It’s hard to believe that in 24 hours I will be in the air
somewhere between LAX-Paris & Morocco traveling to my 16th
Operation Smile Mission in Agadir Morocco. Back in August I was wanting to try
& see if there was a fall mission that worked for me. Operation Smile had
switched over to a “volunteer portal” & I was sent an email to get into the
portal in June but never had accessed it to update my volunteer info & in
fact couldn’t figure out how to log in…not surprising to those who know my “at
times computer challenges”. I emailed the volunteer coordinator to ask her for
help & was SO EXCITED & surprised when she emailed back & said she
could get me into the portal but also she wanted to invite me to a very special
20th Anniversary Mission in Morocco.
They were planning a 10 table
mission (double the normal) & 130 volunteers and a plan to provide 225 surgeries
in 4 ½ days. She said up front it would definitely be a tiring but rewarding
mission with longs days/nights to mark this huge milestone in Operation Smile
Morocco. She gave me the dates Oct 30-Nov 10th & said that she
received a request from the team in Morocco to see if I was available to be a
PACU Nurse…I was so honored to have been invited back to Morocco – I was
on a mission thee last November in Tangier & had some wonderful experiences
& was excited at the possibility of going back. I checked all my commitments
to see if I could make the dates work & I could – so I accepted the position
about 2 months ago.
As is always the case there has been lots of other things
going on with work, family, travel & life in general in these 2 months
& it’s hard to believe I leave tomorrow. I have to say I am fully packed
and just have a few other things to put into my backpack in the morning. Good thing
because as is occasionally the case I had a little “glitch today” & noticed
a “black spot” in my left eye vision. I casually mentioned it to friends at
work today who first asked if it moved in my visual field & was a “floater”(which
it did not) then went into full protective mode that I needed to get it looed
at before I went to a 3rd world country without proper medical care
& I needed to be sure I didn’t have a corneal tear. It took a village but
at 5 pm I had an Ophthalmologist appointment with Dr. Simjee who said my eyes
should dilate quickly because of my fair skin & light eyes – but they didn’t
& ultimately an hour & 15 minutes later I completed a very thorough eye
exam & was cleared to travel…I am blessed!
I got the team list but didn’t look at it much until late last
week. I was surprised that probably 80% or more of the team is actually from
Morocco – they have a great infrastructure there. I will work again with 2
great Moroccan PACU nurses from last Nov – Sami & Rania so I am excited to
see them again! I also am super excited to have a few other people I know – Ambra
who was the Program Coordinator last year in Morocco is the PC this year too
& Cathy the Speech Pathologist & I were in Mexico together, Chris
another PACU RN from Sweden & I were in Ethiopia probably 6 years ago &
my friend Gayle who is typically a Pediatric Intensivist will be the
Pediatrician in Charge & she & I
will travel together. So many good things before we even leave.
I contacted a small branch of our church in the area – they are
about 2 hour away but think there may be people from their area coming to get
care at the mission – so we will see. With a goal of 225 surgeries we will do 2
days of screening & I would guess see about 400-500 patients in those 2
days. I can only imagine that they may be traveling from far away places in
Morocco & even be traveling to the mission site now perhaps.
Once again I
have been blessed with kind friends who want to help others & allow me to be their
conduit for good. I have no idea what that good will be. I go with faith that
God will direct me & today I read that someone talked about striving to be a
“Magnet for Miracles” so I think that is my mantra for this mission “I Will
Seek to be a Magnet for Needed Moroccan Miracles”. I go with faith that all
will be well at home with my mom & family, with my work responsibilities
and that I can go and help serve the children and families who will be in
Agadir. I was a little anxious when thinking about 225 cases & the
inevitable longs days/nights but I know that we just take it one patient at a
time, one hour at a time or one day at a time & we will manage whatever
that looks like. Many people ask me “don’t you want to just go on a ‘real
vacation’ with your PTO” and that answer is YES & I am blessed with time
off to travel & have fun. I might not be going exotic places or as far asway
as my mission trips take me but I do enjoy “fun travel” but I also feel drawn
to these missions an this very unique & rewarding opportunity to change
lives – this time 200+ of them one smile at a time in one week…I could never
say no to that opportunity to use my gifts and talents for good. So please keep
me & the entire LARGE team in your thoughts & prayers – those are powerful
and truly carry me thru these missions!
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