Settling In

I wake up late and rush to catch the end of breakfast. I run into Sonia. We talk for an hour or so, mostly about medical specialties. Then she is off to meet someone and I head to the OR.

The plastic surgeon I worked with the day before is there. I reintroduce myself and soon I am suited up assisting with a cleft palate repair. During the procedure all sorts of medical and dental folk wonder into the room, They ask questions of the surgeon. The push to get a good view of the procedure. They talk shop. Because this is a more involved procedure than a cleft lip this patient will spend another 2 days aboard the ship where she can be closely monitored for post-op complications like bleeding, or breakdown of the sutures.

Then onto lunch. Sonia informs me that we have permission to leave the ship. We catch the next ferry boat to the dock, where there is one guy selling stuff out of the back of a pickup truck. I buy some stuff figuring this might be my last chance at getting any souvenirs. Then it’s back aboard the next ferry and onto the boat again.

At dinner I meet more people. Military personnel. Project Hope doctors. Pre-dental volunteers from San Diego. The hot topic from everyone is their experiences from the away missions. Hundreds of patients seen by 5 providers. Arriving at a clinic site and being greeted by thousands of waiting cheering patients, such that it feels like finishing a marathon. Stories of regret for the hundreds of patients left waiting in line at the end of the day that did not get seen, some of whom had been waiting since 3am that morning.

All of the returning away mission personnel look tired. But they are all happy. They are living the dream. They just spent a day toiling at the thing in life that they are passionate about. The thing they spent thousands of dollars in airfare and months of time away from their families to be a part of.

I will not be participating in any away missions for 4 more days. I am frustrated. I am disappointed. Then I am mad at myself for thinking these things. This isn’t about me. It’s about all those people waiting in line to be seen. I resolve to prepare myself as best as possible for when I finally get to go off-ship. Someone from dinner said they saw 60 patients. I will see 70. Hell I will see 700 if they would let me.

~Pete