Good Neighbor Winds up in Fauquier Hospital ED

Some say that no good deed goes unpunished. Cynical? Maybe, but it proved true for Peggy Marko, who wound up in the Fauquier Hospital Emergency Department with a badly injured ankle Saturday after helping a neighbor shovel his walk.

“I made some muffins and some hot chocolate for the men who were plowing the roads all night,” she said. “A neighbor helped me with shoveling this morning, so I thought I would help him a little. Now I'm in the hospital, and I don’t even know what happened to the muffins!”

Fauquier Health Staffer Snowbound

Not all of our staff are lucky enough to be camping out at Fauquier Hospital. Some of us, like many or our fellow residents, are confined at home, with no way to get out until the roads are cleared -- or spring, whichever comes first.

Many residents are without electricity -- and in case you haven't heard, it's a bit nippy out.

One of my co-workers, Gayla Vandenbosche, lives in Nokesville. She lost electricity Friday night and she and her jack russell terrier have been huddling together ever since.

Her husband came home with a generator last night, but they have not been able to get it in the house yet.

It's Gayla's 29th wedding anniversary today and interestingly enough, Gayla says this snowbound experience reminds her of the first days of her marriage. "We took a Winnebago and went on a ski honeymoon. The heater went out and it was freezing. We had to sleep in every piece of clothing we had."

For those residents who are without electricity or can't get home, Fauquier County has set up a shelter at Brumfield Elementary School. If you need a ride there, you can call the Sheriff's Office at 347-6843.

A Cool Tip from Fauquier Hospital -- Make Snow Cream

I’ve got a cool recipe for all of you stuck in the snow.

As Janice Cooke, CNA, and I stood by a fourth-floor window of Fauquier Hospital, looking out across the snow, she said that she was longing for some snow cream. Her mom used to make chocolate snow cream for her when she was a little girl.

You take a big bowl of fresh, pristine snow and add Hershey’s cocoa powder (real Hershey’s – no artificial stuff), some sugar and some milk. Stir it all up and you’ve got snow cream. Yum!

An added bonus: “It doesn’t go to waste. After it melts, it’s chocolate milk,” Janice said.

She cautioned, “My mother always told us not to use the first snow of the season. You have to wait for the second snow.”

She said that some people used vanilla extract to make vanilla snow, but Janice is a snow cream purist.

Therapist Takes Strange Odyssey to Fauquier Hospital

One of the respiratory therapists at Fauquier Hospital had more than a little trouble getting to work this morning.

Joan Armstrong called in to the hospital asking for a ride to work at 10 a.m. She was asked to make her way down Featherstone Lane in The Plains, where she lives, to the corner of Featherstone and Bunker Hill. Thanks to her husband and his 4-wheel drive – and no thanks to their St. Bernard, who drooled on her shoulder the whole way – they got to the corner.

They waited for 40 minutes, but then got a phone call saying that the road was impassable. Undaunted, Joan hitched a ride with a tractor that was occupied with getting someone else unstuck, and rode it a quarter mile, where she was picked up by an obliging volunteer fireman, who carted her to the end of Bunker Hill.

At last, she then connected with a state trooper, who then drove her the 12 miles to the hospital. She arrived at 1 p.m.

Obviously, Joan packed a bag and will be guest of the hospital tonight. The St. Bernard will just have to get along without her for a night or two.

Snow Pictures From Fauquier Hospital

The snow sure does look pretty, but it's tough on those who have to shovel out.

Fauquier Health IT Specialist Goes Above and Beyond

Vernon Rhea, director of Nutrition Services for Fauquier Health, tracked me down this afternoon to tell me of an unselfish act performed by a co-worker.

Vernon said, “Our printer broke, the one we use to print out patient labels. We were hand printing all of the labels for everyone’s food, including all their dietary restrictions."

No one from the Information Systems team was in the building, but Vernon got hold of Greg Gibson, technical support specialist, and asked for help.

Vernon said, “Greg lives down at the bottom of the hill. He walked all the way up here and fixed our printer. Greg said that at first, the snow was up to his thighs, but by the time he got here, it was up to his waist!”

Baby -- and Mom -- Breathe Easier After Arrival at Fauquier Hospital

Saturday morning, another baby had a dramatic ride to Fauquier Hospital, but this one came without his mom.

Desiree Lickey said that her 5 month-old son Damien Jackson had been having trouble breathing since Friday night. “We live in Manassas, but came to visit here and got snowed in.”

Damien seemed to be a little better after his mom set up a steam tent, but Friday night he hardly slept at all. By Saturday morning, he was gasping for breath and Desiree called 9-1-1.

A Fauquier County Department of Fire and Emergency Services ambulance set out with a pickup truck from the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department following behind for safety. When the ambulance slid off the road just out of town, Natasha Randall and Andrea Schaeffer of Fauquier County DFES climbed in the pickup with Wade Kastorff and Craig Rispoli of the Warrenton Fire Department.

Natasha said, “When we got to the house, the boy was almost non-responsive. He opened his eyes a little, but was very lethargic and had trouble breathing. He wasn’t moving around.”

The women gave Damien oxygen and a nebulizer breathing treatment, set up an IV, and struck out for the hospital in the pickup truck with Wade and Craig.

Problem: there was no room for his mom in the pickup truck. Desiree remembered, “I was really scared. I’d never left him before. And letting him go like that, into the snowstorm, I was scared.”

But the pickup arrived safely at Fauquier Hospital and breathing treatments set Damien right again very quickly. By the time the Sheriff’s Office delivered Desiree to the hospital, her son was smiling and grabbing his toes happily.

Dr. Gregory Wagner of the Fauquier Hospital Emergency Department checked Damien out thoroughly – while simultaneously delighting Damien with his broad, comforting grin.

It’s been a tough few days for rescue squads all over the region. Indicating Wade and Craig, Natasha said, “These guys are the rock stars. They got us back here safe.”

The four admit they haven’t slept very much the past two days. When it was mentioned that they all looked pretty alert for folks who hadn’t slept much, Natasha said, “We just brought in a 5-month-old baby who couldn’t breathe to the hospital in a pickup truck. Give me a minute.”

Adrenaline will keep you alert.