Tuesday 29 June 2010

X is for...

X-rays

While I was visiting the Army Days the other day, one of the most interesting things I saw was a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). When you're out in the desert like Afghanistan and somebody gets hurt, you don't want to have to travel for miles and miles and miles to a hospital, so the armed forces bring their own, complete with doctors and nurses. One of the areas in the 'show' MASH they put up, was this X-ray area. The shirt-like things you see are the protective covers used to not have all those x-rays go through everything.

Where some areas in any MASH will be made out of tents, others will be made out of containers. For safety reasons, the x-ray part will be a container.

If you think these MASH's are only used in combat areas, think again. A few years ago, quite a big hospital in the Netherlands had some problems (I think there was a fire) and couldn't use their surgical areas at all. The army moved in and set up a MASH in their parking lot! Including X-ray area.

For more X-words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

15 comments:

  1. Loved the TV program MASH. Great shot and explanation about Xrays.

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  2. Great choice again this week Mara - I remember MASH too. A

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  3. almost bought the complete MASH box set, except i heard not good things about the packaging scratching the disc

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  4. I loved how you wove MASH into this week's X theme. Brought back lots of great memories.

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  5. Very handy to have nearby. Interesting post - thanx!

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  6. Your choice brought funny memories of the MASH TV show, loved it.
    Love your choice too.

    ABC-Wed: X

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  7. Like many of your commentators, MASH was my favourite TV-series. The way things are going now, it might be wise to revive the MASH spirit.

    PS Thank you for the comment - and sorry that I didn't spot the Frisian flag :-)

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  8. It's amazing what is possible nowadays by way of these mobile health units. We've come a very looong way since Florence Nightingale. :D

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  9. Great post!! Can we say that the X-ray unit is in a very xanthic room?

    I love the fact that the armed forces step in when civilian service are down. It happened here some years ago when the fire department went on strike. The army brought out the Green Goddess fire engines and tackled the emergencies until the problem was resolved.

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  10. Very interesting post! And such an xanthic picture on top of it! ;-) MASH was one of my favorite shows. How could you not love Hawk Eye?

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  11. Oh yes, MASH. That brings back memories. Wonderful series.

    Thanks for showing us this MASH. I'd like to think this will be the only opportunity for me (and everyone else) to see one ;-)

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  12. I loved MASH - the original show as well!
    Great post - lots of info!

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  13. Funny, I thought of MASH only this week.

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  14. We have a US Navy hospital ship (USNS Mercy) homeported here in San Diego. Just like the MASH unit, it can pick up and go where needed. Quite a remarkable ship which has served on several humanatarian missions.

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  15. Wow, that was very interesting. Thank you for sharing this with me.

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!