I'm Home!

What an adventure...I loved every minute of it. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to work at an Olympic games in Canada. I've never been so proud to be Canadian! This was my first visit to the west and that alone was amazing. What a beautiful country we have. Thank you for following my blog and my Olympic adventure. Pictures will be loaded this weekend :)

Last Shift is Tomorrow

Tomorrow will be my last shift at the Poly-clinic. After working nights last night I wasn't very productive today :( I am going to watch the fire and ice show (ski jumping/ trick riding) in the village tonight and see Swollen Members as they are playing are giving a free concert. Tomorrow night the Poly-clinic staff are throwing a party so that should be fun for my last night. Looking forward to seeing all of you soon and showing you my pictures.

Happy Valentines Day and Peak to Peak

I was really missing my Valentine today! I hope everyone had a lovely day.
Today I took the Gondola up from Blackholm to the top and took another gondola across to the Whistler side. When I left the Whistler Village it was sunny and I was fine in a big wool sweater, I took the gondola up the mountain and it was a completely different story at the top. I had to buy ski mitts I thought I was going to freeze my tail off it was so cold. It was breath taking! This is truly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The peaks of the mountains look untouched.
I ran in to Jessie Lumsden. I was chatting with Nick on Skype and he walked by the coffee shop I was sitting ouside of. Small world! It was nice to see a familiar face.
I have been thoroughly enjoying the gym and roof top hot tub at my hotel but had to come in to the clinic tonight for my last over night shift :( I can't beleive my Olympic adventure is almost over.

Music in the Village

Every day in the Whistler Village they have live music...Barenaked Ladies, Bedouin Soundclash, Feist etc. CTV has their outdoor broadcast booth in front of my hotel so tomorrow I am going to try to stand in the background to get on tv...keep an eye out :) The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow so I am going to do the Peak to Peak Gondola ride and take tons of pictures. I work my last overnight shift tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. Nights are rough. VANOC has been giving out gifts to volunteers every 3 shifts they work. So far I have received an olympic pin (3), a quatchi doll (6), and a birks pendant (9) and I will receive one more on my last shift...yeah presents! Here in the atheltes village people love collecting and exchanging pins....they're like drugs...everyone is addicted. I have been collecting myself and can't wait to show all of you my collection when I get back. I have pins from all over the world!

Crazy day in the clinic

I'm sure all of you are aware of the sad news that a Georgia athlete was killed in a Luge accident this morning during training at the Whistler sliding centre. The staff at the poly clinic were amazing in managing the accident and chaplins from the multi-faith centre were here to assist all those who were stricken with grief. The sports psychologist was quickly brought in to work with the team mates of the athlete. I've found that some things are very well organized and others are kind of trial and error. Either way people care and do the best they can for one another which is a wonderful thing to be a part The tone of the clinic has been somber so the opening ceremonies were welcome this evening. We all sat in the clinic together and watched in the lounge of the clinic. What did you think? I thought they were amazing...technical difficulties and all :)

High Performance Centre

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go in to the high performance training centre and athlete rejuvenation area. It was pretty amazing. They have a track that measures your speed, weight bearing comparison bilaterally, speed stride eficiency....so neat. I observed a Russian athlete doing jump squats with three plates on either side.....wow...that's all I can say. Steve called our football players large mamals...if they are large mammals then these guys are not even the same species. The rejuvenation area has cold and hot tubs and massage therapy for the athletes. Today was insane in the clinic. I'm staying at the Westin Hotel now and it is glorious. This morning before work I worked out in the gym with the mountain views, took a dip in the outdoor hot tub and used the sauna....life is hard :) This is a welcome change from the trailer park I was staying in originally. I'm missing you guys but loving this experience.

Steve Podborski???

Today I met Steve Podborski...I think that is how you say it. He is a former down hill ski racer for Canada and olympic medalist. Pretty neat! The clinic is getting busier everyday. Communication is a real challenge when working with so many different countries. We are using interpreters on an every other patient basis. Tomorrow they will be moving me out of the village and into the Westin hotel to make room for athletes. I will not be sad to move out of my little prison cell. At the Westin every room has a balcony with a hot tub...yeah! All of the medical staff will be housed there. Everyday in the Whistler village there are concerts and shows. Last night I watched ski jumpers skiing through hoops of fire.

Go Colts Go!

I'm at the poly clinic and I'm watching the Superbowl!
I will report in tonight on the events of the day.

Late Night

I was in the clinic last night from 11pm - 7am. My first all nighter at work and now I'm off until tomorrow at 7am. We didn't have any athletes come in so I put together the Operations Manual for the clinic. Yesterday, I went to an outdoor concert in the Whistler Village and watched the Olympic flame arrive. I got a little sentimental with it all...single tear. The people here are so proud and so am I. I noticed today that you can go up in the Gondola and do the peak to peak tour so I will wait for another beautiful day to do that.

First Shift in the Poly-clinic

Yesterday I had my first official shift in the poly-clinic. The teams in all of their official gear started to arrive yesterday and the Russian, Eukrane, Chech Republic and Chinese teams first stop was at the clinic. We have free eye care and dental care and the athletes, coaches and delegates booked appointments right away as these services are not readily available in their home countries. Today it is snowing at Whistler and the snow flakes are the size of my head! People have told me this is a sign of milder weather for the next few days. I have been running on the trails here but was advised to stay in the more populated areas as their are cougars, bears, coyotes etc. Tonight I work my first overnight shift 11pm - 7am. It's going to be interesting. The people I am working with in the clinic come from a variety of backgrounds and are eager to help. We have MRI and CT scans available on site. This is a multi-disciplinary clinic like I have never experienced before. Mac's facility is fantastic but this one is out of this world. We have had people walk in off the street into imaging within 10-minutes....pretty different from the 6-month wait that we usually have in our system.

I'm here!

I arrived bright and early in Vancouver at 9am this morning. Pretty neat given I left Toronto at 7am and it's a 5 hour flight. "Ellen" was there with a big sign with my name on it...just like the movies. I took the shuttle up the sea to sky highway...absolutely beautiful... there are no words! My lungs felt like I was breathing for the first time. The air is incredible here. I went into the athletes village and picked up my gear and toured the facilities. They are insane! I was told I can't post pictures until after the games so I will do my best to describe in words :) It's difficult to describe but there is a calm energy in the air, the athletes arrive tomorrow. PS if I had on an orange jump suit my room would be prison. It's worse then first year rez...but the food is way better. I had beans, rice and tofu for dinner...very nice and there are recycling bins everywhere complete with compost option. I'll try to write tomorrow. I have my first shift.

Last Day of Work

Sitting at my desk, just getting everything in order for the big trip. People have been calling and dropping in to wish me a safe journey. Tonight I will stop at MEC for some long johns on my way home and finish/ start packing :( It will be an early morning as my flight leaves Toronto at 7am. Thank you Nick for the 4am wake-up call and drvie to the airport! With the time change I will arrive in Vancouver at 9:13am and catch the shuttle for my 2 hour drive up the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler and the Olympic Games Centre where I will be staying. Training starts at 5pm and I work my first shift in the clinic on February 4th.