DAY 8: Destination-Akha Youth Development Center

FEBRUARY 22, 2008

So, sorry, I mixed up the days on the ejournal. It should be:

February 19: Day 5

February 20: Day 6

Okay, I’m recovering from my drug-induced coma from the beetle juice, betel nut, the Beatles or whatever it’s called. When I say it was a blur, it was. The only thing I’m hoping was that Bill was NOT was giving me mouth to mouth resuscitation. I’d rather die.

We finished up unfinished business. We returned to the AYDC because we couldn’t go to another prison. Okay by me! These kids and families deep rooted in the Akha culture. We had about 20 eye patients that we couldn’t do yesterday so they were scheduled today. That was a good move. We only worked a half a day since there were fewer patients today. The eye docs finished their patients, the dentists, the usual, the med docs same. One of the last eye patients was rushed up to the medical clinic because she had to see me for an evaluation. Dr. Chinn saw a lady with a pigmented lesion under the eyelid and an ulcerated lesion on the top. It was really black. It didn’t look to good. A skin cancer was a possibility. When I saw the patients, I turned red-faced. It was my patient from the day before. I had removed a lesion and used silver nitrate for cautery. When the light hits it, it turns black so there was some transfer to the lower lid. It looked like pretty shoddy surgery, but, come on people, look what I am working with! We finished up seeing the last patient. We won’t be back to this clinic for awhile, but I have the feeling that we will be back before you know it.

THERE’S NOTHING, NO, SOMETHING WE CAN DO

One child particularly broke my heart. The chief complaint was: patient not walking for four years! It was a four year-old boy carried in by his petite mother. “What can a plastic surgeon in a tiny village help this young boy?” I asked myself. Instinctively I steered the patient towards Dr. Patton who gave a thorough musculoskeletal exam. The boy was one of twin boys who were born premature at 7 months. The brother died 5 hours after birth. He developed cerebral palsy. Mentally he seemed somewhat normal but physically he was quite challenged. Obviously we could not cure him but we wanted him to be as healthy as he could be so to balance his diet we gave him vitamins. He didn’t need surgery or antispastic medication or really any other meds or any other treatment. We recommended physical therapy by mom to strengthen his weak side and perhaps later a brace could be made. “Is vitamins the only thing we can offer this poor individual imprisoned by his body for the rest of his life. Could we make his life sentence any more comfortable? What about mom’s life sentence of responsibility? Then as they were leaving the clinic, no doubt disappointed, a light bulb popped over my head. Wheel chair. We have a wheel chair ministry! Thanks to Bill Ho a team from FCBC, the College and Career Group, are coming back to Chiang Rai this summer to assemble and distribute over 550 wheel chairs. (Maybe Jennifer can go on THAT mission trip.) We can get him and his mother a wheel chair because it will be soon that she will be unable to carry him and then he won’t be ambulatory. Great! Sometimes it really is the thought that counts; you just need to take the time to think.

FOR EYES

There was this one student at the school that we went to. She had such terrible eye sight she had to sit at the front of the class. Dr. Tajiri’s system only could correct vision up to -6.00 diopter. They shook their heads that day to saying, “We’re sorry, we can’t help you.” We could SEE her disappointment. Dr. Chinn had an idea and thought that if they made a pair of glasses from their strongest lenses, it might at least help her by giving her some, if not, perfect correction. So one of the officials brought her back to the Golden Triangle Inn this evening and they fitted her to glasses and she was so pleased and was looking around appreciating her new found visions. Way to go docs.

EXTREME MAKEOVER

One of our interpreters is Auntica, or “A” as she is known among the villagers. She is young and has quite striking model quality features. I see a lot of pretty patients in my field of work that some men, but not me, may categorize them as “drop dead gorgeous, hot mama, and tight.” But out of respect to my wife and children I want to set an example and I don’t use those terms. Instead I use the phrase “she has nice features.” I think most would agree that she has nice features yet one very visible distraction. She has vitligo. I saw her last mission trip and vitiligo is difficult to treat, even in the States. She has brown patches of dark pigmented skin like tears of a clown with equally white skin. There’s a spot on her chin and around her lips. The hands and legs show more extensive vitiligo. Michael Jackson as this disease as is a well-known news anchor, Lee Thomas, of a Detroit news station. He recently came out of the closet with his condition and wrote a book, “Turning White.” Lee Thomas is Black. Imagine that.

So this trip I brought a mixture of make up with foundation and sticks of this color and that color and samples from my aesthetician and skin bronzer and body makeup to test on her. She was initially excited to try on the makeup. I am no makeup artist by any means but she allowed me to put it on her. I put the foundation and watched as the pigmentation disappeared. Then I applied a makeup with a natural color and blended the entire face. Her nice features became nicer. Her skin was more even and if you glanced at her you wouldn’t be distracted. It looked even better in photos and she was amazed at the difference. At first she didn’t know how to react. Do we make her skin fair or dark like her native villagers, which would have been more of a change for her. She did SEE the difference but I know it would take getting use to. She was embarrassed to see her friends at first because they would see something different which would bring MORE attention to her. I am sure she has the same issues as my plastic surgery patients. What will others think? Why did she do it? Vanity? Should I have gone darker? Will people recognize me? Rather than doing something to attract attention, she is doing something to lesson the attention. This is a major step for her and unfortunately, vitiligo often is progressive.

JUNGLE BOOK

We had time for some Rest and Relaxation. So we went to see the elephants again. We took a boat up north to the elephants. It was like going on the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland. The shallow water made the boat ride treacherous but the drivers negotiated the path well avoiding the bottom of the river. One of our boats we were in broke down in the middle of the ride. We waved at them as we passed by but don’t worry, we were going to get help AFTER the elephant ride. We saw another boat bailing out water to keep from sinking. He wasn’t about to abandon ship. We approached the petting zoo. These gargantuan beasts were tamed by banana or sugar cane and a little help chained at the ankle. Each had a “driver” that spoke to them in Thai. We passed on the 100 lb python that we could pose with. Some needed a lot of work on there tusks but the dentists were not up to the challenge. They just gave out tooth brushes. We had a nice stroll throughout the tourist-prepared street vendors doing a little window shopping. This time we went through alternative route through the river. These animals had no problem walking in the river although they did slow down as if they liked squishing the mud between the toes similar to those who had mud bathes before. As they defecated in the river, I was really happy that I chose not to drink the water. I was afraid of getting elephantiasis or something. Whoa, when they pee they could put out fires. My understanding is that a male Asian elephant have tusks, females don’t. Richard considered gluing tusks to the female Asian so there won’t be discrimination. Both the African elephants grow tusks. It is thought that if there is a male without a tusk, he might be gay. That’s a useful fact.

PRAISE THE LORD

Faith and Socorro have been saving for new church ministry. They built a church since the last visit. Several members of the FCBC) donated money to help support the church such as the Fungs (Foogey, Barbara, David) the Bill and Gail Ho, and Ben and Gerry Jues to name a few. To show their gratitude for assistance they made genuine Filipino dinner. Loompia,, thick won ton, pork chops, mango and sticky rice with coconut milk, chicken, sweet pineapple. That was quite a spread. The church was really big and modern. There were accommodations for sleep-over for out of town guests. It’s amazing what you can build from $135,000 US. Anyone want a retirement home in Thailand?

KEEP OUT!

Bill never gets his privacy or time to himself. He really spends a lot of time behind the scenes. I know people bug him from time to time (I have no clue who he or they may be) but he never shows his hostility. I worry about those people. Bill don’t get mad, he get’s even. Sometimes he’s needs time just to chill. I’m the keeper of the pharmacy bins at night. I saw him going through the pharmacy bin and I asked if he needed help. Oh, just trying to get something to help me sleep”, he says. “Find what you need?” “I think so,” he said sheepishly as he tried to hide some blue pill with the letter “V” on it. I said, “Okay, let me know if you need help.” “Sure.” Well later that night I needed to ask Bill something but he wouldn’t answer his cell phone. I went over to his room and there was quite a surprise. There was “Caution” tape criss-crossed across his door. There was this huge sign with flourescent orange letters saying “KEEP OUT!” On closer exam, there was another sign on it saying, “Please do not disturb.” He really wanted to get his point across. I thought there was some noise inside and was going to get security. Then it was quiet. So it must have been nothing. I am glad I didn’t get security; that would have been a boner. Bill is a good sport. We tease him because we love our team leader. Incidentally, after Bill took the KEEP OUT sign down, Gerry coyly walked over with a sashe strut and asked “Bill won’t be needing that will he?”

Day 7: Destination-Akha Youth Development Center

FEBRUARY 21, 2008

Disclaimer: the following accounts are either real, unreal, or surreal

Quote of the Day: Beware of old ladies with red teeth…Jack Patton

LUKA’S MINISTRIES

Not too far from the Inn is the Luka’s compound. It’s located on about 15 acres that Luka has for the Thai-Akha Ministries Foundation. He has a big spread with a nice home and guest house overlooking a valley of tea plants. The AYDC houses over 80 Akha boys and girls who live on the grounds and go to school nearby. At the center they teach Akha so the children can maintain their cultural ties and language and also learn Thai so that they can converse with the rest of the country which helps them to obtain a job later. There is a library where we set up clinic for the dentists, medical docs and pharmacists. The optometric clinic is set up underneath the concrete frame for a tea factory in the making. It was donated by a Mennonite group. It will take 1,000,000 baht ($330 K) for the equipment. Right now a variety of tea is grown here and then taken to a factory 2 hours away to get processed and packaged. We brought some back last trip to support his Tea Ministry. They are hoping to eventually do everything here, on-site.

Within the library is a recording studio. Many of the group, in which we work, including Luka, are self-taught musicians. They play piano and guitar. The group records Christian songs and hymns in Akha. This Music Ministry sends the tapes to various places such as the Philippines for Akha who live there. Many of them cannot read so the hymnals in Akha aren’t useful. But since they can understand spoken, or in this case, singing Akha, the songs can be enjoyed and used as an evangelical tool. Are music videos on the horizon?

We meander down this road flanked by banana trees and the like to two large ponds, one recently dredged. They raise fish such as catfish and Talapia in these ponds for food. They feed the fish with leftovers from the children’s meals. Waste not, want not. Near the ponds are some garbage pits, not unlike our landfills in the States. Luka would like the property to provide a lot of the resources to support the compound and children. In the distance are rice paddies owned by someone else but he would like to eventually purchase the fields to grow there own rice. In the distance we can see cattle grazing which is used for food as well.

Ghan, Luka’s wife cooked an amazing spread and we were glutens. Spicy pork curry, chicken, bread, regular and sticky rice, mango, banana, apple fritters, guacamole dip (yes, guacamole!) and chips, salad, and drinks. Luka and Ghan have 4 young girls from 4-12 years old. They helped do the dishes which I appreciate because I had to do dishes the last mission trip. You should have just seen us rubbing our bellies with our feet up with the toothpick cleaning our teeth. We are very comfortable with each other belching and whatever. We didn’t have to do that maneuver of hiding the mouth with one hand and picking the teeth with the other because we knew what you were doing. Come on, who are you kidding? Hey, is that broccoli between your teeth?

WHERE’S THE BEEF?

There is also a Bull Ministry. FCBC can take credit for establishing a bull ministry in Thailand. That ain’t no bull! So far some families have been reaping the rewards. FCBC sent $5000 to Luka to buy a bull stud. This bull has to make his rounds to three villages to families who have a cow. The bull does his thing and then goes to the next village, and so on, and so on. I’m sure that the bull is thinking “It’s a tough job bud someone has to do it.” He’s strutting his stuff. “I’m a stud. That’s what I’m talking about!” They recycle this guy is until the family has three calves. Men, is this right, being used like this? (Let’s take a vote at the next Men’s Breakfast.) Then the momma cow and calve #2 get sent to another needy family. And the cycle goes on. At sometime the cow will be slaughtered and used for food. Then the calf moves up the food chain. I think there are 13 cows, 4 calves, and one bull. Happy cows make happy cheese.

Some of us checked out the cows the other day. We were hoping to see the bull but only saw some of the cows and some calves. It was out to pasture 100 miles away. The owner was there and you can tell he is out standing in his field. Luka wanted to demonstrate the finer techniques of bull riding. “Yih—Hah! Ride him cowboy!” I think that was a bunch of BS. Speaking of BS, there is, well it’s not exactly called the manure ministry, but even the cow manure is collected and sold for fertilizer for income. I guess its part of their waste management system. We checked out a pile of bags of manure and I tripped and fell. Oh shoot! (paraphrased) I was up to my neck in crap! Kind of reminded me back home. Lester had an idea for a fund raiser-cow chip tossing contest. Maybe we can do that at the next Food and Fun. We’ll have to take it to the Board because I understand that they also deal with a lot of crap. We wanted to see Larry milk the cow. By the way, have you ever seen the star of the teet. You have the person look at the end of the teet to see the “star” (nipple) and then squeeze the teet as they look and they get squirted with milk in the face. It’s hilarious! GOT MILK? That would have been udderly funny. Riding back in the car we smelled an odor. Did someone step in something? Not me. You noticed it first….Luka!!!

AKHA FREE CLINIC

Today was a fruitful day. The medical, dental and optometric clinic saw about 67, 62, and 45 patients, respectively. I can’t tell you how many patients that the eye docs have personally MADE lenses and glasses for. They have given out nearly 26 DOZEN reading glasses in addition to making other glasses. They really are the production workers and Gi and Dr. Tajiri are a two-man assembly man being fed by Dr. Chinn. It got so busy that they had to turn away 20 and try to get to them tomorrow. An 87 year-old man had tears of joy because his sight was restored. The docs continue with their routines, but it’s the nurses and helpers and Pastor that keep us going with the flow. The nurses screen and triage the patients giving clues toward the diagnosis. They also assist with procedures and they are always available to lend a helping hand. Pastor Jack continues his popular “male escort” service and brings the patients to the doctors personally. Oh, I cannot stress the importance of our translators. We could not communicate without the help of Luka, Ghan, Gi, Prah, Auntica, Totu, Socorro, and Faith and of course, Ming. They are invaluable otherwise it would be difficult to pin down their complaints and symptoms. The village people are primarily laborers even well into their seventies. So they have a lot of muscle and joint type pain and inflammation. Many of them want moles and skin tags removed. The dentists continue over loading the tooth fairy aS Richard services four dentists around the clock. At least the medical docs get to sit but the dentists mostly stand all day. That’s brutal.

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON DRUGS

We have a great time at these villages. We see baby, mother, grandma, sometimes great grandma. They look great. There age often doesn’t match their appearance. It may be some natural BOTOX. Well, many of the older patients are very traditional. They wear their traditional garments and sport their thick red teeth. It is a dentist’s nightmare for cleaning. Forget about it. There was an elderly lady who had the prettiest smile which also exposed her teeth. It’s almost a status symbol to have teeth like that. Luka was explaining how the teeth got like that. The villagers like to suck on or chew the betel nut. It’s a drug and it’s addicting. The betel nut is the seed of a palm tree. They take the leaf of the Piper betle, which is a different plant and has its own drug, and put edible lime (yes, that caustic stuff, not the fruit lime) powder in the leaf and then add crushed betel nut.

The elder carries all these ingredients and drug paraphernalia in her purse. Luka is explaining and she starts making one. We’re giving her our undivided attention and curiously thinking, “Oh, that’s how it’s done! Hmmm.” Then she raises it to give to someone. Everyone surrounding her except me steps back. So you know how that works, it looks like I stepped forward. She points it at my direction. I smile and in the universal language of shaking my head and saying “no, no…no thanks, thank you any way”; she doesn’t get it. She’s smiling and shaking this thing in my face (I’m getting dizzy from just the smell) and my comrades are egging me on. “DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!” they chant. I hear Lester in the background, “Give it to Mikey, Mikey will eat anything.” I’m Markey, not Mickey. She impatiently continues to shake this toward me, toward my mouth, as she’s loosing her smile with beady eyes. Give me a break, what do you tell this 90 year-old woman? I reluctantly open my mouth out of respect. I’m hoping she washed her hands. I put it in my cheek, smile and say “Hmmm, good.” She smiles; I have redeemed my self. She gives me some piece of bark as a chaser, I guess. “Chew it!”, she motions with here jaw clenching her thickened red teeth chomping her teeth. I’m thinking, “How do I explain my red teeth to Lena? Will she ever kiss me again? Am I not the man that she married?” Now I’m going to have to go to the dentist to get my teeth whitened.

I chew and chew to gain her acknowledgement. She nods like a metronome, pacing my chew. It’s so bitter. It stings my mucous membranes. The Drano is burning a hole in my tongue and cheek. I’m drooling profusely, foaming at the mouth. “Don’t swallow!” “Who said that?”, I think as I search around the room. What, will I die if I swallow. I look to spit in a bag. This dark red fluid comes out. Am I bleeding? I look at her to see if she disapproves of wasting the “score”. Everyone is smiling or laughing but me. Ooh, it’s bitter. I go outside with a liter of water to rinse my mouth. It takes four times in order for it to get clear spit. Whew, that was awful! I am glad to get that taste out of my mouth.

I’m standing near a ledge and have to catch my balance. My vision seems blurred and I get dizzy and the room is spinning. My face feels flush and numb. (Hey, can you make me another). I’m thinking, it’s a good thing I brought emergency meds and the defibrillator with us on this trip. “Am I going to die?” “Someone, call 911.” I look at the lady and she is looking at me in disgust. I think I can make out what she is saying. I’m reading her spinning lips and she is saying “Loser! Lightweight!” Am I hallucinating? Visions of Oliver Twist enter my mind, “Please sir, may I have some more?” “This is some good stuff!” Dr. Owyang worsens the situation by saying “You’re not really here.” His Luka laugh imitation follows. I am loosing my balance and have to sit down. “Are you okay?” my esteemed colleagues inquire. “You better lay down.” “No, I’m okay.” “Okay, then, you have to go to work now, you’re getting behind.” I am thinking, you idiot (no, me). What was I thinking? I really didn’t know that this was a drug. Hello, why do you think it is addicting? I think the lady gave me HER usual dose. I start to examine a patient; its 11:30 am. Cancel surgery. I tell her to come back at 2:00 pm. I go lay down for a little bit. I am not capable of surgery at this moment. I am an impaired physician. This recipe is definitely not making it into the Ho Mei cook book. Later I tried to ask her if she was interested in trading some of my Eclipse wintergreen gum and she gave me the Akha sign language of “No Way!” So I’m NOT responsible for anything that I write from this point since a few of my neurons may be still disconnected.

WHERE’S WALDO? HOW ABOUT MING?

After a hard day’s work we were being treated to a very nice buffet dinner at the Dusit Island Hotel (I can’t believe this wasn’t considered as an optional upgrade considering the 13 hour workdays that we experience. Perhaps it wasn’t cost effective since we weren’t, in fact, spending much time in the hotel in the first place. Weren’t we over budgeted last time and there is actual surplus that could have been forwarded to present or future projects? How much Chinese torture are we to endure?)

We all were excited to treat ourselves to a nice well-deserved buffet. Most of us have lost weight since we have been on the trip. Most of us could afford to loose a few pounds, but if Rachel or Cindy loose anymore weight we are going to have to put a feeding tube down them. It could be due to the worms or diarrhea that is responsible for the weight loss and fatigue. So the culinary delight is welcomed and the timing couldn’t be better. Our eagerness to get there was fraught with oversight. Bill collected money from us to pay for the anticipated bill. Bill wanted it to make it simple so he was just going to charge it. Out of gratitude he did not charge Ming to thank him for all the ancillary things that he does for the team. With zeal and mouth watering anticipation we loaded into the vans that Ming arranged for us. We go through a gated entrance toward this brightly lit hotel-Dusit Island. Whoaah! Didn’t we NOT stay at this hotel last time? Didn’t we save up enough over the last two years to give this place a consideration? Is it too decadent contrary to our humble servitude? Are we not deserving? We parade out of the two vans toward the buffet dining hall.

What a spread and we can’t wait to eat. Bill is trying to explain to the Thai hostess that we made a reservation for a party of 20. She doesn’t seem to under stand him. Ming, who made the reservation, is expected any moment. Any moment passes by and another any moment. “Where’s Ming?” Bill inquisitively asks. “He’s upstairs” someone replied. We are getting impatient since all of us want to eat but we want to pray first and give thanks and we are waiting for Ming. What can he possibly doing that takes so long? Someone wonders if he is checking into the hotel (I don’t blame him). Maybe he going to the restroom and taking his time enjoying every moment to sit on a real toilet instead of squatting on those porcelain holes in the floor. “How rude of him to keep us waiting. Doesn’t he know we are waiting for him. Dr. Chinn goes to look for him. Several minutes pass by. Bill asks, “Who saw Ming last?” Did someone see him board the van? He was out there next to the van before we left someone says but something about forgetting his cell phone. “He wasn’t on our van, was he on yours?” He sat in the front someone recalls. I polled each table. “Did anyone actually sit next to Ming?” “No.” “No.” “No.” There was a unanimous, “No.” We think we left Ming behind! No way, someone saw him board the van. Someone saw him get out of the van. Someone saw him upstairs. We’re sure about that.

Then Ming comes strolling into the dining hall about 20 minutes after we have arrived. “Did we leave you behind?” Bill asks. “Yeah, I forgot my phone and came out and the vans were gone!” Good, now we can go to the buffet. We’re starving! Then we recall that the driver of our van received a call during our trip to Dusit. He’s speaking in Thai. My Thai isn’t too good but I believe he said, “Hello? Opus (Ming’s Thai name)? Hey, where are you? Golden Triangle Inn? You didn’t want to go? Oh, they left you, HA HA HA! They left without you? I can’t believe it; those foolish Americans! Hey, who’s supposed to pay me! You? I better come back to get you. We still going out drinking and getting massage like last night; you still owe me from last night. No I want cash, not betel nut! Okay, Ciao.” Sorry for not speaking up, I wasn’t sure who Opus was so I didn’t make the connection. Bill, did you not have Ming pay because that was a subtle hint for him NOT to come? That’s not right. We shouldn’t have driven off like that. We hurt Ming’s feelings. Ming, I care. We all care. Thanks Ming. You’re a sport.

P.S. This is actually something I typed as I typed myself to sleep: Perfur revomy. (I have no clue, must be the residual betel nut.)

DAY 5: DESTINATION-CHIANG RAI PRISON

February 20, 2008

Quote of the Day: We are all prisoners of Sin

We are gelling as a team now. Earlier in the mission when we first met in the morning for breakfast it was WAY to formal. We were to stiff and professional. We would look at each other with a serious face, nodding at each other for acknowledgement and saying, “Dr.” “Dr.” “Nurse” “Dr.” “Pastor” “Mr. Bruce” “Dr.” “Nurse” “Dr.” “Dr.” “Nurse” “Nurse” “Dr.” “Dr” It’s been 5 days and now well gelling. We’re more comfortable around each other and more camaraderie. Now it’s, “Whassup doc” “doc” “Whassup” “doc” “doc” “What’s happenin’” “Say what?” “Get out!”

Chiang Rai Prison Resort

We headed for a new venue. We are going to Chiang Rai prison in the outskirts of the city. Watching Prison Break makes me nervous but gives us ideas just in case. We know how it is in the United States where prisons are like there own city with their own government. What goes on behind closed doors is anyone’s guess. It could be worse than communism (but not including Laos where we are going to. We like Laos!). We don’t know what to expect and who we will meet and how the prisoners are going to receive us or if they will hold us hostage. We know that there are no hostage negotiations. But if they want a hostage, we elect Bill because he would have been responsible for getting us in this mess. We are going into the lion’s den. I hope we are as lucky as Daniel. We want Pastor to check it out first. Luka says, “Don’t worry, I know them.” Hmmm, “old Luka hangout?” Don’t ask and don’t tell. There may be a bunch of BAAAD A__ dudes with tattoos and serial murderers with primal lust burning in their veins in their bulging biceps. Will they look at us and think “fresh meat” and smack their pursed lips feigning a kiss? Do they like Chinese food? We will soon find out. My paranoia is mounting. Will we be able to get out? I hope they like Luka. Luka, head of T-AMF (Thai Akha Ministry Foundation) is involved with a Christian ministry that offers medical care and dental care, when it can, when professionals are available to Chiang Rai prisoners. We approach the prison and curiously there was a statue of a little naked woman perched under the prison sign. I wonder if it is one their idols. For Americans it is certainly one of ours. (Commandment 2: no idols). I’m not sure if it is supposed to tease the men as they go in reminding of what they are missing on the “outside.” We drive up through the guarded gates and get a pass. Fortunately this is a minimal security facility. We nervously approach the guarded gates. Hey, they look friendly. We relax. We are led through tall thick metal doors and have to get a badge and give up our cameras and cell phones. You can imagine they may not want us to record anything or show the layout of the prison for obvious reasons or allow prisoners outside communication. We hear the ominous baritone “Clang! Click! as the heavy door is closed behind us. “Does someone have a spare key?” We hope that this trip is one way. I pretend to sneak a note to an unsuspecting gentleman just on the other side of the bars. Oops! I think he is the warden. Bill slaps my hand and says “behave!”

We are surprised. It is a relatively new, 10 year-old facility, with gorgeous landscaping. People are smiling. I’m not kidding when I say it looks like a resort. Expensive palm trees surround a play area. There is lush greenery throughout. There is a billboard advertising “Sports Behind Bars.” Hey maybe I’ll give up my Gold’s Gym membership and join…naught. The barbed wire takes a little away from the landscape and reminds us where we are. We are surrounded by a bunch of capped uniformed gentlemen in black shorts and tee shirts with some writing on the back. I don’t think it says, “Got Milk?” They have batons. They are fit and see their muscular definition through their thin tees. The men in our group instinctively surround the women in a protective circle. If we have to make a break for it, “women and children and ejournalist first” is my suggestion. It is very orderly. They corral us like sheep and direct us watching out for strays. I don’t think that they are there to protect us but to guard us. We head to the building. There are tents and it looks like we are expecting over a hundred patients who are sitting there. We were told not to wear the blue scrub tops since they looked too much like the the prisoners. Good idea. We wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a prisoner. Ghan, Luka’s wife, assured us that certain individuals wouldn’t have a problem (like Richard and Jack) but Bill would not have a trouble blending in. He kind of looks Thai, and with those beady eyes, well, make yourself at home. The prisoners are wearing either blue uniforms (sentenced) and brown uniforms (awaiting trial). It’s fitting then as Christians missionaries we are wearing blue. Believers have their life sentence in heaven and non-believers are awaiting trial at judgment day.

Prisoners of War

What do the prisoners look like? Like you and me. In other words, they look like any one else, your relatives, or friends. In fact, Luka saw his former policeman friend in prison. He asked, “Hey, why are you here?” ”Drugs.” Luka says his was a bad policman. There is definitely a war on drugs. Ghan was surprised to see a distant relative here. So, now she knows why she hasn’t been coming to family functions. The patient/prisoner do not look like hardened criminals. It is surprising that the overwhelming majority of offenses that got them into jail is drugs. You do the crime you serve the time. Mostly life sentences. Apparently drug trafficking is big business in Thailand but a No-No. Methamphetamine is overtaking opium as drug of choice. I had a glimpse through the window of men bathing outside at the community wading pool. They were pouring buckets of water gathered from a common tank of water, similar to how you would bathe camping. Other workers were putting clothes into a large bin and pushing down clothes, lifting up, pushing down, add soap, add water and rinse-The human washing machine.

We set up clinic in a relatively small room. The triage and pharmacy are set outside. They have a great view and fresh air. Dr. Owyang has the best seat in the house at the end of the ramp ready to greet them. It was really sad to see our patients, criminals in the judicial system, stuck for life, yes life. A drug conviction often results in life imprisonment. The language barrier (tribe vs. Thai) is a problem. So while some patients say that they were innocent, others tell you they shot someone. “I took methamphetamine and got crazy and shot my father-in-law.” Well justification in itself, the in-law probable deserve it. That is why I am going to choose the husband for my daughters; I’m going to make sure he likes me first. Some patients have a complex medical history and their medications don’t get continue after they run out. So they are very sick. One man we examined was swollen all over and hadn’t peed for 4 days. It’s likely he was in renal failure. He was also an alcoholic so his liver probably wasn’t functioning well. I think he may die soon but he can always get a 2^nd opinion. We, at least, were able to encourage the nurse to transport him to a hospital today. I got to do a few procedures. On one patient I was reluctant to operate on due to a possible infected cyst. It was disfiguring his chin with a big bulge. I said I rather not chance getting the whole area infected. He said that today was the best day to do it. I asked him why. “Because you are here” he replied. So I removed the mass which was, incidentally, a fatty tumor growing deep into his chin. “The customer is always right.”

The dentists got first dibs in the medical clinic. They even had a nice dental chair; it looked modern. When Rachel went to crank it up, no suction and other things didn’t work either. So they made do like they always do. Rachel later that day said “Larry saved my butt 4 times!” There were some more complex extractions the Larry was able to help her out with. She was just being humble. She learned that from her parents, I guess. As I mentioned, some are very complex cases and there were two patients that took 43 instruments to fix them.

The optometrist start from the word “go!” They have now trained Gi (Martin) to help him make the lenses. He goes to work and they crank out lens after lens. They are a production line. It is becoming routine for them to close up shop last since they are so busy. They’re always the last to finish. The younger folk just can’t keep up with them. We don’t know how to pace ourselves since we just don’t have the foresight.

The prison provided us with snacks and water and prepared us a meal and omelet Pat Thai. We congregated outside and enjoyed the fresh Thai air, certainly better than our Fresno air. We were taken on a tour of the women’s work area after lunch. There are women in uniforms in a Marine type of posture surrounding an area and shielding the women prisoners sitting afar. They are like statues and expressionless standing erect with their hands behind their back palms open, right over left. Detailed and uniformed, they look straight ahead. We were taken to an area where they women cook bakery goods and have a sewing area. There is a store where we can taste some food and buy some. They are learning domestic skills so that when they get released they can be productive and work in a restaurant or factory. In contrast, in American men don’t need to learn those domestic skills because we just find and marry someone who has those skills already. I, for one, have those skills that I received in high school when I took a “Bachelor Living” course. We are taken back to the clinic and as we pass the women guards relax and go “At Ease” in sync. As it turns out, these “guards” are actually prisoners themselves who have earned their way up in the prisoner hierarchy who are close to being let out. We are impressed at their organization and discipline.

There was an obvious foreigner amongst them. There was a Norwegian guy who stuck out like a sore thumb. Not only was he collared by the authorities he had a collar on that signified some pardon so he would only have to serve have of his sentence. He said he, somehow, got a hold of someone else’s credit card=3 years time. Pastor spoke to him and the Norseman was glad to speak English to someone. Can you imagine him? His English is as foreign as a tribal language. Pastor asked if his parents were Christians. He said yes but they don’t want anything to do with him. Pastor asked if he thought about Christianity. He said yes because it seems that only Christians seem to care. Many are awaiting their court appearance while IN prison. Some have been waiting for over a year. The Thai legal system may be great for their country but I prefer OUR system where we are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

QUITING TIME

We close up shop. We tally our numbers and we have treated 687 patients in 3 days. In our last Thailand trip we treated around 1000 patients in two weeks. We’re cooking and we still can’t get to everyone. The numbers are high but as a team we still get disappointed.

We gather our things and it looks like they are going to let us out after all. We didn’t meet the warden or see all of the prisoners. Maybe we were lucky and got the nice prisoners. Richard is disappointed that he didn’t get to see the inside of the prison where the cells are and the inmates are kept. I suggested that he could of hit the guard. “I don’t want to see the cells, THAT bad!” he replied.

We are all prisoners of sin. Some are imprisoned and don’t have a way out. With sin there are consequences. We sin everyday but with God in our lives our sins are forgiven. God has given us that eternal “Get out of Jail Free” card: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and they are available to anyone who desires them. Don’t let Satan monopolize your life.

DAY 6: DESTINATION: SAHASARTSUKSA SCHOOL

SMILE : )

We had a very different day today at the village school. Contrast today with yesterday where the villagers still live in last century or even the century before. Yesterday we visited the Akha Village and used the church to set up clinic. It ran very smoothly. We saw many of our former patients who remembered us and are still smiling when we saw them again. Some of the elders adorned their full Akha dress with elaborate headdress down to the shins. Many had no shoes. You see generations of the family come together. Some traveled 2 hours to get to this clinic for a consultation and treatment not even knowing if we could help them or not. Now, that is faith. Americans must look funny to them. Some, I’m sure haven’t even seen a “pale face”. Is that why they stare at the Jacks or Richard?


Maybe they’ve never seen someone so tall, an oddity to them. No, Richard I didn’t say you were odd (he’s so sensitive). They let us use the sacred sanctuary and changed it into a makeshift clinic. If Robin saw the mess we made he’d say “Holy sanctuary, Batman!” We reflect upon their gratitude displayed then and now and how they were impacted. CURING their medical or dental disease and CURING their poor eyes site seemed less significant to our CARING. Who in there right mind would travel half way around the world to treat people they don’t even know. I perform a lot of cosmetic surgery for thousands of dollars and taking off someone’s skin tags, all 30 of them, is as important to them as it is to someone getting a facelift. The “human touch” cures more than we think. Since many are laborers we treated a lot of tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome in addition to the usual aches and pains and colds. It was frustrating to see surgical conditions like a chronic sinus tract in the leg present for two years or a 2 inch pulsatile mass on the scalp that may full of blood ready to burst that would go untreated. We realized that we can’t help everyone but I hate that helpless feeling. It takes the sting out when we can see the success stories. Do me a favor. Take your glasses off just for a moment and look around and walk around. Do you dare drive? Are you legally blind? Picture those who see the world in a different light appreciating clarity for the first time after they receive their glasses. Those optometrists are awesome. Kudos and props to Dr. Chinn and Dr. Tajiri. Dr. Tajiri observed the “common language of laughter.” A smile goes a long way. On a sad note, the “fishermen” that we saw fishing on the lake were not fishermen at all. They were poking the waters looking for someone that had drowned. Life goes on.


CLASS IN SESSION


Not too far from the Inn is the SAHASARTSUKSA School. There are about 2000 children but we didn’t have to see all of them. Thank you God! We visited this school last year and set up shop in more modern facility than at the village. This school was initially established by our very own American Baptist Church missionary Mr. C. Carter in 1957. I can’t put it into words but it touches Pastor heart that the school has a Christian heritage and that Baptists that influenced a remote part of the world 50 years ago and that influence persists today. He especially feels the presence of the Lord here and that His work is present and flourishes. Is Pastor actually getting glassy eyed? Dr. Chinn, Pastor has something in his eye…a tear.


The school teaches K through 12th grade and is coed though the dorms are separate of course. This school comprises students of which 80% are from hillside tribes (primarily Akha). The other 20% are from local families. There are about 125 students here who have a parent in the Chiang Rai prison that we will visit tomorrow. So for most of the children this is boarding school and their families are either not accessible or too remote to visit regularly. When we arrived I think there was a school assembly. The children were aligned in the balconies facing this huge soccer field on each of the stories of the building. There were singing in unison and there were several young speakers talking through a PA system. We got a tour of the school in the morning before we started. The school is subsidized by the government. The children live in dormitories which look more like barracks in the military. We smile as we see that some of the beds are dressed with typical “girly” teenager type bedding with which we are all familiar. However, we are easily saddened by the fact that the thin blanket lies directly on particle board on which they sleep. Only a few have a “mattress” which is thinner than some dog crate liners we have for our pets. Some children can’t afford the comfortable bedding which costs about $30 US. We need to make more Doong for the fundraiser. We are impressed that the children do there own laundry. Here that kids? They each have a locker about the size of two school lockers at US high schools for all of their belongings. It’s cute to see the young children in their uniforms and we are attracted to the small group with pink hats waiting to go to the zoo. They crammed about 20 or so students into the packed truck but they looked liked they were having a good time. Kids will be kids.



We unload, load; story of our lives here. Richard is in charge of the boxes and bins. Bin there, done that. Richard has things contained. It takes about an hour to set up and an hour to break down. The day went very smooth. We saw 171 medical patients. The docs treated mostly upper respiratory illnesses. Dr. Owyang was in his own world. He spent about an hour with this one child running back and forth between patients. The child was lying down for a long time. Then he took the child to the bathroom. We hear a loud roar in the direction of the bathroom, “WHOAAAAAAH!_There was this huge chunk of ear wax that came out lying in the sink about an inch long. I thought we were going to need Drano. “I once was deaf, but now can hear.” Dr. Owyang was on a roll. He diagnosed something called “benign positional vertigo.” A child had seen several doctors and was told to do things differently so he wouldn’t get dizzy. Maybe take some OTC type drugs. He was running into things and strained his neck from bending over so much and trying to read. Dr. O taught him simple maneuvers to treat the inner ear (which had a stone floating around affecting the fluid) that controls balance so that the symptoms would be less and be less dizzy. It worked! The boy felt a noticeable improvement.


The dentists treated 73 patients. Vicki, you would be proud to see you boys in action. It was lacking a women’s touch but good thing Rachel is here. Tooth after tooth after tooth. Abscesses, rotten teeth, impacted wisdom teeth, and teeth that don’t belong there were pulled. Halitosis! is definitely not Hallelujah! Rachel is in dental heaven. You go girl. Maybe Bill can work for you when we get back to the States. They are working hard, working fast, working efficiently and it’s like watching a ballet, a Nutcracker. I tried picturing Richard in leotards but I warn you don’t EVEN try to imagine it. Ming did his usual translation: “Pain?” Patient nods. Next patient, “Pain?” Patient nods. The dental patients all have that peculiar look-the “Q-sign”. There mouth is wide open with a dental roll sticking out of the side.


When the optometrists were seen by the children, they were certainly a site for sore eyes. They treated 57 patients so they get credit for 114 eyes. So far Dr. Tajiri’s invention is a success. The children were amazed at how well they could see and read immediately after sporting their new shades. One ran with out stretched arms with the glasses tightly clutched in her hand running to show his friends. They read a lot and have straining and have headaches and fatigue as a result of them. Therefore, proper eyesight is imperative and welcomed with enthusiasm.
One optimistic patient even asked if we had rimless eyewear. So they gave him just the lenses.



TEARS OF ENDEARMENT


As we closed the evening devotion tonight a rarely seen moment of a teary-eyed, choked up Pastor described an incident today where three children were standing around him staring at him. He gazed away as if he didn’t noticed them and the kept staring. Then he looked at them and smiled. “Do you remember us?” one of them asked with youthful innocence. Pastor hesitated and said, “Yes…yes!” “We just wanted to know if you remember us.” It broke his heart of children just wanting to feel important and that someone cared. Kodak moment.


SORRY, WRONG NUMBER!


Okay (deep breath), I just got a call from Vicki Lowe. Its 12:30 pm HER time and 3:30 am MY time. Oh, she just happened to dial the wrong number! Lena’s phone is…6356. Mine is 6357. Jennifer’s, poor Jennifer who should have been here, is 6357 (please give her a call and give her your support. I should give you Bill’s so you can ring up his bill in Thailand! Okay, okay, enough, but “I love you Jen!”) You wonder why I can’t sleep through the night. I bet even Collette sleeps through the night.


“Well Mark, what are you doing?” “Sleeping.” “Oh, well since I have you on the phone, have you sent the next ejournal?” “How is it going?” “Well, REM was wonderful a moment ago…” “Vicky, no the next ejournal isn’t ready. I don’t know when I am going to send it. I can’t tell you how the day went, who we saw, and what we did. If you need to know NOW, please call Lester, HE may be up or you can read about it LATER! Do you have HIS number in your phone, otherwise I can give it to you.” “I appreciate you reading them, but come on, I can’t give you news “hot off the press” and I can’t tell you what I’m going to write about.” Then she said she just wanted to get in the ejournal. Well, she just suceeded. “What did you say, you’re breaking up, must be a bad connection”…click…oops we accidentally got disconnected.
Lester, I’m with you man. You see folks! There is just no way I make this stuff up. I am just taking notes, literally and mental, and just passing on the facts. There’s just no way to keep this ejournal short! Maybe someone can do a Cliff’s Note on this ejournal. Yeah, then maybe even the high schoolers will read it. “Good night, it was nice talking to you. Vicki, can we hang up now?”…………..Great, I can’t sleep….…..Where’s my computer……..Better yet, where’s the Ambien……No, better not, look at Anna Nicole and Heath Ledger…..where’s the mirror….Ewww, looser! Now where was I….REM.

DAY 5: DESTINATION-HUISAN AKHA VILLAGE

February 18, 2008

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Be careful of what you say, it’ll show up in the journal”

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

Our bodies and souls are suffering big time jet lag but our enthusiasm is what drives us as we tap our energy reserves. Sometimes our bodies don’t know if they are coming or going. We wake up in the middle of the night and don’t know if we should be going to back to sleep or not. The pitch black darkness says closes your eyes. I woke up at 2:30 and guess what I was doing. At 4:30 pm Bill was out jogging and someone was loading something. A few can be heard snoring thru these thin walls and windows. But most of the time there is a peaceful calm now that the hectic part of the journey is over. 6:00 am arrives and the rooster crows like clockwork so we roll out of bed. I think we’ll be acclimated to the time zone today.

DUMPED (read to the theme of “Love Story”)

I have a bit of bad news to start the day. Brace yourself. Rumor has it that Andy left me for another man. Well, sadly it’s true but at least it was for an older man. We had just gotten together and were looking forward to being roommates for the next two weeks. I don’t blame him. The other guy IS better looking, affluent, experienced, likes to travel, and is financially secure. (He has a lot, I mean, A LOT more gray hairs than I do.) And we were getting along so well. Lena warned him about my messiness but I think I scared away Andy. I tried, I really tried. I even was straightening my bins and getting organized. He did comment that I left my underwear around but I was using them to dry my feet; I was willing to share them. We even started sharing DEET together. He was so cute he bought me water when we first arrived. Maybe it was my hacking and coughing in our tiny room that threatened him. I told him I was tested and I was “POSITIVE” for “HIV (Humor In Verse)”; I was truthful and this the thanks I get. HE was wearing the face mask and not me; I feel so guilty. I don’t know. As an ER nurse, I thought he is used to kids coughing, gagging, and stooling on him. He wasn’t specific, but I think it was the germs. Now I am beginning to be a little paranoid. I sense I am feeling quarantined, all alone. Either I am diseased or they don’t want to be journaled. People just don’t want to be around me. I don’t want to be like Typhoid Mary so maybe it’s for the better. Anyway he abandoned me and left me with the room to myself. His last words were, “It doesn’t matter now, you can make as big a mess as you want… you, you hacker!” It’s not a virus I told him, but bacteria. He just wouldn’t listen. His new roommate is you guessed it, Dr. Pedro Obregon, extraordinaire, head honcho. How do I compete with HIM. He’s a living legend, and icon. I thought Andy liked Chinese food! Maybe it was my Oriental orientation. They are both Filipino and I’m sure that they’ll have a lot more in common to talk about. It’s not unusual for doctors and nurses to get together. I just didn’t see it coming. They’ll make a cute couple. I have no animosity and I blame myself. I am happy for you Andy but if there is someway we can get back together; well, I’d like that. I’ll try to get back into shape and I know I let myself go. I look pitiful. With Laos, there’s still hope. Now he sits at the far end of the table from me, with I can’t say it, Dr. “O.” (Why do they call him Dr. O? J. And I don’t even have Jennifer here to console me because of you-know-who! Sigh! Thank you for letting me use this journal to vent; I feel better now that this stuff is off my chest. I just wanted to clear the air.

DÉJÀ VU

After a brief breakfast of culinary delight we packed up our bags and loaded the trucks and vans. Richard is our main (PAC) MAN. He’s da beast. Don’t get in his way. Not bad shape for an old…uh…Not bad shape, that Richard, must have been born Year of the OX. Luka tricked us and gave us a smaller truck but we just adjusted. We were all in our blue Smurf uniforms. Who picked that color anyway? It’s common to see Dr. Patton wearing his fishing vest. He’s a fisher of men, you know. Ben and Gerry took pictures in an old bicycle rickshaw. Those newlyweds are always so playful. As a proud American, I was wearing my Red, White, and Blue Harley Davidson dew rag (it looks like a surgical cap). I hope I don’t get shot. We loaded up in the vans which were quite comfortable. Last time we were like packed sardines. We headed to the Huisan Akha Village, Luka’s home town. Déjà vu. We visited this village the last time. The roads were familiar but not as treacherous since the dirt roads were relatively dry, albeit, still bumpy. If there was snow on them they would be challenging moguls. Last time was during monsoon season so now it was a lot drier and safer. We did approach this lake with two boats apparently pole fishing. This lake turned into a river that crossed our path. Again, we crossed carefully because to the left of us there was the drop off. Hey it looks just like an infinity pool! We waved at the villagers as they saw Luka’s all familiar truck and caravan approach the church where we were setting up clinic.

The ride was uneventful and when we arrived at the church, again, it was unforgettable. We saw many new and familiar faces. The patients with big grins displaying their crooked red beetle-bug-juice teeth greeted us with anticipation. There were dozens of patients already in line to for medical, dental, and eye care. Luka introduced us while Dr. Obregon addressed the people explaining that we were a team from Fresno who traveled all this way to provide free medical care. We were a group of Christians that wanted to serve God with our talents and efforts unconditionally. He wanted to teach by example. We cleared out the sancturary to set up clinic. While the sanctuary may be felt as sacred and taboo to work in, it was fitting that this is what God provided to these people and what better place to be working in a temple of God?

NOW, MEET THE DREAM TEAM

Pastor Danny Jack, Dr.Psch. has been out to pastor for 37 years, no bull! He is our spiritual leader and psychological counselor. He makes sure we are accountable to God. That is why we are here on this mission. It is our duty to God. Can’t you see Him smiling. Pastor is our commissioner. We are to go forth to all nations (Is Thailand a nation?) and be witnesses and spread the Good News. Pastor keeps us humble. We thank God for the talents in which we are blessed so that we can contribute to the success of this mission and give praise to God. He is the bouncer at the front door and no one gets by him unless he wants to. He let’s everyone through. His motto is, “What have you done for God lately? Well then, get off of your Blessed Assurance!”

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING…andre agassi

Richard Bruce is in a class by himself. Not only is he our general helper but he is a specialist in efficiency. He’s the traffic cop directing traffic so that the team will run smoothly like a well-oiled machine. “Stop! Okay, Go!” He’s our brawn because who really likes manual labor? It would be hard to do this trip without Richard. We try to stay out of his way. He is part of the dental team. He earned his DDS (doctor of dental support) last year and cleans instruments so that the dentists can have that production line. He really does smile and really he is a nice guy but don’t let on you know. His motto is “Help me, don’t hinder me.”

TURNING A BLIND EYE

The optometrists, Dr. Chinn and Tajiri set up shop center stage. It looked like a workshop with Dr. Tajiri grinding away with his invention. He’s quite an inventor of many things. This one being a machine that can make accurate lenses and frames in the field in 15, yes 15 minutes! This is sort of the trial run to see how it can apply to helping indigent populations in mass quantities with limited time. He started a foundation to help the indigent. Kudos to Dr. Akiri Tajiri! Before, old glasses were given out and one eye might be good but not the other or people picked glasses, not for the prescription, but rather for the style of frames. Don’t we do that too? Our very own Dr. Chinn needs no introduction. He’s been practicing optometry for 55 years treating many of us. He uses this “gun”, the PAR or portable automatic refractor aimed at the eye and like a marksman is able to determine the necessary correction. He’s yelling out numbers “-.75 left eye, -.5 right eye, circle 9, etc.” during the eye exam. A veteran on mission trips he helps Dr. Tajiri give the gift of sight. The prescription is taken to Dr. TJ and the lenses are carved out carefully. One after another it is a production line. With Dr. Tajiri’s experience together they have provided over 111 years of optometric care and are still going! Many of the patients are so pleased the patients grab at the team and shake their hands with newly found enthusiasm and new sight. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. They’re team players since there is no “I” in optometry. Even at 81 years old Dr. Tajiri’s dexterity is great even though his fingers have been cramping up. He also huddles over his grinding wheel which cramps his neck. He’s one of the first to receive a Thai massage this trip. We don’t know if there was a “happy ending.” Their motto is “I once was blind but now can see!”…sing it baby!

STEPFORD NURSES

Gerry Wu, RN was a clinic nurse for three years before she became a wet nurse raising three children. Gerry does a lot of the recordings and help fit the glasses. When she’s not flirting with Ben (those newlyweds!), she’s all over the place wherever the need arise. She works in many departments such as triage and optometry. She was on the first Thailand mission where the steamy romance between Ben and Gerry definitely melted more than ice cream. Gail Ho, RN is Mrs. Team Leader. Make no mistake of her loyalty to her husband (even though she said it’s too bad that Jennifer isn’t here). She’s Bill right hand woman and his rock of Gibraltar. Gail does the eye chart exams and always has that caring smile even when a patient might say “What chart?” Cindy’s practicing the sign language they developed to check the eyesight to dodge the language barrier. They use three fingers pointing north=W, to the right=E, to the left=backwards E, down=M. You get the picture. She also helps with triage collecting vital signs. Andy Alejo, RN is usually at the front of the line receiving patients and leans the docs toward the diagnosis. It makes it easier to direct which patient to the appropriate medical or surgical doc. This is the first time Andy’s been out of the continent and his first medical mission trip. He fulfilled the male quoto for the RN staff. It is a well known fact that Arlene Jack, RN wears the pants in the family. Her leadership is well appreciated and is an asset on the team. It is a privilege to have her be my first assistant in surgery. Although we do not expect any obstetric emergencies we’ll help HER deliver the babies. Ming Chong, RN (15 years) is our very own mental health nurse and our main guide in Thailand. It’s a little known fact that Ming is a big shot in Thailand, at least that’s what Ming says. He is the Thailand Connection and makes the trips run smoothly making arrangements far in advance. He keeps us out of trouble by informing us of Thai’s custom so we don’t embarrass ourselves or him. The nurses are always smiling no matter what occurs. Their motto is “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit!”

DRUGS Rx US

The unsung heroes in the medical dept. are our pharmacists. Sure the docs can call on their diagnostic skills and medical acumen to diagnose the most exotic and unusual diseases from a tse tse fly infection to pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico volcanoconiosis (Fact: longest word in the English language). But what use is it if we can’t treat it. If we don’t have the meds, “Good Luck” doesn’t carry much weight. Dr. Ben Jue has been semi-retired with 52 years peddling drugs. Gerry says he’s not retired. I believe that, how could he, he has an expensive wife. Gerry, while opened her mouth and then slowly closed it, offered not rebuttal. Ain’t that the truth! Dr. David Chow (37 years, no not his age, look at him), whom I’m finding has a dry sense of humor (I kind of like him) has be dealing drugs since he was a teenager. His first job was in a drug store as a youth. Together they have amassed a collection of tens of thousands of pills, which they have to sort, count, bag, and label to distribute to the patients as they walk out of the clinic. And still, we are only giving partial treatment to help their ailments. What they don’t have or what we need they hit the streets and buy more drugs to maintain an adequate inventory. “We give what we can” is their motto. Their work is definitely addicting.

DR. MARCUS WELBY WOULD BE PROUD

The medical doctors are an eclectic group of fleas. We are the last to get off of a dying dog. Dr. Patton (37 years) recently came out of retirement to go on this trip. His years of dedication in Family Practice is invaluable to the treatment of youth and old alike. His gentle approach with the patients and soft spoken words of compassion comfort each of his patients. I might try that; I kind of like that. In this corner we have Dr. Doug Owyang (32 years), noted kung-fu master is well experienced in martial and marital arts. He always finds a way to defeat his opponent: disease with laughter and humility. He had one young lady that recently gained weight, complained of abdominal pain, and nausea in the morning. Oh yes, she also missed her period. He did not want to alarm her with the surprise. The diagnosis was lost in translation, however. “I think I know what the problem is. You’re Estimated Date of Confinement is September 15^th.” She didn’t understand. “The rabbit died.” So, Dr. Owyang loosened his kung grip around her arm and said “You’re with child.” “No, I’m a newlywed”, she replies. In America at least they understand “You’re knocked up, do you know who the father is?” He gently said, “You’re pregnant.” Surprise, surprise, surprise. She’s going to name the child, Doug, if it’s a boy. Dr. Obregon has been practicing medicine for 48 years primarily general surgery. In 1994 he retired as a surgeon but has been working with MMI (Medical Ministry International) by volunteering his services for medical missions since 1986. He is now full time with MMI
even at 78 years old he has worked up to12 missions per year! This is his 117^th medical mission and he has been our team leader for the past two missions to Thailand. His vast experience in medical and surgical allows him to treat a diversity of illness and we welcome his expertise. Dr. Mark Chin, plastic surgeon (15 years), like him or not has been on the last two missions to Thailand. Admittedly he is a vain doctor, and people pay him good money to be one. It has been questioned on his value to the team since if he spends so much time writing ejournals, what else does he do? Like a vampire, he likes the sight of blood and his motto is “Have scalpel will travel.” Just tell me when to show up.

A TOOTH FAIRY’S WORSE NIGHTMARE

The dentists are in a league of their own. They are in the major league and make a major contribution to the team, all without steroids. They are the BLUE Collar workers, that’s why they picked blue scrubs I guess. They produce and produce. While they do primarily extractions, the do restorative dentistry as well, that is, restoring the patients dental health, self esteem, and hygiene. Bill Ho, DDS (27 years) is the leader of the pack. While currently between jobs (since he is a self-made guzillionaire) his humbleness is beyond comparison. While it isn’t easy to be in charge and diplomatic, he makes decision in a congenial manner and in a respectful and thoughtful way. I respect that. Some decisions are hard to make but he has wisdom and foresight beyond the comprehension of some doting fathers. It’s great to have someone plan things out and tell you where to show up. Thanks Bill for inviting me along for the ride. Larry Lowe, DDS (27 years) is a jolly ole guy. He is a great helper and does not have a mean bone in his body. Larry’s a reliable guy and can tackle anything you throw at him. He does amazing things with those patients balanced one one or two legs of the chairs and contorts his body to get that last cavity or diseased tooth out. Lester Lowe, DDS (25 years) is the 2^nd body of the tag team. The Lowes are always in sync and know how to keep things flowing. You can throw any tooth there way and the pile them up for the tooth fairy. You have to stay alert for Lester’s humor or it might just go over your head. He’s responsible for that great DVD last trip and I have no doubt that he is planning another one just as great as last. We look forward to the sequel. And last but not least is Rachel Jack, DDS (rookie) whose daddy must be really proud of having a doctor in the family. She holds her own next to the old farts bringing new energy and vigor and eyesight and the lastest techniques in tooth extraction abandoning the antiquated ways of the 20^th century (i.e. dental floss around the door knob technique.) She may not see pathology as bad as it is here compared to the States but rest assured that she is ready and willing to tackle anything that comes her way.

There you have the lineup for this years FCBC Medical Mission Team. Today we collectively treated 60 patients (or 120 eyes) many who received glasses, 80 medical patients with a few surgeries, and 40 dental patients who had multiple problems in many different teeth. Most of the patients received some type of treatment and a handful of patients did not require actual medical care. We all felt that we had a good day.

INTO THE SUNSET

We wrapped it and the team dinner congregating in the hotel restaurant. Pastor led us with some singing, which we are not proud of, and we had a devotion from the book that he had prepared for us. The lesson was on witness, serving, and sacrifice. We had Thai food and for dessert we had a special treat: Birthday Cake! Who’s birthday you may ask? We celebrated Jack’s birthday which arrived today and Cindy’s is on the 23^rd of February. They’re at the stage where you don’t ask them how old you are. It’s just better to tell someone your age or they will find out another way anyway. We had 2 ice cream cakes. We will celebrate Cindy’s soon with a Thai tradition. They also believe in spanking on birthdays (no one brought it up for Dr. Patton.) So 18 members times her age adds up to a load of spanking which will take a lot time. But we don’t mind getting a little behind.

Bill felt that the day went great. Mark’s Motto: “If Bill’s happy, we’re all happy!”

FINE