My name is San and I am the doctor on Casey station over 2024. This is my first time coming to Antarctica and so far, I love it. I have come from beautiful Lord Howe Island with its diving, hiking, green-ness, and stable temperatures, to a white desert where even the penguins run away over winter. I still catch myself saying “Man, it’s cold!” but at least I sound less surprised each time. What is not new to me is remote medicine. I have worked in rural and isolated environments most of my career to date and this is certainly the most remote - so far I’ve needed to wait five days to get someone sick off an island before, but haven’t had the prospect of waiting five months. So far everyone here is keeping themselves well and nice and that makes the medical part of my job easier, leaving plenty of time for check-ups, providing training for our talented Lay Surgical Assistants, stock takes, research, and a bit of knitting.
What has made the year so great is the community here at Casey for 2024 – they are a bunch of stone-cold legends and if you have to be isolated (and we do) it’s a privilege to be isolated with these amazing people – funny, honest, genuine, reliable, human beings. The hardest bit is being without my usual human beings at home – this year is such a standout year for us as a family; learning how to manage being apart and find novel ways to spend time together and stay connected. I even started online gaming so at 4,500km away, I can still play with my kids on the weekend.
So far the best things I’ve seen and done are the midwinter swim (incredible!), and my first aurora which I saw on my birthday this year – spectacular. The daylight in winter is rare and stunning and blizzards are intense and incredible. I have loved driving the Hagg out to the airport on flight days over summer and it’s one of the few times in Antarctica you are alone and can sing at the top of your voice without offending anyone’s ears. Giddy up!
