Sharpie has an exciting time this week. And by exciting, I mean he missed the exciting thing to do a less exciting thing.

9 April 2007

Hey Everyone,

As I’m sure you know, the BCT life is a hectic one. The only time I get to write letters is 50 minutes in the evening everyday from 2100 to 2150 (9:00pm - 9:50pm), and that time also has to be used for laundry, shower, cleaning lockers etc, etc. So forgive me if my letters start getting spotty in regularity or lacking in detail.

The big news for this week (last week technically) is that I had my first, and hopefully only, big sick call. We had some pretty hot weather on Monday & Tuesday of last week and the PT and activities we were doing under the sun finally caught up with me. We ran a killer obstacle course and practiced drill & ceremonies in a parking lot for 2 hours. This was all in 85+ degree weather with hardly any breaks in the shade. It was pretty intense stuff.

When we finally got inside the barracks my body just called it quits. I was extremely hot, I felt faint and dizzy. I was sore, dazed, wasn’t sweating. I had heat stroke. I was drinking plenty of water the whole day but apparently my mom is susceptible to heat exhaustion & I didn’t know. It didn’t get any better and to make a long story short I went to the emergency room with a temperature of 104.5. Woohoo!

I stayed the night at the hospital and most of the next day. They kept me all happed up on IVs and tested my blood at least 3 or 4 times. I was dressed in those stylish hospital gowns and wheeling my IV stand around everywhere I went (which was usually just from my room to the bathroom down the hall). It’s a weird sensation to constantly have to pee even though you’re hardly drinking anything.

The hospital was an army community hospital but very top of the line. If it wasn’t for the staff (some of them) walking around in uniforms, you would’ve thought it was a new civilian hospital. I had TV in my room, room service, great beds, the works. They even had plasma screen TVs in the waiting room.

Anyway it was a fun stay but I ended up missing bayonet training and qualification. No big deal though. I can make it up. And the funny thing is that the next day (Wednesday) and ever since then its been in the low 40s with a big wind chill factor. Heh… such is life. Anyway everything is great now - I even got a blessing from the senior missionaries and a member doctor. Elder & Sister Jones lead the serviceman’s ward here. They’re a swell couple of people. OK End of the letter now. And the flavor of pie this week? Cherry. Mmmm… love that cherry pie.

PFC Nathan Christensen