James' asthma attack

Last Friday, April 20, James had a severe asthma attack. It was so severe he had to be medevaced to Goose Bay. It's an awful thing for any parent to have to see their children sick but even more so for James because he can't communicate like other children. He was walking around with a 'pain in his belly' and crying. So his Nan(I was working) brought him over to the clinic at 11:30 am. He never got back home till 5:00 pm April 23. He had a total of 8 masks. Three were equivalent to about 125 shots of his puffer. His heart rate was almost double for his age and his oxygen saturation was down to 80 when it should have been 98 to 100. He had a sleepless night on Friday and didn't get any rest till Saturday which is when he finally started to improve. And the drama didn't even end when we flew home. Upon final approach to Makkovik we had to abort our landing because another plane was already landing on the runway. The pilot applied full power and pulled up and away. I didn't know what was going on till I looked down at the runway and saw the plane landing. But thankfully James is doing well now. He now has a Flovent puffer to help with his bronchitis, has finished his medication to take down the inflamation in his lungs, and has a referral to see a pediatrician in Goose Bay.

Very Warm Spring day

Yesterday and today was VERY warm even for this time of year. Max temperature yesterday was thirteen degrees and today was even warmer, around fifteen I think. The snow is melting fast. The brooks and ponds are flooded after only a day. I would expect temperatures around this time of year to get up to five or maybe even ten degrees but no more.

Spring in Labrador

Two signs of Spring in Labrador: Snowbirds and really bad roads.

Temperatures have stabilized again somewhat compared to plus nine degrees last week, which is way above normal. Traveling on snowmobile has been really good. You can go just about anywhere and have a firm footing. James spent some time out at Hare Harbour  with his Nan and Pop last week. He had a wonderful time sliding and playing with the other kids. We went fishing yesterday at Table Bay Pond. The weather was not the greatest but we got some smelts (66 and one trout) anyway. After trying many times over the winter, we finally got lucky. We've got a nice bit of snow again now. I guess Winter isn't over yet.

Operation Noramex

Operation Noramex was a joint Canadian US Navy amphibious landing exercise meant to test "amphibious cold weather doctrine and equipment". However I found two sources of information giving two entirely different dates. The first source says it took place 21 October, 1949 at Cape Porcupine. A Batallion of Marines, around 2000 men were set ashore. This was a significant force considering the current population of Cartwright is only four or five hundred people. The objective was to capture an enemy meteorological station and airstrip. A special underwater demolition team swam ashore to make a beach recon before the main landing force came ashore. Another team went ashore in rubber boats from the troop submarine 'Sea Lion'. The second source says it took place 1 November 1954 at the mouth of Hamilton Inlet.

The physical evidence supports the information I have found. I found the remains of some kind of aerial and many bomb fragments at Cape Porcupine. In the summer of 2010, I think, a friend of mine and his girlfriend found dunnite at Cape Porcupine having at first mistaking it for some unusual rocks. Dunnite is an explosive used in naval artillery shells. There is also the remains of an amphibious landing craft near Woody Point, Porcupine Strand. About a mile inside Woody Point is where they carved out a landing strip. I guess this is the airstrip they supposedly captured. Again there is physical evidence there. There is also evidence of activity around Woody Point and at at least two other places on the North side of Cape Porcupine including wires strung in the trees for communications.

There is a lot of evidence of military activity at Upper and Lower Sandy Cove, which is at the mouth of Hamilton Inlet. There is a road carved out of the sand starting from the beach and going inland. This is easy to find. There are artifacts everywhere at this location including spent rifle casings, ammunition cannisters, cleats from the tracks of some kind of tank or amphibious vehicle, and remains of mess kits just to name a few.

One thing is certain, and that is Operation Noramex involved a lot of men and equipment including several major war ships. And the evidence supports it.