Are cows really pets?

Oh, the past two days have flown by so fast! I started my morning on Saturday at the crack of dawn and was at the airport by 5:30 am. Our flight left Kansas City at 8 and arrived shortly in Dallas for about an hour layover. We then continued on to Miami and settled in to the airport for a couple of hours while we waited for our airplane to be cleaned. We left out of Miami around 5 pm and landed in Quito about 8:30 pm. The nice perk to the 8:30 landing was that Quito time and KC time are exactly the same! No time changes to get used to. After clearing 44 pieces of luggage and our many carry-on's we finally boarded our bus to head to our hotel.

This morning we woke up bright and early to head out of Quito by 8am. The hotel provided breakfast of cheeses, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, and toast. There was mango juice and very strong coffee provided, but I stuck with the mango juice. We then began our three hour journey to Ambato. On the way, we stopped at a colonial home (now a hotel) that was built in the 1600s, La Cienega. It is amazing to see such a structure that has survived hundreds of years through many eruptions of Cotopaxi and earthquakes. I took many pictures while were there, so I will be posting those in the next day or two. Of note, Ecuador is famous for their roses, and everywhere throughout this estate were the most exquisite bouquets of hybrid roses of such superb coloring. A small chapel is also housed on this estate, and I have many pictures of it, too.

After an hour of roaming the estate, we finally departed to begin our last hour on the road to Ambato. Along the way, we noticed cows along the sides of the mountain roads on leashes. There were very few sightings of dogs, but when we did see them, they were without leashes. Makes one wonder if cows are the true pets for the Eucadorian people? We arrived at our hotel around noon, and after checking in we met up to eat lunch before heading over to the hospital. They fed us a chicken/vegetable/broth soup, beef medallions and llapingachos (potato cakes with white farmer's cheese) with an ahi sauce (comprised of chilis, cilantro, onions, and some other ingredient I don't recall), and a salad that was mostly avocado with onions and celery. For desert was an assortment of fruits (pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe) topped with ice cream.

After lunch we then loaded up the bus and headed to the hospital. Upon our arrival I was amazed to find the lobby, stairs, and clinic area swarmed with people. Families had been waiting at the hospital for hours for our arrival and were so excited to see us. We immediately divided up the group to start setting up the ORs, getting the pharmacy set up, and to begin screening possible patients for surgery. On a humorous note, many of our group had to change in to their scrubs before beginning and three of the women went in to one of the patient rooms to change. When they tried to get out of the room, they found that, although they could lock the door from the inside, it could not be unlocked! We did not have a key to get them out from our side so we sent for custodial to assist. Upon their arrival, whether they didn't believe them or not, one of the men climbed a ladder and removed the tile from the ceiling and dropped in to the room on the other side. He checked the handle and stated that the door could not be opened from the inside! I guess he thought they were just some crazy Americans who didn't know how to work a door :) He then hoisted himself out of the room and proceeded to unlock the door from the outside. What great comic relief. After that escapade, we were finally ready to begin the screening process. The two plastic surgeons set up in the crazy locked room (which we promptly put tape on the lock so we could not be locked in again) and began the five hour process of seeing the more than 80 patients that had been waiting for us. We finally wrapped up at 7:30 tonight with full surgery schedules for the next two days, and almost full schedules for the rest of the week. We anticipate that we will find more candidates for surgery on the patients that will be coming through the clinic for the next four days, so it pleased us that we still had a few spots open to be able to place these possible patients.

When we got back to the hotel tonight, a group of us chose to go out to dinner at a restaurant that was a few blocks from the hotel. I had a chicken marsala type dish (pollo something or other) and a nice glass bottle of Coke. Many of our group drank the red wine, but I had been without caffeine for the entire day, so I was just fine with my drink of choice. It is now 10:30 and I need to be up at 6 to leave the hotel by 7 to start our first surgeries. I will be working in the OR tomorrow, so I will be packing the scrubs and I am sure many more adventures to share.

Buenos noches!

Oh the sights we'll see.....

Just wanted to share an overview of what our days will entail for our trip. We leave KC bright and early on Saturday morning and after two connections we will arrive in the capital city of Quito, Ecuador 12 hours later. Quito is located high in the Andes mountains at an elevation of 10,000 ft. The next morning we will head out and take a side trip to La Cienega which is the oldest colonial style hotel in the province. La Cienega is located on the outskirts of the volcano, Cotopaxi. This volcano is on record as being the most active in Ecuador. If you are a climber, this mountain is considered a mountain climber's dream. Rising from 3800 meters, with a glacier starting at 5000 meters, the climbing experience is felt to be one of the best experiences. Along with enjoying being in the presence of such an amazing volcano, we will be able to take the time to appreciate La Cienega which is surrounded by the Andes mountains. It was converted into a mountainside lodge and has two meter thick walls carved from volcanic rock. From there we will begin the rest of the trek to Ambato, which is 3 1/2 hours south of Quito. We plan to arrive in Ambato early in the afternoon where we will have the oppoturnity to enjoy a lunch with all of the volunteers. We will then head to the hospital where we will begin screening patients for the upcoming surgeries. Monday through Thursday we will perform multiple surgeries and run pediatric and adult clinics. Friday morning we will wrap up any lingering items that we could not get to during the week and then head out for Hotel Termas de Papallacta, http://www.termaspapallacta.com/, to enjoy some rest and relaxation. The spa/resort is located on a high Andean valley at the entrance to the Amazon jungle. Here we can enjoy thermal baths, spa treatments, walking adventures at the Rancho del Canon (Canyon Ranch) or Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve. We will leave the resort Saturday afternoon to head to Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) where we will have the opportunity to straddle the equator line. After that, we will head back to Quito for our last evening in Ecuador. We will spend our afternoon shopping in the famous Mercado Artisenal to buy any last mementos and then head back home the next day. I am sure the week will be filled with many wonderous moments, and I cannot wait to photograph the many sites and memories that I will be able to share with you here. I encourage all of you to watch the Medical Missions Foundation website, as well, for regular postings on our activities in the mission at www.mmfworld.org.

Packing Party

Today we met as a team to pack supplies for our trip. We each brought a suitcase and loaded them with items for surgery, pharmacy, PACU, and pre-op. We stuffed and crammed as many items as we could to attempt to get to the limit of 50 pounds that the airlines allow. In many bags we were able to stuff in beanie babies and other stuffed animals to give the children after their surgeries. I have fifteen lists, one for each bag, to enter in to the spreadsheet we need to have available for customs to itemize all the items present in each bag. Each of us are responsible for the bag that we packed to bring on the trip with our primary bag. I am hopeful that my main bag will be nowhere close to 50 pounds, as lugging 100 pounds of luggage through the airport does not sound pleasant. But, knowing my propensity to be over-prepared, I am sure I will over-pack and be resigned with the maximum weight allowed.

Now begins the next two weeks of finalizing what I plan to bring with me. I still need to buy souvenirs for our translators and driver while we are there. I plan to bring items for the kiddos, too, so any ideas from anyone is more than welcome. The area we will be in is high in the Andes mountains, and temperatures will range from 50 to 70, so the majority of the clothing will need to be geared towards our early spring or fall type weather. Thankfully, it is not the rainy season, so we will not need to worry about that. Two more weeks before the trip is in full swing, so the posts will be sporadic until we are on the road.

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.