Vietnam Medical Mission 2009

2 down, 3 to go

2009-10-02T21:28:00.003+07:00

So, we all have parted and are heading home. We all flew to Saigon, most flew to Taipei (I am blogging from their airport now), and I have 3 more flights to go. I pray for safe travels to all. We will miss Vietnam and its wonderful people...

**ADDENDUM** We are now in Hot-Lanta Hartsfield airport - only one flight left! It has been a wonderful time with this team - hard to say goodbye so I'll only say, "see you later!"

repairs and reconciliation

2009-10-01T18:35:00.004+07:00

Today team members reconnected with friends and "adopted" families in the area - I'll give you a great story later - several of them lost their homes, and we have the joy of giving them back the home and roof they need. Detachments from our team went to meet with local authorities to work out a plan for caring for unwanted babies (born and unborn) by placing them in caring homes. Chuck and others went north to meet with the "Peoples Aid Coordinating Committee" to work on permissions for future clinics. Things happen slowly in Vietnam, but patience, prayer, and persistence pay off.
I am repeatedly amazed at the healing and reconciliation brought about through VWAM. Chuck Ward is a gifted leader - I hope to model his calm confidence and his relationship-building skills in the future. I am equally inspired by the "over 60" guys who are making the most of every opportunity by doing these missions.

Check this out from James 2: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Amen!

Roofs and Tubes

2009-10-01T09:48:00.005+07:00

So, now that we have $3000+ left over from the mission fund (even after paying for so many surgeries - they are cheap here) - we are finding people whose homes were destroyed by Typhoon Ketsana and we're buying them new roofs. One whole roof costs only $200 installed, so we should be able to cover 15 peoples' homes! Here is a cleanup crew:

In the mean time Jordon and I are enjoying by far the best surf yet - we awoke at 6am to glassy perfection - long, hollow, overhead lines slowly rolling beachward. I am so sore but so happy. I wish I had a video of it but who's going to stand on the beach and do it?

We went out again after breakfast, then again after we biked Monkey Mountain we caught an evening session - it was small and onshore but fun with friends: Jordon ripped, Jack surfed, and Debbie totally got up on a few Vietnamese waves:

Surf by day, Banquet by night

2009-09-30T22:16:00.010+07:00

Today was beautiful -
Jordan and I rented boards from the ONLY surf shop in Da Nang [http://www.tamspub.com/] and zany "Tam" motored us (with boards) back to the surf. The waves are still really big and rough but we had a great time dropping in on some chocolaty log- and furniture- filled waves. Here we are riding a nice "natural woody" in the beachbreak: We longboarded in the morning and shortboarded after lunch.

Tonight our team's Vietnam Veterans were honored at a special banquet. Each Vet received a mounted photo of them in the war, with thank you's from everyone else on the team, on the back:The empty chair is for those lost in the war. They will not be forgotten.

Here are the wives of the Veterans, who participated on the mission:

useful links:
Some of our videos were featured on CNN including this one: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-335561

You can see the path Ketsana took here: http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?lat=16.82557&lon=108.65479&zoom=6&type=ter&units=english&rad=0&wxsn=0&svr=0&cams=0&sat=0&riv=0&mm=0&hur=1&hur.wr=0&hur.cod=1&hur.fx=1&hur.obs=1&hur.hd=0&hur.mdl=0&hur.opa=70&hur.img=0&fire=0&tor=0&ndfd=0

t-shirt: "I went to Vietnam and all I got was this Typhoon"

2009-09-30T07:01:00.005+07:00

Hooray! Typhoon Ketsana is passing, and we survived! Thanks everyone for all your prayers - it was sketchy for a while, with flying tiles and trees, but we're back on track now. I "iReported" videos to CNN so you may have already seen the videos from here.
So, now what? We have finished all the clinics the government permitted us to do, but maybe they'll let us do some Typhoon relief work tomorrow? We'll let you know. Here's the current view from my hallway:

enjoy these photos taken a few hours ago:

Typhoon Ketsana to make landfall HERE in 3 hours

2009-09-29T12:41:00.006+07:00

As tiles noisily blow off the roof, holes open and water enters the hotel everywhere

HUGE Ketsana will cover the nation of Vietnam.

Typhoon Ketsana heading right for us - due for landfall around 4pm local time. Let us pray for those living in shacks that will surely lose their homes; some will lose all.

[read more at http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-world/vietnamese-flee-typhoon-ketsana-20090929-galt.html ]

typhoon making landfall ON US right now

2009-09-29T07:33:00.004+07:00

this is the view off my porch - around front there are many large trees down, the place is a wreck. Sand, limbs, water all are flying around. But we are all safe. more later-

only His grace has brought us safely

2009-09-29T07:19:00.004+07:00

Soooo, halfway thru the last clinic in Hong Kim - It was wonderful, and we saw 186+ patients, but there is a category 3 typhoon coming at us and the bands of intense rain and wind knocked out power and some roads. The Dept of Foreign Affairs contacted us directly and told us we MUST evacuate. NOW. It's a good thing they did, as we barely made it past all the trees, rocks, flooding, and mudslides (see photos) and now we're in Da Nang riding it out at the Furama. I am still hoping for big waves to surf on once "Typhoon 9" is gone. For now I thank the Mighty One we are alive.

this mudslide was occuring as we drove through it!

several times we had to jump out of our vans and move trees so we could pass

dam along Ho Chi Minh Hwy, surging with rain water

2009-09-29T06:42:00.002+07:00

I wonder why every patient has back pain?

Dr. Roger Hamm (left), Chuck Ward and Chinh giving away another wheelchair

Sue Proctor and "Viet" our faithful interpreter

Dr. Willis and Brenda Archer, Roger and Shirley Helle, Jim Proctor: in Hue on our free day

Dr. Jester's patient - we gave him a wheelchair

From Lizards to Leeches

2009-09-27T21:34:00.011+07:00

Today our team had church, and heard the powerful testimony of Hien, who was imprisoned and in a refugee camp for years. I can't say why or Who saved him from despair but you know...

For Sunday R&R we rented motorbikes and rode north then onto a dirt road, then We scrambled down cliffs, swam and slid thru rivers, then hiked to a sweet waterfall:

The downside to the waterfall is the realization that Ow! hey what are all those little brown things on my-- AACK! LEECHES! under my watch, in my shoes, holy cow is that a snake on my calf? We took turns doing the leech removal dance today

needless to say there was no skinny dipping at the waterfall...

What tastes like chicken but 1000 times chewier? LIZARD meat! It's the Vietnamese version of Extra gum - seriously 20 minutes later I still had a piece of ??? in my teeth. For bonus points, click on the photo and see if you can find: a)lizard teeth b)lizard tongue c)your appetite after staring at a cooked lizard...

30km south of A Luoi, and for about 50 cents, you can seep in sulfurous scorching springs as long as you can stand - we did:

The best thing about the hot springs was riding past miles of rice paddies and villages on the motorbike

Crowd control!

2009-09-26T21:54:00.008+07:00

Word has spread to surrounding areas, and I guess they like us! Today we were met by this substantially larger swarm

We looked out and saw Mike was stuck in the mass of people - he was eventually rescued, to the amusement of all...

Everyone was really very patient and kind, and we saw even more than we hoped - over 300 patients today!

these hands belong to a young lady who is losing function in her dominant (right) hand due to an enlarging tumor. We are taking her to Hue to see a hand surgeon for evaluation and treatment, courtesy of VWAM.

My interpreter Phuong, who is now assisting me in surgery each day!

These marks are from a common practice of pinching the skin in specific areas (poor man's acupuncture?) to cure various disorders. I'll let you know how it works...

Here's a handmade wooden fetoscope I am using - what a delight it is to tell the women their baby has a healthy heartbeat!

first clinic in A Luoi

2009-09-25T21:47:00.007+07:00

So, maybe the hotel isn't quite as nice, maybe there is no A/C, the TP is microsized, the shower sprays directly onto the toilet and the bath towels are the size of American hand-towels, but I tell you the team worked long and hard today with a fantastic attitude!

here is our delightful pharmacy crew for example

We saw many more elderly patients today, many in traditional dress

by lunchtime the clinic was so popular we had to part the "seas" to get back in!

This 49-year-old lady is nearly blinded by cataracts, but thanks to VWAM and you our sponsors, her surgery is covered, and she should have her vision restored this week!

Here is a poor little baby covered in scabies

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this was our traditional breakfast this a.m.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings - stay tuned!
remember you can click on any photo to see it larger, and if you want to save a copy on your computer, right click and choose "Save Image As"

welcome to A Luoi!

2009-09-24T22:48:00.008+07:00

Before we left Hue we went to the BottleCap cafe, where a hilarious man entertained us with his bottlecap removing skills (including making the bottle opener out of a stick, a nut and a bolt)- see photo above - he is in back, the opener in front COULD BE YOURS if you are the first to guess the meaning of the gang signs below. Post your guesses in the comment section, and first correct guess wins. Team members and immediate family are not eligible.

We arrived safely in "A Loui", about 10-20 miles from the border with Laos, the poorest area of Vietnam we've ever been to.

So here's how we got there:

a brief pit stop for a, um, waterfall?

A Luoi people are wonderful...

After dinner some of us stayed up late doing, yes, you guessed it - KARAOKE ! ! !

from Joyce and Jess Mayfield

2009-09-24T17:51:00.001+07:00

from Joyce and Jess Mayfield: (click on images to view larger size)

Gary Jacobson's photos

2009-09-24T17:32:00.003+07:00

Here are a few of Gary Jacobson's photos fresh off his camera - these are people at our clinic:

2009-09-24T09:09:00.002+07:00

"Hue Cool" (way cool)

2009-09-23T20:40:00.009+07:00

This morning brought monsoon rains and a bittersweet final clinic day in Hong Ha - we again saw over 200 patients.

Steve started us with the daily briefing, military style.

dozens of people received the gift of sight today thanks to the "J" Crew: "Dr. Jack Jeffords", Jordon, and Joyce Mayfield...

This boy at age 10 weighed only 44 pounds, due to malnutrition.
We treated him for intestinal parasites, gave him an ample supply of vitamins, and dietary counseling especially concerning protein the boy wasn't receiving.

This is a Betel nut, which the eldely chew partly as a status symbol and mostly due to its highly addictive properties.

as you see on this grill the betel nut turns the teeth black over time.

We saw countless children today with fungal skin infections, often with severe scalp disease such as this boy.

Tomorrow we will make the westward trek over the mountains to A Luoi, the poorest area in which we will work all week. Please pray for safety and good team spirits as our accomodations will be reportedly bleak those days.

2009-09-22T23:03:00.003+07:00

WOW what an amazing wonderful day! The patients are SO precious, kind, and grateful for what VWAM is doing here. They work days are long and hot, and everyone is working hard, but the Vietnamese are a delight to love and serve. We saw well over 200 patients, Dr. Love pulled 50+ teeth, and dozens saw clearly for the first time in years.

[if you click on photos you will see them normal size]

this baby had horrible abscesses under his scalp, which I had to open and drain today (poor sweet baby!)

sometimes interpreters double as a support to hold on to!

our wonderful nurses Debbie (above) and Clay&Jackie (below)

To get to clinic today we had to play chicken with massive Russian trucks - this one beat us but we took the second!

First Day of Clinic!

2009-09-22T05:27:00.001+07:00

We travelled 1-2 hours out of Hue (pronounced "way") to a mountain village of very simple, very poor people, to set up in a clinic built by Veterans in honor of Floyd Olsen (helicopter pilot, MIA after crash in war).

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we set up pharmacy in this traditional frond-made stilt-building

patients began at registration/triage... ("nurse Clay" is one hard worker! - and you should see Steve go!)

one of "Dr. Jack's" optometry patients

One of Dr. Tom Love's patients after a dental extraction

Overall today there were 186+ medical consults, plus glasses and dental care. They were really in serious need, with a wide variety of ailments. It is easy to love these beautiful, kind, sincere people; that's what we will do again today!

2009-09-21T03:21:00.001+07:00

Today we flew Vietnam Air to Hue, where we'll be holding clinic the next 3 days.

We checked all our medication as luggage, and thank the Mighty One everything came through fine.

The hotel here is beautiful, the staff wonderfully friendly and helpful.

We were met with watermelontinis, free internet, and chairs in which to lounge our sweaty bodies. It is HOT in Hue so far!

The cusine here is fabulous - I am amazed at all the wonders Vietnam has already shared with us. Now it's time to return the favor :)

some photos from around Saigon to enjoy

2009-09-19T23:02:00.000+07:00

city skyline

local market

at a cathedral

a birthday, a reunion, another flight coming

2009-09-19T22:43:00.000+07:00

Today VWAM missionary Kim Woolard was reunited with her Vietnamese brother after 30 years! Kim's daughter Cynthia met her uncle and cousins for the very first time.

Jack Jeffords celebrated his birthday with a song and a gift of SPAM from the Veterans!

lastly we prepared for the upcoming clinics by prepacking some pills and planning our strategy. Tomorrow we fly to Hue on Vietnam Airlines!

Meet and Feet

2009-09-18T19:52:00.000+07:00

What a diverse array of life stories are on this team! We are realizing our team members are Veterans, spouses, nurses, doctors, repeat missionaries, ministers, students, and more.
Free time today brought us city strolls, amazing Vietnamese food, and for some, foot massages!
Tomorrow Jack and Chuck and I will run to the airport to pick up Kim, Cynthia, and hopefully all the luggage. Then we will have a pill-prepping party to prepare for clinic in Hue!

ahh... foot massage Vietnam style! Jordan claims he was "violated" but the best was watching Jack get "man-ssaged!"

Local time in HO Chi Minh

2009-09-18T17:44:00.000+07:00

We're Here!

2009-09-18T12:46:00.001+07:00

We landed in Saigon and cleared customs with no problems and only 4 missing suitcases (all of mine). Then bussed past 100000 fearless motorbike drivers to relax in the Renaissance Hotel (photo).

Praise: Cynthia and Kim are checked in at San Fran and just waiting to board!

Thank you everyone for the support so far- we're pumped about this week...

Honey, I shrunk the team

2009-09-18T05:42:00.000+07:00

and then there were five...
2 more casualties have occurred - In San Fran we raced off the plane ahead of everyone (thank you Delta and China Airlines) and were escorted thru security to a gracious late arrival at our gate (thanks Chuck) only to find Kim had brought an expired passport. Cynthia is staying back with her.
We just arrived in Taipei now, called Cynthia - Kim's passport is on the way! They are confirmed to fly China Airlines @ 1:30am and rejoin the team tomorrow. Here we are getting Wi-Fi in Taipei:
The other 5 of us are now joined with others to make a team of around 29. In a few moments we will board yet another flight, this one to Saigon. We haven't heard from Karlayne but I am still hopeful she'll make it - it's a long mission so a few days late is still worth it...
We are all in good spirits here, excited about what He will accomplish this month in Vietnam!

2009-09-17T09:12:00.000+07:00

Already we are in need of your prayers:
- Karlayne is having some heart symptoms and did not make the flight today - she has a diagnostic study Friday and then *hopefully* will get on a plane that day to come join us.
- Jordan is sick (see photo) and we are praying we can get enough cough suppressant in him to keep him from being quarantined in Vietnam for H1N1 suspicion...
We are in Atlanta now waiting for Delta 1079, delayed but hopefully not too far - we have an hour in SFO to get our luggage and catch the next flight... Overall we are in good spirits, excited about what is to come! I probably won't have time in San Fran to blog so hang on 'til Vietnam!

Ready to GO!

2009-09-07T10:13:00.000+07:00

Hooray! We have raised all the money we need to cover all our supplies and pay for surgeries for our patients! Now we are working to get more people to follow this blog - I ask not for one cent, just that you send this link to others who care about our mission: To bring healing to the wonderful people of Vietnam, especially those with no other chance for any health care.
I am bringing a full surgical setup, with hopes and plans to help anyone who can benefit from our services. As we work and travel Sept. 16-Oct.3 I will share on this blog, our experiences and patients we encounter. As I have never been to Vietnam before, you will see and hear everything from a very new perspective!I plan to help people with skin diseases such as this man, exposed to dioxin decades ago.

2009-08-31T00:37:00.000+07:00

Team Meeting: at Pho Ba, the only authentic Vietnamese restaurant in Charleston: The owner, a native of Vietnam, shared some history and culture with us, to compliment the wondrous and unique meal.

Patient Relief Fund: As of now we have raised all we hoped for and more! This will cover major surgeries and supplies for our most needy patients.

New plans: the Vietnam government has asked us to bring the medical team to a very poor area of the A Luoi District. We will endure very basic accommodations, for what should prove a very worthy project.

Sept. 16th = departure: Please continue to pray for the health and spirits of our team and patients. Thank you.

2009-07-06T22:38:00.000+07:00

We are busy fundraising now, trying to get support to raise the $4000 it will take for all the flights and all, also some extra money to pay for any surgeries our patients may need. It's a lot more efficient to pay for procedures locally, as they cost a tiny fraction of what they would in USA.
See the map at right - Vietnam is a very long country - we'll be in a rural area in the center, west of Hué (above Da Nang).
Please pray for us, and if you want make a tax-deductible donation to the cause, let me know! (MichaelOvercash@gmail.com)