The Kandahar Hack

Heroes Remember

The Kandahar Hack

Transcript

A couple of weeks before the end of the tour I started having respiratory issues, very, very bad respiratory issues. My saturations were going down to 80 which it should be 95 so 80 is really low. So we did all these tests, we couldn’t figure out what was going on so they sent me on medivac out of theatre out into Germany. I will never forget when I got to Germany Colin who was the nurse that was meeting the medivac comes up and says, “Okay Rhonda I want a report on your patient!” I said, “Colin I am the patient!” He goes, “Well I couldn’t figure out why we didn’t get any notice but it was “Crew” and I thought it was just air crew, not “Crew!” Hence, of course, the name that’s entertaining. So I spent eleven days in Germany as an outpatient and turned out I had reactive airway disorder because I jogged every single day and it was polluted. It was very, very polluted and I basically polluted my own lungs to the point where they couldn’t hold air, at least not very well. A lot of people came back with what we called the “Kandahar hack” You had had this hack right? But because I ran in it every day and our barracks were next to the poo pond we just had a lot of pollution. It took almost a year for my lungs to come back to proper functioning and it was almost a catch and go whether I was going to be released from the military because of respiratory issues. It was really close and I remember the doctor was calling me in to do a final check and I was ready to cry because I was so worried I was going to lose my identity, my career, my everything. And I remember I was so sad that I didn’t even put makeup or do my hair that day which I don’t really do much but at least I wash my face and brush. Anyways I showed up for work and I was so depressed ready to go in and get fired and I walkedi n and wasn’t he messing with me. They had promotion my rank for me and said, “You’re staying in and you’re getting promoted and you are taking over the medivac flight, it’s yours!”

Description

Stricken with a serious respiratory condition, Nursing Officer Crew finds herself in fear of discharge from the military only to be happily surprised with an offer of promotion in rank.

Rhonda Crew

Rhonda Crew was born August 25, 1970 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Crew first joined the reserves as a 17-year-old, becoming one of the first women in an infantry regiment, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Regiment of Cornwall, Ont. Then, after going to nursing school and working in the civilian world for a few years, she rejoined the military in 1997. Almost immediately, she was serving as a flight nurse on helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Crew accepted deployments to Bosnia 1999 and Afghanistan in 2007, holding rank of Lt. Colonel Nursing Officer and still serving today in the capacity of Canadian Armed Forces Nursing Officer. Stricken with PTSD during her time in military, Crew finds a positive approach in dealing with the effects and has recently been chosen as part of Team Canada for Invictus 2018! Rhonda and husband Duane, also a CAF Veteran now reside in Stittsville, Ontario.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Recorded:: July 27, 2018
Duration:: 2:18
Person Interviewed:: Rhonda Crew
War, Conflict or Mission:: Canadian Armed Forces
Location/Theatre:: Afghanistan
Battle/Campaign:: Afghanistan
Branch:: Canadian Armed Forces
Rank:: Lieutenant-Colonel
Occupation:: Nursing Officer

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03