Everything was done at about noon and we began to tally, check-list, clean, toss, and disassemble all the parts. My two anesthesia colleagues were remarkable at helping, especially given that they had never done this before. Their abilities and their energies were an inspiration to me during both of my weeks in Quang Ngai. I feel I have made four incredible friends.
It baffles the mind to see the equipment balloon out of these many boxes, many of which are filled with "soft" supplies that we leave, and then to repack what is left at the end of the trip back into the Pelican boxes. We came with 28; we leave with 16. The biggest job was Frankie's, but we all chipped in where needed to get it all done.
The lunch man arrived with our daily food, as he always does, making sure that we all got something to eat. The meals have been good and they brought great veggie meals for me.
Being the lightweight, I really have to choose which meals I am going to eat; usually two out of three a day. Any meals that were left, Phi took out to the families to have something to eat while they waited. She is an amazing charity of one!
I caught this photo of the local OR crew just after lunch. It seems to be everyone's habit to take a nice siesta after lunch, and we were left surrounded by a very empty recovery room and operating unit. The room next door was full of napping women, but the blinds had been pulled and I would have had to use a flash.
The afternoon after we packed was the first real daylight we had in Quang Ngai. Wendell, Frankie and I took a long walk looking for a street market we had seen last Saturday on our way out of town to Hoi An. We couldn't find it, but did make our way into a Buddhist Temple. A delightful young man showed us around, and gave us incense to show respect to the various shrines they had inside. It was one of those wonderful, unexpected, random and spontaneous moments in another culture that can make a trip so memorable.
After the temple, we made our way to a supermarket to buy a few items, and then made our final trek back to the hospital to get the boxes loaded. We borrowed a guerney to get the 16 boxes onto a truck for the journey to Da Nang, and while we were waiting, we saw a nurse carry out two tiny twin babies. The young father had an expression of both sheer delight and wary apprehension. It is a daunting moment that no parent every forgets, and Frankie caught it perfectly in this shot.
The twins each had a piece of tape on their foreheads to tell them apart. They were both so quiet, but very well-looking. This appearance of new babies at the operating doors had been happening all week, as there is a busy OB service here.
We took a taxi home, hot and tired, and got a drink to take up onto the 7th floor balcony. In the heat and humidity, we spent awhile looking out over a city we knew from up close, and finally got to see from a more overhead perspective. We could see the stunningly high mountains to the west, with the sun setting behind them. The ocean lies to the east, and except for the East-West flip, is a setting not unlike Southern California. It is an odd city for us though, full of motor scooters, thin small buildings, and funny top floor porches and gardens.
Next came the traditional party given by Resurge at the end of each trip to thank the hosts and local co-workers. We had this in our restaurant at the hotel and about thirty people showed up, including a couple of local officials. Everyone made speeches and then the drinks began to flow, especially for the locals. Vietnamese like to party!
Of course there was dancing, karaoke, group photos, and certificates. Most of our important players made it there, and we got to recognize them for their contribution to the effort we all made here. A job well done by all, and a party to show for it.
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