The Night Before

We will be departing for Milot late Friday night. Last minute running around for supplies that seem mundane for us (printer cartridges, crayons for the kids) I've also been impressed by how willing my colleagues have been to help. Although I've only been here a few months, I sent out one email with a small list of basic supplies (ostomy kits and some scrubs.) Within a week, I'm at my desk, and someone who I've never met before rolls up with boxes and bags far in excess of what I asked for. Turns out she knows some folks at other local hospitals that chipped in. So my CRUDEM colleagues in Milot will have labeled scrubs donated from from Cedars Sinai, Santa Monica Hospital, The University Hospital, and St. Johns, among others. And patients requiring ostomies won't have to jury rig IV bags.

I was pleased to learn that we will be working with a group of medical and public health students from Tufts, as well as a surgical and pediatrics team. Tim Traynor and I will overlap toward the end of the week, and we've briefed what needs be done in the Sprung building. His engineering mind and my surgical outlooks aren't that far apart.

The one downside is that internet access is degraded in Milot for a variety of reasons. It sounds like I may be climbing in the rafters to trace the cables and install a router. Fortunately, between the X gens that will be in Milot, and some cell phone briefing from Ben back In LA, I should figure it out.

I found out that my expat friend Daven will be in CAP. You may remember my blog last September about his experience being buried after the quake, but returning to try and keep the company running and employ as many of the local populous as possible. We hope to visit each others compound.

We'll be posting from Turks on Saturday.

Thank you all for your support.