Admirable Ladies



Red Bird



I met Col McNeill at the Norfolk airport as we were boarding our plane.  A great impression I made on her when she introduced herself and asked me my  name.  For whatever reason, I couldn't remember so I looked at my name tag.  That's when I found out she was to be my Flight Commander!  She is a very special and unique woman.  She has her PhD in Nursing, is one of the most intelligent and secure women I have ever met.  I admire her with all my being and would do anything for her.  The other day, a few weeks ago, she was assisting Dr. Gerlach with a  swan, and it was beautiful and smooth.  Watching her gave me a sense of pride and admiration.  She is very forward and works really hard to make sure we're ok.  She didn't take a day off work for the first 79 days...she even worked for one of the nurses on call so he didn't have to be called in when we had a very busy day.  She emulates all I would like to be in a nurse and Air Force officer.  


 A funny story about Col McNeill.  One day she and I were sitting together in the nurse's station.  Tovar said "Hey red, get over here and help me."  She walked over and said "I certainly hope you were not referring to me."  He got so red...so part of our resiliancy program is having silly name tapes; she ea  rned the name "Red Bird"

Big Bird

Another woman that I admire is Col Hughes, our Chief Nurse.  She is the example of a Chief Nurse that I look up to as well.  She takes time to check on her people, assists them with their career goals and what's more is that she only has us for a snapshot in time.  She treats us like we belong to her and really tries to help us out.  She comes up with fun stuff to do and when she mentors, she doesn't make you feel bad, just makes you realize how you can be better.  She, like Col Mcneill is not afraid of getting her hands dirty...she was in the OR most of the day working in scrubs, like a regular nurse.  We gave her the name "Big Bird".





Dr. Veesart and I after
redeployment ceremony



Jan Veesart is another woman I admire.  She is one of the ER docs and prior to that she was a ROCKET SCIENTIST for the Air Force!  She got bored after a while and decided that medicine would be fun.  She took a cut in her rank and went from a Major to a 2nd Lt.  I hang out with her periodically on my days off and she's interesting.  I have worked with her in the ER during trauma calls and she is one of those docs that maintains calm and focus.  She is the one I'd choose to lead a code.  After she retires, she wants to go work in Austrailia through a program for docs.  Oh, and this was my doc when my cyst burst.  Great lady!



Dr. Hight after a long
night of surgeries



Dr. Hight is another lady I have come to admire.  She was our trauma czar until recently.  She worked  tirelessly to save a life or limb, treated the nursing staff with dignity and respect and always tried to make things better.  Sometimes we would not understand why she would do so much for our less desireable patients but it was her commitment to saving lives and the hope that the less desireable patient would provide information to help us in our fight.  She fought really hard to save Sabid but also knew when it was time to give up and let her die with her family.  I enjoyed our conversations and she is one of the few docs that can provide me care.

What I admire most about these women is their tireless effort and commitment to their professions.  None of these women had  a day off, could call in sick and had to be ready to perform at a moments notice.  They offered mentoring and did not make you feel like you were less than you were.  Thank you ladies for all the great lessons you have taught me.