As one departs on es one returns. The circle of life and duty in Canada's Navy. HMCS Fredricton Sails away on Piracy Duties. HMCS Winnipeg returns.
HALIFAX Canada's latest contribution to the war on terrorism and piracy slipped out of Halifax harbour in driving rain Sunday on a six-month deployment to the Middle East.
As Evan and Bianca Entwhistle hugged, their 20-month-old son Finn sandwiched between them, it was hard to distinguish the tears from the rain.
The sad part with this little guy is how much they change, said Bianca kissing her son on his curly red head.
He knows when Evan's gone. I don't think in the long term he'll remember this but he'll be talking by the time dad gets home.
Entwhistle said he knows he signed on for the job -- this is his third deployment overseas -- but that didin't make it any easier.
It's the first time I'm doing a trip like this with the little guy and I'm more concerned about how it's going to run back here, he said, acknowledging the help of military support services and what he called a great circle of friends.
The Fredericton will be integrated into the standing NATO Maritime Group providing security operations in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean until late April .
The HMCS Winnipeg crew raised more than $7,000 The crew of the HMCS Winnipeg spent six months fighting piracy off the coast of Africa and on Saturday they returned to Winnipeg.
We feel a very special connection to the City of Winnipeg particularly since the last deployment, the ships company really felt a lot of support from the citizens, said HMCS Winnipeg Commander Robert Ferguson.
The 240 member crew was part of a NATO mission to fight piracy off the coast of Africa. During their six months on the mission the crew helped disarm five pirate vessels.
Able Seaman Whitney Barham who grew up in Anola said she didn't find the situations tense because they were so well trained.
It became exciting, Barham explained.
The HMCS team had a $7,000 surprise for the city. The crew ran all way from Saskatchewan to Winnipeg for the 'Sailors on the Run' fundraiser and raised more than $7,000 for the Firefighters Burn Fund.
.
This story from Sundays Ottawa Citizen really touched my heart as a Canadian Veteran, a Father and a Grandfather.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan This is Aaron's story, but I can't tell you his last name or provide many personal details. It's about a severely wounded Afghan child, the marvels of a combat hospital, and the grace of compassion.
A lovely story from Rex in Alberta
Aaron is an American nurse who works at the multinational Role 3 hospital here. The soldiers rightfully believe that if they arrive with a heartbeat, the Role 3 trauma team will somehow make sure they survive.
But no hospital can save every patient, not even Role 3.
Aaron ducked my attempts to interview him. He just wasn't interested in talking about himself, I was told.
What I know about Aaron, I learned from a high-ranking officer at the hospital. He told me what happened with Aaron and the little Afghan girl.
She was brought to Role 3 with severe burns to most of her body, the result of a roadside bomb. The doctors managed to stabilize her but the prognosis was grim.
The girl's parents could not be found, nor any of her relatives, despite the military's best efforts. She was alone in the world. The doctors weren't sure of her age, likely five or six.
As the days went by, the girl's condition did not improve. Now the hospital faced a dilemma. The beds at Role 3 are primarily for wounded coalition soldiers, although Afghan nationals injured in combat situations are also treated. All patients are moved to other hospitals as soon as medically feasible to keep the beds free for the arrival of the next Medevac helicopter carrying more wounded. You know what happened at Dawson College?' the officer told me. We get that twice a week.
In usual circumstances, the child would have been taken to Mirwas Hospital in Kandahar City. But it was unlikely that she would even survive the transfer, and the doctors knew she would not live long at Mirwas. The hospital's hygiene is such that the child would quickly have succumbed to infection.
So with great reluctance, the decision was made to remove the girl from the life-support system. Her bed was needed for others, and there was nothing more that could be done for her.
There was no one to mourn for her. Her short life was merely one more statistic of war.
If her farewell address last week, Col. Danielle Savard, who is Canadian and the departing commanding officer at Role 3, said the hospital had saved more lives then they thought possible during the past six months. She spoke of the long hours, and how the trauma team would at times work 14 or 15 hours without a break.
In handing over Canada's lead-nation status to the U.S. Navy, Savard praised her entire team: doctors, nurses, paramedics. Everyone works to the highest standards, every day, she said. Aaron, who is a big man in every way, is a shining example of that commitment.
As the girl's life ebbed away, Aaron sat at her bedside and held her in his arms. I wish I could tell you if he spoke to her and whether he prayed or sang. But everyone who has ever rocked a sick child in the night knows the feeling, the fierce love and protectiveness, so the words don't really matter.
Aaron stayed with the girl for five or six hours, until her heart stopped. Her passing marked another long, hard day for him.
Later, the officer told me, he asked Aaron why he did it. Medically, they had done all they could for the child. In that sense, Aaron's vigil was pointless. But it did have a higher purpose.
He told me he wanted her to know that there was still someone in the world who had love for her.
The child, through the mists of the medication, may have felt Aaron's compassion, and his caring. One thing is certain: she did not die alone.
There are several stories like Aaron's that unfolded at the Role 3 hospital under Canada's leadership. Many have happy endings, thanks to the immense skill of the surgeons and the rest of the trauma team.
Remember Everyone Deployed
Nil Sine Labore
Robby
