Where we're going

I wanted to get a post like this out a little sooner but I can't believe how busy I've been this past week between working and running errands for last minute supplies. I spent several hours a few nights ago packing items to go into a checked bag and moving things around between that and my carry on while getting on and off the scale with each bag to see where they were. Asiana Airlines allows us to have 1 carry on with a maximum weight of 22 pounds a piece. I'm bringing on a selection of camera gear which adds up quickly and is the majority of my carry on weight. 

See! It's not that much.

For those who would rather sit through a middle school style geography report instead of Googling it, Cambodia is located in the Southeastern Asia between Vietnam and Thailand with Laos at part of its northern border. The capitol, Phnom Penh, is only 11.5 degrees north of the equator so it's going to be pretty warm while we're there. Luckily the rainy season is over so we shouldn't have to worry about flooded rivers and washed out streets. 

Currently there is some political unrest with protests going on in the capitol I've received notifications from the State Department to be on guard for demonstrations, though they've been largely peaceful so far, and if I notice a crowd beginning to develop to vacate the area. Supposedly there will be a period without protests while we're there and even if there are issues we won't be out and about much. We only have time for light sight-seeing in Phnom Penh as we need to gather water and other supplies for while we're in the Kratie region and begin counting out pills into packets that can be dispensed to individual patients. 

The route we'll be moving along is highlighted on the map above. We arrive in Phnom Penh at about 11:30pm Friday night meaning it will be early Saturday morning before we get bags, clear customs, and arrive at our hotel. Monday, January 6 we head out to our first clinic in Snuol and that evening arrive in Kratie which will be our base of operations for clinics in the Kratie region. 

We will be holding clinics in this region from January 7 to 17 almost every day, taking Sunday the 12th off. This definitely isn't going to be an easy going vacation. The 17th we take an 11 hour bus ride to Siem Reap where the temples are, Angkor Wat being one of the most famous. 

Angkor Wat viewed from the lotus pools

Two other temples I'm looking forward to seeing are Ta Prohm and Srah Srang. Ta Prohm has been enveloped by the jungle and is where the opening scene for the first Tomb Raider movie was filmed. Srah Srang has a large pool which is supposed to be amazing for sunrise. We will be here one morning for the relative calm while the majority of tourists take in sunrise at Angkor Wat.

I'll do my best to update this blog while on the road, though I intend to be present in the moment rather than trying to keep information current. 

Until the next time!

Packing Day

This afternoon we started packing medications and supplies for the mission trip to Cambodia! We're down to just over 2 weeks until it's time to go and getting everything organized today helped make the upcoming trip more real to me. 

Dr. Cheryl Melick hosted a Christmas party at her house last night. A few of the younger guests stayed over so this morning she had them get all of the boxes out into an area those of us going on the mission could work. Dr. Melick, her daughter Rachel who is in nursing school back east, Meghan a nurse I work with in the ER at Swedish and Anna a Physician's Assistant were on hand to get everything sorted out and packaged as quickly as possible. My wife, Christine, also spent her afternoon with us to help check off items on the packing list. Some of her drug name pronunciations were hilarious adorable. She really likes to put a Spanish flair (or maybe Canadian accent?) on any of the medications that ended with "e."

Ketoconazol - ay!

Here are the boxes when we arrived at 2pm to get to work

The first task on our agenda was to write on all of the caps of medications what they were, how many bottles total of that type there were, and get everything somewhat organized and out of the way until ready for packing. Writing on the caps will help us identify meds quickly when they're spread out on the floor in hotel rooms or at clinics and the quantities of bottles will help me monitor supplies.

Once the meds were lined up we started dividing items that were in bulky boxes into easier to pack baggies.

Dustin and Anna focus on diabetics supplies

Baggies, baggies everywhere and not a drop to drink

The wall-o-drugs by the front door

Super Waifu spending her day helping us out!

The Sea of Supplies just before getting into suitcases!
Christine was right...totally should have had someone lying in the middle of all this for a photo

After everything was organized we broke up into teams of 2 and started packing suitcases. We created a record of everything that went into each suit case and weighed them periodically to see how close to 50 pounds we were getting while packing. If we started getting close to the maximum weight for a bag and still had a lot of room it was time to switch to lightweight bulky items such as gauze. 

By 6:30 pm everything was packed into 12 suitcases (which I totally didn't photograph). Ten of them were at max weight, ~50 pounds, and two have a little room left in them for toiletries, snacks during the trip, and other miscellaneous items. 

A huge thanks to everyone who donated to help me on this trip. I know I have a lot of people whom will be thinking of me while I'm gone and I promise to stay safe. 

Cheers,

Dustin