Agadir Day #5 November 4th and the First Day of Surgeries – It was a wonderful day!

What a great day #1 of surgery week -  we did surgeries on 50 patients – 5 lives & families changed! Since on some of my past missions we did 100 patients total in a week this number seems amazing!

At breakfast they gave us Operation smile Morocco 20 Year Anniversary scrubs – they are super heavy cloth so I am not sure if I will wear them this week or not – some people wore them today 😊. When we got to the hospital about 7 we spent the 1^st 2 hours setting up the recovery room. We have a PACU team that is VERY experienced & seem like they will be fabulous to work with. There are the 2 girls from my last years Morocco mission in Tangier that I know Samia & Rania, Angelica who is originally from Bolivia but has lived in Arkansas for 19 years, Chris from Sweden who I knew from a mission in Ethiopia, another girl & guy from Morocco, & 2 guys from Egypt – so 9 of us & 2 are “training”. There are also probably 10-12 others of the 130 team members I know from past missions. I am not always great with names but I know faces & that has been fun. A few from last Nov. in Tangier, & some from many missions’ past. It is nice to have these past connections. We did the “mock code” & reviewed the emergency plan & then the cases got started with a lip repair on all 10 tables.

I knew it would be a while before we got patients & the child life “pre-op waiting” for the next 10 patients to go in is right outside of the PACU so I put on a cover gown & went out there & saw some cuties playing. I recognized one mom from the 1^st screening day. I had helped her put on & connect the straps on her baby carrier & also took their photo. I showed her the phot from that day & she remembered me too & then she instantly got teary & tole me she was “so scared for her baby girl” Her daughter is Ghita (pronounced Rita) & is 9 months old & so stinking cute!  The mom herself had a cleft lip – I don’t know when she had It repaired but it was by Op Smile & I don’t know if she was just anxious as any mom would be or more aware of what this was like having gone thru is? Either way I hugged her & talked to her & thru a translator (so she really understood me) told her I would take care of the baby after surgery. That was kind of a big promise because there is no way of knowing when the kids come off the surgery tables & if you already have a patients etc but yep I made that promise. I needed to get back to PACU but I passed her off the Whitney my new friend/mission daughter who is the child life specialist & I knew she would give her some TLC. I came back out once more just as they were calling her number (which was 02 – so she was the 2^nd patient screened!) so her mom was able to pass her off to me, kiss her baby girl & I walked her in – divine intervention for certain!  

Our first patients came back at 10:30 & we got all 10 in the PACU by noon but it never felt too chaotic then…later it definitely did! I was trying to get blankets for all of the beds, the OR table also each want a blanket & we need another set to “share”. Some times on missions we have BOXES of fleece blankets people make & donate; sometimes so many that we give one to each child. This time we had one box & some if the blankets were the size of placemats & would maybe work for premies??? I asked the Program coordinators if I could us the money from a friend of mine & purchase blankets…they were fine with that but I needed to figure out who could go get some because that big market I went to was closed on Mondays? It was pretty easy to work out & before they left we also realized we didn’t have many disposable diapers…so they would get those too. By about 1 pm we had 30 nice blankets & 6 packs of diapers…how blessed am I to have people who entrust sacred fund to me to do good as I see fit or as I feel directed. I really do want to be a conduit for good & magnet for Moroccan miracles this week & this felt like a good start. I also brought some cute onesies & some hand sewn dolls to give away & didn’t do that with the first round of patients cause there was so much going on – fortunately we have 200 more patients to give those items to!

I taught the students how to make IV armboards out of the cardboard from the cargo boxes with covering from the disposable blue OR table drapes – they did a bunch & that was really helpful. We have 2 Intensivists – Peter who is from Sweden, about my age & very experienced & mature & has done many OSI missions & David from the USA a younger intensivist who I am told loves the comraderies of missions as he has a busy professional life & not a lot of recreation time in his personal life. I like him for many reasons – first of all he came with bleach wipes & asked me to wipe down the rather old & slightly rusted carts we were going to use to set up our supplies on…his germ prevention reminded me of my friend Linda Vitullo! I had brought 2 bottles of hand sanitizer & he & I both brought Lysol wipes. But there is more…I have a Ziploc baggies of mission supplies but he was over the & had done some serious Amazon shopping. He gave us all small pocket mirrors so older patients could see their new smiles in the PACU, he had 2 new forehead thermometers, writing pens, sharpies in about 10 colors & 2 big boxes of full size candy bars….I started calling him Santa Claus each time her would pull something new out for us! We had a big Moroccan OSI donor come thru today with a large Moroccan Government entourage…they were nice & had us introduce ourselves.

Ghita finally came into the PACU at 1:15 & I had told some of the PACU team I really needed to take care of her & it worked out thanks to Chris helping me with a patient I already had. I will post some pics of the  but cant post the detailed photos out of respect for our patients but what a change from her bilateral (both sides) cleft lip  - I could hardly wait to get her awake  take her to her mom in post op. I did give her a doll & a onesie! I took her to her mom & she just SMILED & was so happy. I am hoping I can see hem in the morning in post op before they go home. It is always so remarkable to me that I make these special connections for 24-48 hours & then will never see these sweet people again.

The new post op ward is honestly about 150 yards away through an outside walkway to a different building. Let’s just say my average steps will be well over 15,000 each surgery day. I already had 8000 by 2 pm & have had 11-15K every day that I have been here.

By 5:30 ish we still had the last 6 palates of the day to get on operating tables plus the bottom row of 10 lip repairs so our best guess then was we would finish by 9 pm. It actually ended up being closer to 10 pm but as we got down to the last 4 patients the 2 people who were on call stayed with 2 others & the rest of us left so I got back to the hotel by about 9:30. I will stay late tomorrow plus I am on call on Thursday. I feel like we had pretty controlled chaos today – I don’t think we ever had more than 7-8 patients in the PACU at one time just with the flow so that was good – sort of one patient each unless people were at lunch or morning or evening coffee…which as I said are “major daily events”

The bathrooms in the OR/PACU area were not ideal so I tried to time my bathroom needs with taking a patient to post op where the nicer bathrooms were…you have to plan for these things on missions! I did go into the OR bathroom about 6 maybe & one of the OSI volunteers was in there on her prayer mat having her prayer time. We hear the call to prayer over loudspeakers everywhere & Abdell told us that the call to pray is 5 times a day – sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset & night. I was very touched by her figuring out to stay true to her religious practices even if it was in the changing room of the OR.

Another humbling conversation was with Ibrahim one of the PACU RN’s who is a cardiac critical care nurse in Egypt & very skilled & very smart. In Egypt her is “on salary” as a nurse & has to work 19 twelve hour shifts in a month – pretty much 5 days a week or 60 hours a week. For that he is paid 6000 Egyptian pounds/month. He wasn’t sure of the exchange rate or what they would be in the US…I looked it up but did not continue the conversation because we got busy & honestly I was so bothered to find out the 1 Egyptian pound exchanges for  .062 US dollars that equals in US dollars $372/month for the same work we do. I don’t know ANYTHING about the Egyptian economy but as we at CHOC pay $500 bonuses on top of your hourly rate plus overtime if you work a 4^th shift I just couldn’t make sense of it all.  There are many things that are challenging in our country but I do feel blessed to live in the USA when I am exposed to so many other countries in the world.

I was able to call some family tonight – it is hard to be away when things are going on & Kimmi has had a tough few days with a recurring shoulder injury that prevented her from something that was really important to her – when those types of things are going on & I am 6000 miles away it is tough but I was glad I got to talk to her for a bit & got to talk to Doug. Again it’s close to midnight. My roommate Terry is at the hospital as a night nurse so I have the room to myself which is really helpful for me as I get back to the hotel, typically shower, have a peanut butter sandwich for dinner (there are many options to join people but I am too tired to go out every night!), turn on some music from my phone & wite my blog as a way to process my day, plus I get myself packed & ready for the next day – it’s my mission “routine” and now that routine says….get to sleep! Good Night!

Agadir Day #4 A Free Day In Morocco Exploring with old & new friends & Pre-Surgery Meeting

So this is my post from yesterday (Sunday) that I had intended to upload to my blog this morning but the internet at the hotel was not "open" this morning...I think that means too many people were on it which makes no sense since it was 6 am??? So I just got back to the hotel & am posting it now & will write my Monday blog in my room tonight & try to upload it in the morning - fingers crossed the internet is "open"

This post is all “Morocco Tourist stuff” as we had a day “off” before we start surgeries tomorrow  -a really rare occasion on a mission. So if you are more interested in the real “mission moments” you might want to skip  this entry & come back tomorrow – it’s really just my journal 😊

So I had contact with some LDS church leaders here in Morocco but the closest branch was in Rabat – 2 hours away. So getting to church was not really an option for me today so I did enjoy some church music & scripture reading to start my day. As I mentioned in my past post the “Team Day” was a trip to a crocodile farm? Which didn’t interest too many people so a lot of folks made their own plans & only about 30 of the 150 team members went there. I ended up going on a “tours by locals” with Gayle, Cathy, Whitney & Becky. It was a 6 hour trip to “Paradise Valley” which Gayle had heard about in a travel book. It was a really great day & I know that my neighbor Jane has done these on her trips so I am now a fan of that!

Abdell was our tour guide & he was FABULOUS… we started at Women’s Cooperative Argan Oil & Herb Garden where about 30 women in this village work together to generate the Argan oil products. They showed us the process of obtaining the Argan oil which was very difficult & laborious to open each piece of fruit that is dried & then in a hard nut shell to get the Argan nut inside (it looks like a blanched & flatter almond. After that the nuts are ground into a paste & that is how the oil is released. There are 2 “grades of oil” one for cosmetics & the other for food & cooking.  watched 3 women doing the process & they let us try it & were all struggled. They said that in all the villages it is done by hand & in some places they is some machinery but that is rare. They had lemon verbenia plants, lavender, rosemary, & all of those scents reminded me of a Bath & Body store! Afterwards they had products for us to purchase & I was happy to support their efforts. They also let us try all sort of flavors of honey that they make their & the Argan Butter (a lot like almond butter). Argan trees exist only in Morocco & are protected & can’t be cut down.

After that he took us to the high atlas mountain area where we had great views of the mountains & valleys. We drove thru “Honey Road” where most all of the people in that area are bee keepers then to “Banana Village (Aourar)” & Abdell stopped & bought us bananas to eat – they were the small ones & really yummy. Then we got to the main purpose of the tour Paradise Valley named by international hippies in the 60’s. It was a bit of a hike down into the valley & I realized how far down we went when we had to hike back out! It was very pretty there. The water level was low as they did not have much rain this year. They typically have 300 sunny days in Morocco so not a lot of weather changes. We put our feet in the water but didn’t swim there & then part of the tour was to have lunch there at this very tiny café that made a delicious chicken & vegetable Tanjine – probably the best meal I have had since I left home!

From there Abdell took us to Devils Rock at Taghzout beach. There is a Moroccan legend that if a woman stands there & let’s 7 waves pass by her & mist over ger she will get a husband – we put the 2 single ladies out there – Whitney our Child Life Specialist & Becky and anesthesiologist from London & counted the 7 waves for them. It was also a great photo spot. I loved being at the beach with the smell of salty water & sand – it was the smell of home 😊. After that we returned to the hotel & by 5:15 had to meet in the lobby to go to another hotel for our pre-surgery meeting…I am not a huge fan of “Moroccan Time” & it makes the old “Mormon Time” seem like people arrive early LOL. Seriously though we got there for a meeting & dinner. The meeting didn’t start until 7:30, it lasted until 8:30 then their were specialty meetings so the nurses meeting lasted another 30 min & by the time we started to eat (fortunately it was a buffet) it was 9. I ate pretty quickly & opted to take a taxi back with a few people so I could get showered & “packed” for the hospital tomorrow. I have to pack my scrubs, my snacks, my nurse “supplies” and of course a diet coke for the 4 pm lull that always comes. So let the marathon known as surgery week begin…we have 221 children on the schedule & some on “stand by” so it will be a busy, fulfilling, tiring, and lifechanging week – for the patients & me! Off to bed & will post this in the morning before I go – wake up is at 5:45, team mtg at 6:15 & depart for the hospital at 6:45. That schedule they keep with precisions – the evening & meeting schedule not so much. Good night & let the week of surgeries begin!  

Agadir Day #3 Half Day of Screening – Got my Luggage!!! Saturday Market & Early to Bed!

So I definitely did not get enough sleep last night & while they gave us an extra hour & we didn’t need to meet until 7:15 for the team mtg I was TIRED!!!! They will cook you scrambled eggs for breakfast otherwise it is a lot of brad & some Moroccan food – neither of which is my ideal option…but after 2 mornings of eggs I could feel my cholesterol rise LOL so I opted for the one protein bar I had in my backpack.

We got to screening & there were much fewer patients waiting but we did screen just over 100 more today. I got the text that my luggage was in the Agadir airport which is about 45 minutes away. About 10 or so I was able to have one of the Op Smile Van drivers take me to the airport & Hedde the OSI Volunteer Manager from Sweden went with me – we had a great conversation the whole way there & I was glad she came😊 At the airport we had to enter thru the departure area & go thru the initial security – I’m not sure if there was a 2^nd one??? Then we went to arrivals & this older police man needed to see my “missing luggage report” and my passport and he logged my name in by hand in Arabic in a giant book> he then told me I could go to the lost luggage stand but Hedde would not – we both had our Operation Smile nametags on & she told him it was a rule we had to go together & he didn’t say too much & let her go with me. The man at the stand was the same one the night my luggage was lost – I don’t think he remembered me & he also took my paper & looked on the computer & seemed puzzled at which time I just had to ask “is my luggage here?” He said Yes Yes in there & pointed to a closet. Then his key to the closet didn’t work…so he called someone else who came about 15 min later & opened the door & there were about 10 bags in there!!! In the midst of all of this many stories have surfaced & apparently “on line” people say that Royal Air Maroc has a bad record of baggage handling…I have to say I never check that on airlines???? As we were rolling my luggage away a man in a suit came up to give me my form & seemed to want to tell me all the work he did to communicate with me via text & get my luggage back. I pulled up the 2 texts & asked if that was him & said thanks….he seemed to be proud of 2 texts in 3 days. Also my hard case luggage was cracked & of course he blamed it on anther airline but I didn’t even care. Then to leave I had to give my form & my passport to another person at immigration & run my bag thru the xray machine. This police officer also wrote all of my info our by hand in a large log book, while another one looked on & they had me sign that I got my luggage. If that is part of their system for lost luggage it is even more of a miracle I got my bag back!   

  Hedde suggested that screening was slow let’s go by the hotel where I was able to quickly shower with my own toiletries & put on my own clean clothes…I was a HAPPY GIRL! We got back to the hospital just after noon & than did 2 more hours of screening. Today there were more school age children but with so many Priority #1’s (Primary Cleft Lip) & Priority #2’s (Primary Cleft Palates , 8 years) they have decided not to do palates over the age of 8 unless it is a small fistula. The most positive impact of the surgeries is on the younger children as it impacts their ability to eat & talk. There was a brand new Cleft lip baby only 12 days old & she is too little for surgery (our minimum age for safety is 6 months) so that was a little heartbreaking but Cathy the Speech & Feeding specialist made appointments with that mom for Mon-Fri of surgery week to help her with feeding techniques which made us all feel better.

When we got back to the hotel I was giddy excited just to fully unpack my bag & get myself organized for the week. I am a creature of habit & like to unpack everything & get my daily backpack stuff set aside to take to the hospital, set up my snacks etc. I had all the “mission normalcy & my stuff “ that I needed to feel a little piece of home in my hotel room (which is VERY basic – the shower head is fallng out of the wall & there is not a door on the shower just 3 walls? But that kind of stuff is normal & Ok.

About 3:30 some of us went to the Souk Market…honestly it was like a swap meet & there were basically over 100 booth areas all of which fell into 6 types: shoes, western clothes, Argean oil products, traditional caftan type clothes, leather products & your basic souvenirs. There was a big area of foods as well. The shoe & bag places also had luggage so I bought a large carry on for $25 thinking that perhaps I can condense my stuff & just go carry on & leave the cracked luggage with OSI Morocco for whatever they can use it for. We weren’t up for going out to dinner so Chris, Hedde & I got bread, cheese & avacados at the market & ate that on their patio – it was PERFECT. I was quite ready to get back to my room & in my own jammies by 8:30, write this blog post & I know I will be in bed by 10. With such a large team there were 2 options for the “team day” one was going to a crocodile farm – which I opted to pass on & the other will take us to Paradise Valley – not sure what that is but it will be fun & then at 5 we have our BIG pre surgery meeting & dinner which I am sure will be 3-4 hours.

Clearly the highlight of my day was getting my luggage – I am so blessed! And so grateful for the prayers & positive thoughts.   

PS Again I didn’t walk to the lobby to post this last night – after all I was in my comfy jammies. Had a GREAT night sleep from 9:30-7 & feel rejuvenated & ready to take on the week. Plus I woke up to 10 play by play texts & quarterly updates from Jennie on the BYU vs USU game & COUGARS WON & brought home the Wagon Wheel – WOO HOO (& sorry Doug). So soon we will head to Paradise Valley – we are told there is no water this year in “paradise” so we will see what this adventure brings us…it’s out last hurrah before surgeries start :)


So I definitely did not get enough sleep last night & while they gave us an extra hour & we didn’t need to meet until 7:15 for the team mtg I was TIRED!!!! They will cook you scrambled eggs for breakfast otherwise it is a lot of brad & some Moroccan food – neither of which is my ideal option…but after 2 mornings of eggs I could feel my cholesterol rise LOL so I opted for the one protein bar I had in my backpack.

We got to screening & there were much fewer patients waiting but we did screen just over 100 more today. I got the text that my luggage was in the Agadir airport which is about 45 minutes away. About 10 or so I was able to have one of the Op Smile Van drivers take me to the airport & Hedde the OSI Volunteer Manager from Sweden went with me – we had a great conversation the whole way there & I was glad she came😊 At the airport we had to enter thru the departure area & go thru the initial security – I’m not sure if there was a 2^nd one??? Then we went to arrivals & this older police man needed to see my “missing luggage report” and my passport and he logged my name in by hand in Arabic in a giant book> he then told me I could go to the lost luggage stand but Hedde would not – we both had our Operation Smile nametags on & she told him it was a rule we had to go together & he didn’t say too much & let her go with me. The man at the stand was the same one the night my luggage was lost – I don’t think he remembered me & he also took my paper & looked on the computer & seemed puzzled at which time I just had to ask “is my luggage here?” He said Yes Yes in there & pointed to a closet. Then his key to the closet didn’t work…so he called someone else who came about 15 min later & opened the door & there were about 10 bags in there!!! In the midst of all of this many stories have surfaced & apparently “on line” people say that Royal Air Maroc has a bad record of baggage handling…I have to say I never check that on airlines???? As we were rolling my luggage away a man in a suit came up to give me my form & seemed to want to tell me all the work he did to communicate with me via text & get my luggage back. I pulled up the 2 texts & asked if that was him & said thanks….he seemed to be proud of 2 texts in 3 days. Also my hard case luggage was cracked & of course he blamed it on anther airline but I didn’t even care. Then to leave I had to give my form & my passport to another person at immigration & run my bag thru the xray machine. This police officer also wrote all of my info our by hand in a large log book, while another one looked on & they had me sign that I got my luggage. If that is part of their system for lost luggage it is even more of a miracle I got my bag back!   

  Hedde suggested that screening was slow let’s go by the hotel where I was able to quickly shower with my own toiletries & put on my own clean clothes…I was a HAPPY GIRL! We got back to the hospital just after noon & than did 2 more hours of screening. Today there were more school age children but with so many Priority #1’s (Primary Cleft Lip) & Priority #2’s (Primary Cleft Palates , 8 years) they have decided not to do palates over the age of 8 unless it is a small fistula. The most positive impact of the surgeries is on the younger children as it impacts their ability to eat & talk. There was a brand new Cleft lip baby only 12 days old & she is too little for surgery (our minimum age for safety is 6 months) so that was a little heartbreaking but Cathy the Speech & Feeding specialist made appointments with that mom for Mon-Fri of surgery week to help her with feeding techniques which made us all feel better.

When we got back to the hotel I was giddy excited just to fully unpack my bag & get myself organized for the week. I am a creature of habit & like to unpack everything & get my daily backpack stuff set aside to take to the hospital, set up my snacks etc. I had all the “mission normalcy & my stuff “ that I needed to feel a little piece of home in my hotel room (which is VERY basic – the shower head is fallng out of the wall & there is not a door on the shower just 3 walls? But that kind of stuff is normal & Ok.

About 3:30 some of us went to the Souk Market…honestly it was like a swap meet & there were basically over 100 booth areas all of which fell into 6 types: shoes, western clothes, Argean oil products, traditional caftan type clothes, leather products & your basic souvenirs. There was a big area of foods as well. The shoe & bag places also had luggage so I bought a large carry on for $25 thinking that perhaps I can condense my stuff & just go carry on & leave the cracked luggage with OSI Morocco for whatever they can use it for. We weren’t up for going out to dinner so Chris, Hedde & I got bread, cheese & avacados at the market & ate that on their patio – it was PERFECT. I was quite ready to get back to my room & in my own jammies by 8:30, write this blog post & I know I will be in bed by 10. With such a large team there were 2 options for the “team day” one was going to a crocodile farm – which I opted to pass on & the other will take us to Paradise Valley – not sure what that is but it will be fun & then at 5 we have our BIG pre surgery meeting & dinner which I am sure will be 3-4 hours.

Clearly the highlight of my day was getting my luggage – I am so blessed! And so grateful for the prayers & positive thoughts.   

PS Again I didn’t walk to the lobby to post this last night – after all I was in my comfy jammies. Had a GREAT night sleep from 9:30-7 & feel rejuvenated & ready to take on the week. Plus I woke up to 10 play by play texts & quarterly updates from Jennie on the BYU vs USU game & COUGARS WON & brought home the Wagon Wheel – WOO HOO (& sorry Doug). So soon we will head to Paradise Valley – we are told there is no water this year in “paradise” so we will see what this adventure brings us…it’s out last hurrah before surgeries start :)

Agadir Day #2 11/1/2019 A Day of Highs & Lows, Screening day & still no suitcase ☹ then it came 😊

I checked on my bags on Royal Air Maroc before I went to bed last night & it still showed “unable to track”…I was disappointed, sent Doug all the info & screen shots in case he could reach them by phone as I had been unable to call. I chatted with Terry (my roommate from Australia) before bed & she is delightful…she is both a midwife & also a case manager of communicable diseases. She also volunteers for the WHO & has gone all over the world with them. She too has 4 children & 2 grandchildren. I woke up at 3:45 am…not quite sure why but managed to go back to sleep sometime before my alarm went off at 0545. Fortunately for me Whitney from Child Life brought several pair of her “hospital blue scrubs” so she gave me a pair & I had “new clothes” to wear today.

It was dark & cool in the morning so I was glad I had my jacket from the flight. I prayed this morning for the ability to stay positive in my uncertainty with my belongings. I think what is hard is being in a new totally unfamiliar environment without any “familiar” personal items – pajamas, clothes, all my normal mission supplies. I have felt very “out of sorts” but done my best to stay positive and full of faith.

We had breakfast at 6 a team meeting at 6:30 & left for the hospital at 6:45. The hospital is only about a 15 min drive away & the screening stations & flow had been well organized yesterday. When we arrived as is typically the case there were many families already waiting & a tent for them to wait in. There were also LOTS of big rugs on the ground in the intake area. I was asked last night at the team mtg to be one of the “gatekeepers” a role I have had on several missions so I was fine with that. The alternative was to do lab draws which really seems like a torture chamber sometimes.

At about 8:30 Gayle thought maybe we should drive out to the airport. I wasn’t convinced that would help but thought that maybe if Nour (the local PC who speaks the language) could call that might be a better place to start. Nour called Royal Air Maroc & confirmed that Gayle’s luggage was arriving at 12:40 pm & she should hear from them within 2 hours after that. While she was on the phone they told her that “it just popped up” that my bag was located in Paris – I was ecstatic…I think the unknown was how I allowed some doubt creep in & just knowing it was located I gave her a HUGE HUG. They told her it would be in Agadir tonight at 8:50 pm. I know that many people pray for me & our team on my mission & I always feel those prayers. I know MANY people have been praying for me to have my luggage located & returned to me & this felt to me that my prayers & others prayers had been answered. So THANK YOU to all who have prayed for me. I felt a huge weight off of my shoulders & it allowed me to give all of myself to screening today & to the patients & families. Even if I couldn’t get it until tomorrow morning that would be ok at least it was “found”.

I went thru the day fully engaged, helping wherever needed & being one of the gatekeepers. They had a very organized & color coded system for us to identify the patients as Priority 1-5 – I LOVED it & the 4 of us there worked really well together. We saw SO MANY precious kids & I took quite a few photos with patients & their moms. Many traveled 12 hours from Casablanca & some traveled 24, 36 or 48 hours on buses….that made me appreciate air travel in spite of lost luggage 😊

They always have a 10 am coffee break & we stagger so we don’t ever leave a station unattended but boy do they take these breaks seriously….lots of coffee & pastries. Then lunch was at 1 pm & again like my last mission in Morocco we had Tenjin for lunch s\chicken cooked in the special pot – it was pretty good which I appreciated since I didn’t have my typical protein bars or peanut butter.

 Bathrooms are also very important to me…and the ones in the screening area were rather rustic “squatty potty’s” but the Pre-Op & Post Op areas are in a brand new building built by or for the princess of Morocco & they had decent restrooms so it was always worth the walk. I am told the bathrooms in the surgery & PACU areas may not be too nice…we will see.

The patients here are largely Islamic in varying degrees – some do not wear any head coverings, other wear more western clothes with a headcover, some wear more traditional clothes & a headcover & some are in full Burkas with only the eye slits.

By 1:30 we had screened 122 patients & at the end of the day about 5:30 we had screened 248 patients in total for the day. I am not sure how many more we expect to screen tomorrow & the Clinical Coordinators already starting to place patients on the schedule for Monday & Tuesday of surgery week. A cute little girl wandered into the Gatekeeper area & I smiled at her & she took my hand & walked me out to her mom. She was #210 & her name was Chourouk & she was 3 years old. We took a photo together & her mom was very sweet. I knew they would be on the schedule & told them if she had surgery I would take good care of her afterwards.

Gayle went to the airport at 4 to get her bags & she got them – Hooray & confirmed that my bag should arrive tonight, We had a special 20^th Anniversary Dinner tonight so 2 of the local girls too me to a store called Marwa & I bought a dress to wear for $35 US. It’s actually one I think I would wear at home! I didn’t get shoes & thought I could wear my converse I have. We got ready for the dinner & I was hoping to get a cab to the airport from there & go get my luggage….the dinner was at a very ‘”fancy house” & far away from any cabs so I quickly knew that was unlikely. Plus we didn’t even get there until 8. I waited for 8:50 to come hoping shortly thereafter I would get a text confirming th arrival of my luggage & by 10 pm nothing….I called Doug & asked him to call & he called me back with the news that my bag never arrived in Casablanca & if it never got there it couldn’t get to Agadir. I was now distraught & figured it must still be in Paris? I got the US phone # from Doug & was able to get thru & he called to but neither of us got anywhere so while I’m not back to “square one” of it being  “lost” it was found in Paris so it does exist & then who knows why it never traveled to me. By this time it had been a long day from 5:30 am-10:30 pm & while the party was going on I again felt a bit “lost myself” 150 team members here & I am the only one without any personal belongings. . I was longing to be in my own PJ’s with one of my snacks tonight but that didn’t happen. I think being tired doesn’t help matters & Doug escalated it to a supervisor so I am back to simply exercising faith & praying again for divine intervention and a sense of peace in “when” it will be returned to me & hoping it is soon.

In a weird way though the mis information helped me today to be fully engaged & present in the mission & I hope to be able to do that again tomorrow & also perhaps get some more good news. Right now I need some good sleep! Missions bring a myriad of challenges, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually and I am working on my resiliency & being “up for the challenge” because they also bring me some of the greatest experiences of service, kindness, compassion & selflessness. Keep the prayers & positivity coming – I truly appreciate it.

I am also so very mindful of so many other friends facing much more significant challenges of personal or family health and that also gives me some perspective that is valuable. I also always say that thinga always look better in the morning after sleep so I am planning on that too!  Good Night it’s nearly 1 am here but I needed to get this all down in my blog as that helps me process it all too!


PS I didn’t post this blog last night for 2 reasons – I didn’t want to walk back to the lobby where the wifi is – it is quite a hike & I was worried it might sound like I was having a “pity party for myself” Then my Morocco Miracle came via text message this morning that my bag was in Agadir!!! I know it must have been moved by angels overnight. The airport if 45 min away so I will go with one of the OSI volunteers – we can’t travel alone – it’s like having an LDS Mission companion! and in a few hours I should have my bag!!!!

Agadir Day #1 10/31/2019

Happy Halloween from Morocco – how I have enjoyed seeing all the fun photos from home of big & little kids dressed up for fun – especially my 2 lil Minons in Utah!

Thanks to some sleep aid medicine I did get a good nights sleep – perhaps not enough hours but sleep. My roommate is Terry a night pre-post nurse from Australia & I certainly disrupted her sleep when I rolled in after midnight. She was very gracious though. This morning I got a pass on the early departure to the hospital for set up. Air Maroc is apparently the company responsible for my luggage – Delta washed their hands of it saying they passed it off although there is not scanning confirming that….and Air Maroc lets just ay does not have stellar customer service ☹

This morning I went to a local “pharmacy” & purchased toiletries – the airlines supposedly will reimburse you but in Morocco no one even has cash registers so oh well. Just having a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, Hairbrush & deodorant seemed like Christmas 😊 I also got a few Coke Zero’s & some bottles of water – so I will be clean & hydrated! I went to see the hospital – it is a pretty standard mission hospital. We seem to be in the middle of nowhere but then there is supposed to be a port area that maybe cruise ships dock at….

When we got back from the hospital about 2 pm I went to the lobby for wifi & met Shauna the student sponsor who is from St. George Utah & the 2 students Gabriella & Kayva & the Child Life Specialist Whitney from Minnesota. They were considering going on a camel ride…it was $25/person & Kayva said she would just walk alongside the camels cause she couldn’t afford that….I told her you need to go & I will too – we could both use a little “fun today”. So at 3 pm we went somewhere in the “Sahara desert” on a camel ride (it was not very deserted though) We did ride the camels for 2 hours, went past the Kings compound & to the Sous River & saw the Flamingos who supposedly only come her for a few weeks? I think the afternoon escape might have been what Kayva needed as Shauna said she is already a little homesick. That might have been my first “good deed” in Agadir. And in my desire to be a Magnet for Moroccan Miracles I was the recipient of the 1^st Moroccan Miracle – Whitney said she packed 6 sets of scrubs from her hospital & she rarely uses them so she gave me a pair & they fit….so now I have scrubs to wear tomorrow to start screening. Not that I am not comfy in my sweats that I traveled in but I am so grateful to have scrubs. Again you don’t appreciate things until they are not accessible!

We got back to the hotel about 6 pm & I ran into Chris a PACU nurse with me who is from Sweden – we were together on an Ethiopia mission & she is FABULOUS. I saw her name on the team comp list & knew she would be here so it was really fun to run into her & it will be great to work with her. She knows Peter the Pediatric Intensivist who will be with us in the PACU & Chris says he’s great too so I am expecting a great TEAM PACU!

Here in Morocco they don’t eat dinner until 8 or 9 so now I am missing all the “snacks/food” I had packed for myself. I went back to the store where I bought my water & soda & I stocked up at least for a couple of days. The 1^st Team Mtg is tonight & I am not sure how it will be with a Team of 120 people….I am thinking it will be LONG which is why I decided to stat today’s blog before the meeting so I can quickly go to the lobby & access wifi & send it at the end of the mtg which may very well be midnight – yikes!!! The meeting was actually not too long – over by 9:30 & then they served dinner. They did have everyone introduce themselves which wasn’t very effective in a large room so I suggested to a few nurses by me that we should just all stand up & say “We are the Nurses”…well they ran with that brain burst of mine & all 30-40 nurses stood up & said that. I was feeling pretty good about my covert influence & I am sure it saved us 30 minutes of introductions that no one would have remembered. LOL

Truly my camel ride did clear my head of all my “what if’s” re. my luggage & I fell like I was moved from “if my luggage gets here” to “when my luggage gets here” but I won’t lie it is tough to wait & hope. Still in my mind beeing able to just change that one word from if to when has been a huge blessing & brought me some peace. I will still take all the prayers that wherever my luggage may be in Paris or Casablanca it will be found quickly & sent to me in Agadir. So thanks for the prayers & positive thoughts I am feeling them from thousands of miles & continents away. I do feel blessed to be here & know that we will change so many lives this week – it is awe inspiring when I truly think of the incredible impact that a team of strangers coming together for these 2 will have on children & families….and I am so fortunate to be a part of it. So here’s to Team Agadir Morocco 2019!

I ARRIVED I AGADIR…but my luggage did not ☹

So it has been an eventful travel day…pretty much 24 hours total from departure at LAX to arrival at Agadir. My pre-travel was really great, all packed, a few hours at CHOC, no traffic to LAX, checked my bag…they even took it at 53 pounds & met Gayle my friend at the international terminal. Our LAX to Paris flight was delayed 2 ½ hours but we had almost a 4 hour layover in Paris so we still anticipated making our next flight to Casablanca….UNTIL about two hours into our flight they overhead requested a physician to the back of the plane. Gayle was in the window seat so I got up to let her go, along with a few others & I went with. An older gentleman seemed to be having a stroke – I have no skill set for adults & there were several competent healthcare providers so I went back to my seat . He seemed to improve as if it was a TIA which he has had before but then a few hours later they came on saying the airline on ground physician did not recommend this passenger travel across the ocean to Europe (which does make sense)so we ended up stopping at what I think is the easternmost part of Canada in Newfoundland. It was about a 2 hour process….he actually walked off the plane, but then we refueled, had to get clearance to take off…. I actually anticipated that we would miss our connection so I contacted the travel agent while we were on the ground in Newfoundland. It was of course the middle of the night & he “on call agent” said she moved us to a later flight with a “held seat” but not a reservation. Long story short we arrived in Paris at 1:07 pm & our flight to Casablanca had departed at noon.

Several passengers were in the same situation with missed connections, so we got in line to get our new flights which was a bit of an ordeal as they needed actual ticket #’s not just airline confirmation numbers. I again made some calls to the after hours travel agency and it took about 90 minutes to get our flights organized. We received reservations but not boarding passes & had to take the train to a different terminal & work with Air Maroc to get boarding passes. It was not for the faint of heart. They also had us go to “baggage retrieval” but since our bags were checked all the way to Agadir they said to confirm at our gate they were “redirected”. We got to our Paris to Casablanca gate & the gate attendant told us they would get our bags….CLEARLY that did not happen as when we arrived at MN in Agadir my bag & Gayles 2 bags were no where to be found…

They tracked Gayles bags to Paris but couldn’t track mine which is a bit concerning. They also said the bags would have to take the same itinerary we took tonight so we would not get them until midnight tomorrow???? Which makes no sense since they are tagged for a noon flight today – why don’t they at least send them at noon tomorrow??? Bottom line I have no luggage, no clothes, no toiletries but I do have all of my electronics that I had to carry on.

The hotel is actually near the ocean which is good & bad… from the lobby you can see the ocean but from our room you just see dirt & there is no AC. The only wifi is in the main lobby so I guess to blog I will write in my room & upload in the lobby. Reminds me of my earlier missions when I spent time in lobby’s in order to “be connected to home”

Ambra is the Program Coordinator & she is wonderful - we were WhatsApp messaging all thr he travel chaos. & she will help us sort out the lost luggage tomorrow. Normally I feel like I would have been really stressed, frustrated & perhaps even mad at all of the unfortunate travel events but I really felt calm thru is all….until the lost luggage then I go a little stressed with all the “what ifs”. What if my luggage doesn’t ever come, I have no scrubs, no clothes nothing aside from the sweats I wore on the plan. But I cant do anything about it & I just need to have FAITH that they will locate my luggage & it will get to me soon. So since it’s 1:20 am I am going to bed. Please send prayers & positive thoughts that I get my luggage tomorrow! Good Night from Agadir XOXO Nancy

HEADING OUT ON MISSION #16 AGADIR MOROCCO....Here I come

It’s hard to believe that in 24 hours I will be in the air somewhere between LAX-Paris & Morocco traveling to my 16^th 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 20^th 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 10^th & 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 3^rd 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!