Well, at the last minute, two days before the course started on 6 November, a slot opened up for me in Flagstaff Wilderness First Responder course. So, I packed up, and went down.

This is a comprehensive course covering patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for people who succumb to illness or injury in the wilderness. The reason it is more rigorous than a regular first aid course is because one is in the back country, not in an urban setting where ambulances and hospitals are minutes away.

I cannot say in all honesty that I was looking forward to this. I have never been fond of sick people, and I have steered clear of this most of my life. I remember when I first was recruited for Special Forces and they saw my test scores, they badly wanted to make me a medic. And I shied away from it like a startled horse. Instead I went into communication, which was their second most critical specialty. Things not people, that’s me 😊.

And on top of that, the weather decided to drop into the 20s and 30s mixed with snow for the first half of the course, and although it wasn’t snowing anymore the latter half, the temperatures remained quite low until the very last day of the course (naturally).

I am so very glad that I went to and completed the course. It was excellently run. The instructors were outstanding (Jason and Randy). It was the first time I’ve been around other people basically since this whole COVID thing started and I met some very nice people.

But it ran me ragged. My back was on fire from day 2, and my knees started giving out around day 3. It was all the getting up and down and working on one’s knees with the patients in the scenarios. And since I’ve lived in the tropics the vast majority my life, I certainly wasn’t used to the cold. We were outside approximately half the time. And when we were in the classroom, they kept the windows open for airflow to help minimize the possibility of COVID transmission. Certainly rigorous about that aspect.

Funny Story 1: On the night rescue operation we were in groups of 5. We were out looking for “lost hikers” when one of our party “fell and broke his leg”. OK, so we just get that patient stabilized and splinted when a 2nd member of our party keels over and starts having a “seizure”. We try to keep him in a recovery position until he can “recover” but this guy is Puerto Rican and when he recovers, he only speaks Spanish to us. So, my brain strips its gears trying to speak to him. I could understand what he was saying and translate but I was melting down trying to speak back to him 😊. The following morning without the cold and the scenario stress I had a perfectly intelligible Spanish conversation with him but that night … wow! 😊 And he was acting so well I was about halfway to calling one of the instructors and telling him we might have a real problem. The guy was good 😊.

Funny story 2: The last day of the course when it warmed up into the 60s and everybody was outside in the sunshine, at least 4 people said something along the lines of “ … oh … I never realized what you looked like without your mask Anthony … ” – I never took it off until that day.

I’ll tell you that the heap of small chemical hand and foot warmers I purchased saved me 😊. And the small fortune I spent at REI on cold weather clothing. Worth every penny.

I had a small PTSD episode the day after our first night operation. Brought on by, well I don’t really want to discuss that, but one of the instructors help talk me down and I really appreciated that. I think fatigue and constant pain probably were the primary triggers for along with the subject matter that was being discussed at the time.

One thing I noticed  is that I was the only former military person there. It made me realize how badly I missed that environment. I realize that the military is not all unicorns farting rainbows but it was one of the few places I felt at home. And being in this outdoor training environment really brought that home to me very unexpectedly.

I was the oldest person in the course, me and a Forest Service guy called Tony (only a year apart) probably averaged 30 years older than the average attendee. I definitely wasn’t their target demographic.

But I learned an incredible amount. I am just amazed by the amount of information they crammed into a very full 80-hour course. Like any other skill, it will require practice to stay up-to-date, and I’m not planning on joining a SAR team, or observing at a hospital, not in today’s climate, although I actually would like to do something like that if it was ever possible.

And – I really have no doubts at all now about how to stock a medical bag. I’ll do a blog post on that another time after the ones I ordered roll in.

But finishing the course really gives me confidence and a whole new skill set.

 So, this morning the day following the final tests, I got up it 0400 and beat feet for Las Vegas. So glad to be home in my little nest.

So, next on my list is refreshing my Turkish language skills, taking a serious look at obtaining my private pilot’s license, and within the next month, say by the end of the year, testing out on the last two levels for my amateur radio licenses. And keeping my WFR skills up to date.

My strategy for the private pilot’s license is going to be to study for the ground school examination and do some serious prep work by using flight simulation software plus an advanced yoke and pedal control device to go with it. Getting a pilot private pilot’s license, especially in the states, is not a trivial endeavor money wise. So I figure I would start with this and at least get up to having taken the ground school exam, getting the flight physical, then I can start putting in cockpit time when and as I can afford to do that. I’ll let you know how it goes. 😊

I hope that some of the people I met at the WFR course get a chance to read this. I really appreciate all the help and support that they gave me during the course. I only wish I had had the energy, and that the situation allowed for more socialization outside of class. But all you guys that are reading this, it was really great to go tothat course with you and I hope to meet you again some day.

Kristie – you were a great partner for the practical exam and I learned a lot from you 😊. If ever I was in a critical accident I can think of no one else that I would rather have looking out for me at the hospital.