• He got the letter stating the trip yesterday was canceled; so fees to transfer his Asia flights should now be waived - ANSWERED PRAYER 1
• At no extra charge, he will be flying from Evansville to Chicago to Dallas to Vancouver, BC. - ANSWERED PRAYER 2
• At this time, it appears there is a VERY GOOD chance (better than if he went to Seattle) that he'll have NO problems getting from Vancouver, BC to Taipei.  - ANSWERED PRAYER 3.
• It's still unknown about Taipei to Cambodia - PRAYER REQUEST!

So, what does it mean when you are doing one thing that you've been procrastinating on so that you don't have to do another thing you have been procrastinating on?

I really need to do the following:

-Blog about Cambodia

-Write notes in my photo album about the Cambodia pics

-Write thank you letters and a new support letter

-Make a Powerpoint about Cambodia for a class I'll be doing next month

-Process the whole experience a bit more

Well, I opened up powerpoint and never even got to the first slide before I then went and figured out my LabelFlash software so I can do cool labels on the DVDs of pictures I am sending a few people.  Then, I remembered I wanted to blog about the dinner I had last night.  Then, I logged online and have since done nothing productive for about 30 minutes.  Maybe it's because it's 2300 right now, but I usually function just fine until at least 0200.  I think I am having problems getting some of this started...but here I am blogging.  So, maybe there is hope.  sigh

Nine hundred forty-four. That's how many pictures I currently have on my computer from my recent trip to Cambodia. I even have 27 short videos made with my camera. That's just over four Gigabytes of images that don't even get close to capturing my memories from this trip. I just went through approximately 500 photos and put them in albums to share with anyone who wants to see. But still, the photos are the easy part. Putting into words the awe, the inspiration, the lives touched, that's the hardest part. Not doing it justice at all, here is a short version.

At the 2008 Stars of Life Celebration, I met Scott & Robyn Lang. Both are employees of AMR in the Seattle area. Over those few days, I learned of their past trip to Cambodia and that they would be going again this year. I immediately wanted to go with them. But, I knew that coming into this late would make even a normally hard task even harder. I had to find the money to go, get the supplies, make sure I was up-to-date on all my shots, get my passport, and, the hardest-of-all, get the time off work. The hardest, I thought, until I actually tried to fly American Airlines from Evansville to Seattle. Just know it was a miracle I was only a day late to the clinic site.

The clinic was in a rural area and tickets had been handed out to the surrounding villages. Many even walked for days, without a ticket, just knowing that there were "Western Doctors" available. In the 6 and a half days the clinic was open, it was estimated we saw 9,000 patients. We had 12 clinic stations, one ER/OR, many dentists, one skin care tent (for scabies, etc), one wound care tent and a make-shift pharmacy. Thirty-one American volunteers, ranging in age from 15 to 69. Plus many many Cambodian staff members helping as translators, crowd control, runners, and even entertainment. Five of us were from AMR. King County AMR (Seattle) donated $1000 and AMR Corporate donated an amazing amount of IV Supplies including boxes of Nitrile gloves; so many supplies that it would actually be hard to put a dollar figure on it.

We spent our days getting up at sunrise (about 0530), the clinic would open at 0745 and not close until just before dinner (around 17-1800). The patients at the clinic stations would range from infants to elderly. The most common chief complaints I had when I was running a clinic station were "stomach-h", hemorrhoids, vaginal discharge, fever (malaria, dengue, or idiopathic), and the ever present dehydration and malnutrition. The clinic stations would assess and treat what they could, dispensing medicine as needed. The worst cases would be referred to the ER. In the ER I treated fevers, started IVs, and drained abscesses and cysts. We had many old wounds, growths, and a few traumas that needed small surgeries and we had one partial/slit circumcision (to treat phymosis). Not having normal scope-of-practice issues was also an interesting thing. I got to assist and actually do things paramedics don't usually do and I also taught a few EMTs and even a Physical Therapist how to start IVs. If you had the desire to learn and the aptitude to show you could do it, you had the chance to learn.

I met an amazing group of people and I was in awe of how even though the average rural Cambodian has much less than the poorest of Americans. How they smiled so easily and genuinely said thank you for the smallest of things. These are some of the memories I'll take with me. I'd really love to go again. I'd even love to try and get another person from our area to go too. Why not have a different person go every year or two? Anyone know possible sponsors for such a thing? Any companies who like to make a difference?

If you'd like to learn more about the trip or how to get involved with something like this and the hurdles involved. I plan on putting together a power point and I am willing to talk to anyone who has the time. Just let me know in person or email. (my email address here)

Part of me knew the risk of booking a late flight, leaving at 5:10pm.  But, the advantage was that I was likely going to have to work the night before.  Have the late flight would have allowed me some sleep time and some time with my family before I left.  I knew the risk.  I had overcome so many obstacles to get this far, I was willing to take the risk. Heck, it wasn't the last flight to Chicago, there was another one an hour later scheduled.

We were at the airport.  The flight showed "delayed".  Not too big a deal, I've dealt with that before and I had enough time between my flights to deal with the delay without much problem.  Then my cell phone rang, an automated voice told me that might flight was canceled and that they had already rescheduled me for a flight at 6am on Friday.  NOT COOL.  I needed to be boarding a flight in Seattle at 2:30am Friday.  My heart sunk.  That is really the only way to describe it.  I wasn't mad.  I was sad, yes...but not crying sad.  My brain was still trying to figure out how to fix the problem.  (read Deedra's email for all the details there).  She says I was quiet.  I'm not sure if I was really.  I was very stressed and very glad I had taken my beta-blocker before we left for the airport.  I spoke calmly with the airline rep.  It wasn't her fault in any way.  But, she had a good point...there was no way to get to Seattle from Evansville until tomorrow.  Even the drives to other airports would take too long.

After we got back home is when I got a call from the travel agent handling the teams travel.  Through some long calls they were able to get my reservation split from the rest of the group.  I'll need to get a letter from American Airlines stating why I wasn't on the orig. scheduled flight (that it was canceled, rather than I just didn't bother to show up.)  That shouldn't be too hard.  But, the really hard part is that I'm going to have to argue with a rep either in Evansville or Chicago to get a pass to Vancouver if needed.  That will be hard for me.  I really see the airlines point, why should they give me a pass?  They have no control over the weather and their only responsibility is to get me to Seattle.  To bad I might not have a flight out of there now, that's not American Airlines responsibility, that's EVA Air I'll be with then.  I need to think about how I am going to word this argument.  I don't mind arguing when I see the need.  But, I do not like planned arguments AT ALL.

Heck, maybe that will all work out and I'll get stuck in Taiwan.  How fun that will be.  Remember the summer Olympics will be starting in Beijing on 8/8.

I'm stressing.  I feel bad that I haven't contributed to the pre-trip portion of the mission as much as I'd like.  I feel like I am just tagging along and not pulling my weight.  Now look!  I will not be there the first day..the day they set everything up and get things started.  Again, I am missing stuff that I should be helping with.  I am stressed enough about my performance being there and now I feel like I'm not contributing like I should right from the start!  ARGH!!!

Shouldn't I be sleeping now, my new flight leaves at 0600 and I plan on being at the desk when it opens at 0500.  Yes, I should be, but I can't.  My sleep schedule is all messed up from my last we days at work (2000-0800) and I was planning on being awake a bunch tonight during the trip.  So here I am stressed and unable to sleep.  I laid in bed until I couldn't take it anymore.  So, now I am trying to vent and drink a glass of wine.  Hopefully between the blog and the alcohol I should be able to get a little sleep, i hope, before 0415 when the alarm will go off.

(sigh)

I know I have odd tastes in tv.  But, I love a show that can make fun of itself.  See the funny ad below.  It actually is a cute show. 

Eureka, the smartest little town in America.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/last-lecture-professor-randy-pausch-dies-at-47/

An inspirational man died today.  Read his book or watch the videos of his lecture.  RIP.

Last Lecture Reprise