India Day #12 Monday January 23rd A tale of 2 villages, Kolkata & Heading HOME!!!!

This morning at 8 I met up with Pradeep & Olf (an anesthesiologist from Sweden) and we headed out the hotel gate to the right. And it was a totally different experience – a tale of 2 villages I am calling it!!! After about 100 yards on the dirt road outside the hotel there are more sturdy brick type homes – still very simple & humble but definitely more stable and an entirely different “village” from the one on the opposite side of the hotel. There was a temple structure back there from the 1800’s, a nice building that was the school & on this Monday morning kids walking to the school. All sorts of little “businesses” a man with fabric & a sewing machine who is the tailor there, a little market, an incense shop, several wells for water, some paved pathways, a newer temple and even a barber where Olf decided to support the local economy & get a haircut for 30 rupee (50 cents). People were outside their homes brushing their teeth. Women were washing their cooking pots and clothing in tubs of water outside their homes & some areas had overhead electrical wires & electricity!!! Pradeep had met the Chief Elder of the village and visited with him yesterday so he greeted us. His mother is the teacher at the school there. He showed us where they have all of their rice fields and then where they dry out all of the rice – which is a staple of their existence. Many people have their own cows or goats & if they don’t have a cow they trade good for milk from someone elses cow. It seemed like a very self-sufficient little village. I didn’t get the sense that a lot of people left there & went into “work” anywhere but I could be wrong. The kids were all dressed. Many homes had mini shrines outside their homes or on the road. I took a bag of cookies & candy that I had & we asked the parents & then gave it away to the kids we saw.    I am SO GLAD I went on this little hour or so walk with Pradeep – it was a hole different look from the village on the other side of the hotel. I did wonder why the people on the other side of the road aren’t a part of this village? I was told that there is a significant “class system” still very much in place in India which dictates some interactions???

We were supposed to head to Kolkata in 10 cars at 10 am but timeliness is not an India quality and all 10 cars didn’t get there until about 10:45. I was in a car with Sharon, Mayra & Peggy & Pintu was our driver. He spoke pretty good English & gave us info on our drive. Today was the birthday of a Freedome Fighter so there were several gatherings on the road to Kolkata that we “drove thru” Peggy was one of the OR nurse & I really hadn’t had much interaction with her this week – she is 67 and retired 7 years ago after 36 years in the airforce. She spent 3 years on the front line trauma hospital in Khandaahar as an OR nurse & had some horrific stories of her experiences there. She said that her Op Smile experiences have been healing her for her 22 missions she has been on. She still works in Victoria Canada & runs marathons!!!

We drove over the Ghanges river to get into Kolkata. Pintu pointed out the Queen Victoria palace – they were under British rule until 1947!!! I seriously regret sometimes my lack of recall of world history! There were lots of interesting statues (Indira Ghandi, Don Bosco etc) and buildings, and of course intensely crazy traffic. Once we got into Kolkata all the cars were to head to a hotel where we were dropping everyones bags and then could go off & “explore” based on when our flights were. George, Lori & I all had 6:30 flights so we stuck together in the car I was in with Pintu as we only had about 3 hours before we needed to head to the airport. Most of the cars were going to the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse to see the resting place of Mother Teresa & the would split up from there. When we got the there Mother house & the Orphanage were “closed” from noon-3 pm every day. We knocked & were told that they were closed so the sisters could do some of their work but I wasn’t giving up!!! I went down & knocked again & explained why we had been in Indai & that we only had this time now & pleaded if we could come in & they said yes!!!

The place of her resting was very serene. There were a few nuns sitting near there praying and a sign for it to be a reverent environment. My Aunt Natalie (my dads sister) was a nun in the sisters of Charity order & I know that she spent some time in Indis (not sure if it was here or elsewhere) but I definitely felt a connection to her & my Catholic heritage here. These nuns have an orphanage that they run here & also a hospice center – it was very touching to see their selfless service. I wanted to make a donation so they took me into a little room and the Mother Superior came out with her “financial assistant” and they accepted the donation and “blessed me”. I know that these sisters take avow of poverty so that all the money I was able to give them will go directly to helping the children in the orphanage and the people in hospice. They gave me all sorts of Mother Teresa cards etc so when I came out I was able to share them with whomever wanted them. On the top of Mother Teresa’s tomb in flower petals were the words “Love Seeks to Serve”…..what a reflection of Mother Teresa’s life. I was so grateful to have this opportunity today. If there was one thing I had wanted to do it was to get there.

I had tried to connect with Pres. Sujal via phone & finally did & had Pintu speak to him. Kolkata is a big city and with the crazy traffic getting anywhere is a challenge. He was 25 km away from us not in any direction we were currently headed. George & Lori wanted to go to the Kolkata market area & I didn’t want to impact their time so I tried to brainstorm with Pintu & pres. Sujal what our options were. I wondered why he couldn’t come close to us or meet us somewhere in the middle but it just didn’t seem possible. All I wanted to do was give him some $$$ to support Sis Kumbhaker someone I hadn’t ever met but who was a part of this little congregation of 20 members of the LDS church & who wanted to serve a mission or our church but didn’t have all the financial resources she needed. Pintu  said that is we got back to the hotel by 2:30 & left for the airport then we could maybe do a drive by….I was doing a while lot od praying while also not wanting to interfere with George & Lori. We did the market area in about an hour – there really wasn’t anything to buy so that helped & then we went back to get our luggage. It looked like we could literally do a “drive by” & I could pass an envelope off to Pres Sujal. I had already written a note the night before when I was packing. Traffic was a little crazy but WE DID IT!!! All thanks to Pintu – I was in his car for a reason that was for sure. He pulled over Pres Sujal was there. I handed him the envelope – shook his hand & got back in the car. Honestly I could not pick him out of a line up if I had to it all went down so fast. He & Pres. Hodges emailed me later that night thanking me for the efforts to get them the donation. I will never ever see them again & I will never meet Sis Kumbhaker but I know that she was part of the reason I was in India!!!

We made it to the airport within or time range, I got my bags checked all the way to LAX (but I had to pick them up in Newark to go thru customs). We had about an hour at the airport and I did a little shipping at a government type store there that raises money for villages. The 2 ½ hour flight to Delhi was 100% packed & I just tried to remember I just needed to get past this flight then I would have an upgraded next flight. When we got to Delhi George. Lori & I parted ways & I thru some trial & error found my way thru immigration in order to leave the country & got the the International terminal with only an hour before my flight. Despite the upgrade the 15 ½ hour flight from Delhi to Newark was LONG. I m not a good plane sleeper even when I am exhausted and while the flight left at midnight I was trying to figure out when to sleep so I might sort of be on a US timezone – that didn’t work so well. They served food right as we left & then made the plane dark. I think I slept maybe 4 or 5 hours  in total but rested too and watched some movies TV. In Newark I had to gather my bags, go thru US customs & immigration & recheck my bags. I only had about 3 hours there and it took awhile to do all of that. One more 6 hour leg of my trip was left!!! The Newark flight was not upgraded but at that point I knew I was getting close to home so I didn’t care & there was an open seat between me & the person at the window so that was nice. We got into LAX 30 min ahead of schedule but since the gate wasn’t ready somehow we ended up on the runway for an hour… I thought that time would never end!!! FINALLY I was HOME (or at least close). Doug was there to meet me – it had been a long time to be away. I was travel weary – tired, sort of hungry, and ready to really get home and take a hot shower!

As always I had an appreciation for all the things I typically take for granted day to day – clean water, hot water, breathable air, not crazy traffic, familiar food, the ability to communicate and be with family and  friends, a soft bed…the list goes on & on!!! It is a sacrifice to go but always so rewarding. I appreciate these opportunities to serve. I don’t think I will be able to go again until probably next fall. I met some incredible people, had some amazing experiences and believe I was right where I was meant to be these past 2 weeks….it may take a while to recover from this one though – the travel time was intense and I am pretty tired!

Sunday January 22nd – Last Day of Surgery, Pack Up & Team Party

My 2^nd Sunday in India and our last day of surgery. As we left for the hospital there were already families gathering at the river’s edge and a soccer game going on in a dirt field. We only had 5 tables going today (instead of 6) and 15 on the schedule so we anticipated a shorter day but it was a little longer than expected. Sometimes the older patients that they schedule for the last day of the mission have more complicated cases and anatomy after having their defects for their entire lives. I was repping Ethicon today & wearing the scrubs that my friend Kim sent me J.  They got off to a slow start because some of the scrub nurses that were supposed to come from the hospital staff didn’t show up but somehow they got it all worked out. While we waited for our first patients we already started some “clean up” of excessive supplies we had set up & knew we wouldn’t need today so we did some returning of items to the makeshift “store-room”. Since this is OSI’s first return mission to India & they plan to be very involved here again everything will stay in India as local cargo for future missions. Richard who is over OSI India was in the store room so I spoke to him about how to help one patient we saw who needs to go to Mumbai for a special procedure. I saw her on screening day but then not again since her needs weren’t something we could do here. He said they could identify her from her chart number & we could designate money to assist in getting her there – so I am figuring that out.

I did go to post op in the morning & took some pictures of some very happy parents & children with new smiles – it is so amazing to see them at screening, in recovery when they are often times screaming, uncomfortable & scared & then the next day when they are just happy little kids with their parents & a new smile! I took a few more photos and it was fun to see some of them in their CHOC shirts, with their new baby dolls etc. My one suitcase is now empty & with the broken handle so I am going to leave it & they are going to pack student or child life stuff in it for future missions – a little part of me will stay in India J

One of our patients today was 11 year old Sarathi – I saw her in the morning in pre-op & noticed that she was on her mat by herself but didn’t think anything of it because that place is a little chaotic in the morning with lots of people getting seen & prepped for surgery. When she came to recovery post op she was so sweet – we had the students go get her parents & it was her 20 year old brother that came back. He was the one who had brought her, they lived 300 km away (about 4 hours) & his parents couldn’t afford to miss work and also pay for for the travel to bring her here so her brother came with her & seeing his face as he saw his sleeping sister with a totally new look to her face after her large cleft lip was repaired was priceless – he just kept staring at her & wanting to wake her up so that she could look in the mirror. It was so tender to see this big brother helping his little sister – because he brought her- her life is changed!

I asked Krishna one of the local anesthesiologists & the team lead about the high incidence of clefts in India – part of it is just the volume of population of people in India & one other possible cause in all 3^rd world countries while not 100% of all cases seems to be a dietary deficiency in pregnancy – specifically folic acid. The country has recently started a campaign to provide pregnant women with Folic Acid supplements and that has decreased the incidence. Unfortunately however not all pregnant women in the most impoverished areas get any prenatal care so the incidence is still high. I also asked him why they don’t get them repaired when several organization are in India to help them & he said for many of these people it is #10 on their priority list after food, shelter, work, safety etc. Many of them think that their child will be a laborer carrying items or working in a field so what does it matter and others here have the same defect. He said the cost to go from a more remote area (even where we are) the 2 hours to Kolkata for all of this could mean 6 days of lost wages & with 5 family members dependent on that one person’s income they just can’t sacrifice the basic needs of the entire family for something like that. It was very sobering information about the reality of their lives. Such hard decisions they have to make that we don’t even think about.

A couple of today’s cases were canceled & we ended up doing only 10 real cases & some locals. I think the final surgery count was 179 – just one short of the goal they had for 180 cases this mission – still that’s A LOT of surgeries in 6 ½ days!!! We “clapped out” our VERY LAST patient who was another 13 year old girl – just our little way of celebrating!!! My Jordanian nurse friend whose shoulder I had slept on the day I got sick came & gave me a keychain from Jordan – that was so nice of him!!! I gave small gifts to the local nurses & some of the volunteers. They are so appreciative. We finished about 2 pm & then did all of our take down, pack up etc. and were done by 3:30 & back at the hotel about 4. Since really there has been no where for us to go outside of the hospital or hotel they brought in a woman with Sari’s to sell. Some people bought them to wear to the final party tonight & the local nurses said they would “dress them” (it is definitely a learned art!). Others of them bought them just to have as wall hangings or table cloths etc. It was a $20 souvenir J so I did get one! The party was starting at 7 or 7:30 so I decided to spend a little time starting to pack up all my stuff!!!

The party was right at the hotel on a grassy area. The photo video of the week is always my favorite part. It is crazy to think that we go here not even 2 weeks ago & all that we have done in that time. I am always amazed at what a small group of compassionate and dedicated strangers can do in 10 days -2 weeks. It is also fun to see everyone dressed up & the girls in the Sari’s looked awesome!!! There was lots of food but I am still “eating light” and Bengali music for dancing & fun!!! In order for them to be able to serve alcohol they had to get a “special permit” and that permit was written as a wedding for Valentina & Bhaskar LOL!!! By about 10:30 though I was done and ready for bed. Pradeep had taken a walk out of the hotel to the left (opposite the way I had gone) this afternoon & is going to go again in the morning so I am going to go with him! I also had some emails with Pres. Hodges & Sujal – we are trying to coordinate a meet up in Kolkata tomorrow. AND I had tried to use miles (way too many to divulge) to get an upgrade on my flight & it looks like I have it for the long leg from Delhi to Newark – that will be AMAZING if that is the case because I am not looking forward to 36 hours or travel other than the fact that I am going HOME!!!