lights is unknown to me. The two hours of sleep was the best I had all week.

Debbi
dubiquilts@dubiquilts.com (email)
©2006 - 2008 DubiQuilts

What I Did On My Hiatus - Sunday Dec 30

Today is our third day in Pensacola and I have had less then 20 hours of sleep in three days. My cold has turned to pneumonia. Off and on I am having chest pains. I am not sure of the time of day, what day of the week it is, or what day of the month it is. I need to get some sleep. As I write this I am not sure what we did that day. I think we just hung around the BEQ (Bachelor Enlisted Quarters) and went to the NEX during the day. In the evening we went to the movies in town.




It was the best movie I have every been to but I'll be damned if I can remember the name of the movie.


By this time I am running on empty and once again I got very little sleep during the night.




One thing I do remember is I told two cadets I was going to head (bathroom) to tell the bus driver to wait for me. The cadets forgot and off the bus went without me. About 10 minutes later they realized I was not on the bus and they came back for me. The rest of the trip I was included in the head count.




Debbi
dubiquilts@dubiquilts.com (email)
©2006 - 2008 DubiQuilts

What I Did On My Hiatus - Saturday Dec 29

These photos are from the Naval Air Museum.

These photos are from Fort Redoubt. This is the fort that I, another parent chaperon (Active Navy Medic) and three Cadets got locked in. The five of us fell behind while on the tour because we were taking photos. When we got to the exit the door was locked. I am claustrophobic and started to panic. I was with Medic Tom who took control and kept me clam until we could be found by the tour guide. Once we got outside it hit me, how lucky I was to be with Tom.



These photos are from Fort Barrancas. No I did not get locked in this fort!!!!!!

After visting the two forts it was time for dinner and then off to a movie on base. I so wanted to sleep in the movie but I didn't. Another night with only 4 hours of sleep. By this time my cold is getting worse and I am so very tried. I did not have watch this night and that was just fine with me.

Debbi
dubiquilts@dubiquilts.com (email)
©2006 - 2008 DubiQuilts

What I Did On My Hiatus - Friday Dec 28

On Friday, December 28 in the early morning with my Son JB, 32 NJROTC Cadets and nine other parent chaperons I boarded a Military Flight from Milwaukee to Pensacola Naval Station in Florida. I was so excited about going on this trip but was not happy to be flying. One hour before our departure a snow storm hit the area with a vengeance. The plane landed and taxied to the terminal. We (the cadets) were told to load the plane ASAP because we were going to be taking off within minutes. As I settled into my seat I looked back at the terminal it had disappeared in the falling snow. Three hours later when we arrived at the base and settled into our rooms and I called home. I was told we were the last plane to leave the airport before it was shut down and that the terminal had also lost power. Once we cleared the storms the pilots opened the cockpit and the Cadets got to look inside and fly the plane. I am not much of a flyer so when the plane was swaying from side to side my stomach was not a happy camper. One of the Cadets gave me a puke bag.


I have not been to Pensacola before. I was looking forward to see the Gulf, white sand, and all the activities we had schedule for the next seven days.


When we arrived at the BEQ (Bachelor Enlisted Quarters) We had time to unpack and rest before going to Galley for dinner. After dinner we went to the Rec Center and the Cadets played racquetball, basketball and volleyball.

The cadets had to be in bed 2200 hours and the chaperon's started watch at that time. I was on watch from 0400 to 0530 hours on Saturday. I had the privilege of waking the Cadets up at 0530 hours for PT. I was up at 0400 hours on Friday and 26 hours later I had only slept 4 hours. I was very tired and left Milwaukee with a cold and the lack of sleep was not helping me feel better.





Debbi
dubiquilts@dubiquilts.com (email)
©2006 - 2008 DubiQuilts