It's been awhile since I have blogged I wasnt sure if my blog was still here...
***Reminder this blog is my “journal” so this entry has a
lot of what may be “boring details” of how this opportunity came to be – feel free
to skip or speed read!
It has been 2 years & 8 months since my last Operation
Smile Mission….with Covid all international missions were stopped & when
they re-started mission in late 2021 they used more “locally trained” and “in
country team members” in all specialties. I have been anxious to get back to my
mission work. It fills a piece of my heart & soul that isn’t filled in any
other capacity. Earlier this year I had several “Mission Opportunities” that
just would not work for a number of reasons…. Paraguay in March – but we were going
to be in Maul, Madagascar in April but we had a wedding, Brazil in early June but
the travel was over 36 hours & wasn’t going to work, Lima Peru the end of
June also didn’t work. I was just recently considering Madagascar in Aug or Sept even
though the travel would have been pretty horrendous.
Then unexpectedly on June 7th I got a voice message
from someone I thought was “Sandra” about a “long term opportunity in Guatemala”
that involved mentorship & education". She said she was on vacation in Italy
but was trying to reach me specifically for this. I replied back to “Sandra” that
I am very passionate about mentorship & nursing education & I had been
to Guatemala in 2013 & loved the people there, but I am still working full
time at CHOC & couldn’t consider a “long term opportunity”. I said I had
been hoping for a mission & could do shorter missions & would love to
chat with her more, but I was leaving on a girl’s trip to Nashville the next
day & with the time difference perhaps we could talk the following week. As
I sent that reply via WhatsApp & then realized I had that phone # already in my
contacts & it was AMBRA not Sandra who left the voice message…. Ambra was
a program coordinator who I had been on 2 missions with in India & knew
well. I quickly sent another message apologizing for not realizing it was her on
the voicemail. With the time difference
she replied the next day when I was already in Nashville & said the “long
term commitment” was actually short programs 5-10 days max but a long term
commitment to a team to come back & work with the same mentees for 3-5 years.
She said it was called a “Champion Program” & that was her new role at
Operation Smile, that it was complicated to explain via text & we would
talk after June 14th. I told her that would be workable for me &
an AMAZING opportunity & I was definitely interested & we would chat then.
So about 3 ½ weeks ago on June 14th in the
evening we spoke….the champion program has just been introduced by Operation
Smile as a way to ensure sustainable programs & surgeries in different parts
of the world…they just did this program in Rwanda & now will do it in
Guatemala. It is a “hub & spoke” program. The main hospital in Guatemala
City is the hub & then we will go out to surrounding cities (the spokes)
& train people in these more remote areas throughout the country. The first
place we are going on this trip is Escuinltla Guatemala…I have no idea where that is? My sister who teaches geography would be so disappointed in me!
There are 1-3 “USA Champions” for each of the roles on a typical
team – in this instance a Medical Director, 3 surgeons, 3 anesthesiologists, 1 intensivist, 1 pediatrician, 1 clinical coordinator, 2 surgical nurses, 1 Recovery/Post
Anesthesia nurse (that would be me), 2 pre & post op nurses, a night nurse,
a child life specialist, a dietician, a Bio Med tech, Medical records, & translator.
In some of these roles there are also Guatemalan partner champions who have
done Op Smile Missions before & then 3 or so mentees in each specialty, plus
the Op Smile staff. So it is still a good size group of people. In order to be
on this champion team you had to commit to the inaugural fact finding mission July
15-20. Before I could commit I needed to check on a few things I already had going on….a baby shower I
was helping with, Sarah being pregnant & due on Aug 5th, a Palm
Desert trip w/ Kya & little girls & then getting off of work.
By the night of June 16th I had all of that “figured
out” and said YES!!!!! So I will be spending my birthday on July 16th
in Guatemala
We were traveling for July 4th & I just got
home today & now I am getting ready to leave in 4 days on a Red Eye – it’s coming fast. I truly feel like this was “meant to be”. It had been stressful
for me trying to figure out if the “mission opportunities” would ever work out &
the various travel. Now I know that I will go to Guatemala probably twice a
year with a wonderful team of other champions who I will get to know better each
trip & a Guatemalan team we will each mentor in our specialty. The travel
is very manageable – a 6 hour flight direct from LAX to Guatemala city. Plus, I just found out on July 4th
that a dear high school friend of mine has a friend who is doing missionary work
in Guatemala City for the next 3 years – so I will be talking to her tomorrow
& hopefully able to connect with her to do some humanitarian work each time
I am there on a mission. What a blessing to not only help the patients & families but also others there. I love how God always has a “master plan” that we just don’t know about 😊
I have “sacred funds” from generous friends & I will simply try to be an instrument
in Gods hands to help some of His children there – not only thru OSI but also
thru my new connection Anita.
There was a “plot twist” this week, Sarah has had some pre-eclampsia
& hypertension with her pregnancy & now they are going to induce her on
the 16th, The treatment for high blood pressure is delivery of the
baby. She will be 37 weeks so I trust that baby & mom will do well but I
would typically be right there at the hospital or nearby as she delivers so I
had some angst. I could not back out of this commitment & Sarah totally understands
but I did have a little heartache. She has some wonderful 2nd moms
in Utah plus Kya so I know all will be well. She may be in the hospital
until the 19th & I will fly directly to her on from Guatemala the
20th. So I am getting a new grandson as the best birthday present
ever!!!
I am excited to get back to this important work of “changing
lives one smile at a time” & also training nurses who can do this work in
their own country…what a wonderful opportunity I have been given. I could not
have planned a better OSI Mission #17. Now I need to get to packing &
preparing to be gone again.
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