17 days till lift-off

With the arrival of July, my much anticipated trip to Ecuador is now in sight. I am joining a group of surgeons, doctors, nurses, etc for a medical mission trip to Ambato, Ecuador on the morning of July 24th. While there, we will be providing plastic surgery and pediatric and adult clinics for many children and adults who some have never been to a doctor and others who have had very few opportunities to have received medical care throughout their life. Put in to perspective, it is amazing to me how, as an American citizen, I have taken for granted the ability of being able to take myself or any of my children to a doctor whenever necessary (common colds, strep throat, seasonal flu, asthma issues, etc.) when there are so many citizens of the world who do not have that comfort. For many, the arrival of this team is such a novelty that many will trek for days to arrive at the hospital for evaluation and hope for a chance to make the surgical list to repair cleft palates, cleft lips, extra digits, and other ailments that they have had to live with all of their lives because they never had the opportunity to have these corrections done due to few resources.

This Saturday we will be meeting together as a team in what is referred to as a "packing party". It is at this time that we will bring our second piece of luggage and load up medical supplies such as vitamins, tylenol, ibuprofen, and multiple other medications that will be needed to stock our pharmacy. After speaking with other individuals who have traveled with Medical Mission Foundation in the past, this will be a great time to really get to know many of the folks that we will be travelling with and spending many long hours together.

I still have many things to take care of while here in the US before I can really take in the excitement that this trip has brought to my life. While I finish up my summer semester in my MBA program and find the local novelties to gift to our multiple translators that will assist us while in South America I must let this trip take a back seat to the many priorities that I still have looming in my very near future. But, I still want to take the time to reflect on the meaning of this trip and how grateful I am to the First Hand Foundation that has allowed me to represent them on this trip. I have been blessed with five beautiful children and it is with this knowledge that I want to extend a part of myself to those who are in need and give back something in return. For I have been given much in this life and giving back to my fellow man in return is just one small measure of thanks that I can show.