From Thighland to Thailand

Thailand 3.13

March 3, 2010-Wednesday-13th day

See Jennifer’s blog  at www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com now with video!

www.markchinmd.wordpress.com and www.fcbcfresno.org

Medical Team International is down the home stretch.   Today’s period of rest and relaxation was fulfilled by a trip to the Princess Mother’s Mae Fah Luang garden.  She was the mother of the King of Thailand.  The beautiful garden is hard to describe unless you were there and had the usual and unusual plants and vegetation.  This was located way up the mountain about an hour away in the Mae Fah Luang district from Chiang Rai city.  There is also The Doi Tung Royal Villa where the royal family spends time away from the palace.  It’s like a large rustic cabin situated in the forest.  You can visit www.doitung.org for more information. The Princess Mother established the Doi Tung development project to provide land for farmers to grow crops instead of opium.  We visited a factory where we saw how some paper is made from the pulp of mulberry, pottery factory, coffee plantation, and clothing factory.  It is amazing to see how the threads are woven together and then weaved on looms to get different patterns to generate colorful material…all by hand.  These workers work hard in monotonous jobs sitting on floors or on desks or in this looms.  Not an enviable position but pays the bills I suppose.  This type of blue collar job is not for me.  This gave us the opportunity to by better quality products such as scarf’s, purses, clothing, pottery, and coffee to help support the local economy and satiate our appetite for shopping.

Tomorrow we will be going to a Lahu village, another hill tribe group.  So far we have treated several different ethnic members of the hill tribes including Akha, Hmong, Khmu, and Mien as well as some Thai citizens.  The following day we will be going to a school of several hundred children.  We went there about 4 years ago.  We wanted to go back to the prison but were unable to be granted permission.  The closest we got to being in a prison was in Myanmar and instead of blue uniforms, we would have had orange ones. So far we have treated 1225 patients keeping in mind the setback in Myanmar where we lost a day and a half.  In the beginning of the trip I was hoping for a goal of “2010 in 2010” and it might be possible.  I have to remind myself that quality of care and providing quality of living for these people takes treating them one by one and that its not the quantity of people treated.  Already this trip has made a tremendous impact physically and spiritually.  The Chinese have a saying when things are very good they say its “Best Quality”.  That’s our goal: to provide the best quality care that we can in the conditions that we face.

These mission trips allow us to build relationships with others.  Pastor pointed out that many ethnic groups that we encounter don’t look you in the eye, but an old man, after he got his glasses, came up to Pastor and looked into his eyes and said, “I see you.”  I guess he’s saying I’m connecting with you.

Our devotion makes us realize that when we go on this missions it’s by God’s hands and not our own.   The Akha and the Khmu have visions that border on what some may think are of delusions of grandeur.  But they are not delusions; it is a testament of their faith.  They don’t hope that “if it will happen”, but plan on “when it will happen.”  They are teaching US a lesson in faith.

Medical Team International (giving you a break in blogging)…signing off.

Thailand 3.12

March 2, 2010-Tuesday-12th day

See Jennifer’s blog  at www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com now with video!

www.markchinmd.wordpress.com and www.fcbcfresno.org

Our condolences to the Quong  and Kam Don family for his recent passing this past weekend.  God called him at 94 years-old.  He was a gentleman who reminded me of my father-in-law.  We will miss him dearly and we pray for Kam’s health and her sadness as she mourns Mr. Don’s passing.

Bill is trying to boost the morale of the team so we were treated to an upgrade in hotel accommodations.  We stayed at the Nan Khong Riverside Hotel (www.namkhongriverside.net) on the Chiang Khong strip.  The city is a hot tourist attraction since it has access to destination spots in Thailand and access to Laos just across the river.  We had a nice dinner overlooking the Mekong River with Laos in the background and watched the moon rise over the hills reflecting on the river.  Although we have been used to Southeast Asian music the local band’s renditions of 1970’s American music was both nostalgic and heartwarming.

Several members awaken early to walk along the river.  A breakfast buffet was an opportunity to bond with members of the team.  It is one of the benefits of having team members already familiar with other whether they are friends already or relatives.  Relationships seem to get stronger.  If tensions form, we just get to change roommates.  So far no requests yet.  When I talk to Lena, my most faithful reader, she is excited to hear how we are doing.  She always asks, “How are you and Jen doing?”  She’s worried that we might, say, disagree on different perspectives.  Well, Jen and I have known each other for over 24 years.  I am going over the Ten Commandments with her emphasizing, “Honor thy father and your mother.”  I had been looking forward to spending some time with her alone for father-daughter bonding.

Many of Lena and my friends have similar aged children and as they grow up they move out and go their ways.  We only hope that we have given them a perpeptual home base so that they may have a home that they feel secure in.  We welcome and cherish the times when the children actually want to come home and spend time with their families.  Some children never return.  We continue to leave our children’s bedrooms alone (short of being a shrine) so that when they do come home, albeit briefly, it brings back fond memories of their childhood.  It gives that sense of family.  Even when Steven comes home it’s literally music to our ears when he plays the piano.  What a treat.  Lena loves it when they come home and even tolerates the messes that they make; it makes the kids feel at home too.  You know then that she really loves to have them home.  Allison will be leaving soon and I hope that I will still have time to bond with her before she goes off to college, get married, have four children, and get a steady job.  Don’t let those chances escape.  So, to all the empty nesters I can and will relate.  So I cherish this moment that I have to spend with my favorite oldest daughter, Jennifer, not be confused with my favorite youngest daughter, Allison, or my favorite son, Steven, as they are known.  I’m not getting any younger (although I can look younger since I have friends in the business).  Jennifer and I get to witness in our different ways and you can see our different perspectives and impacts that this trip has been on us on our blogs.

It was nice to just walk back into the room where we worked last night, which was already set up and just start working.  No setting up chairs or tables.  No unloading trucks and unloading bins. No looking for power outlets.  No jockeying for position.  Bill swung open the doors and just said, “Bring It!”  We worked our tails off today.  Lots of patients showed up, several hundred.  Lynelle’s area was a haze due to the cloud of dust of tartar in the air from grinding it off the teeth.  The floor was littered with teeth from extractions and Bill was melting his gold jewelry for bling and gold crowns.  The medical docs were injecting left and right (I guess that means bilateral) letting the patients know that we mean business.  They got the point.  The eye people see the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not tunnel vision.  Leroy and Jen have dueling grinders to see who can grind out the most lenses. Dr. Chinn gives sight for sore eyes while Dr. Tajiri holds up the finished eyeglasses in the air and triumphantly declares, “And let there be Sight!”

I’ll have to say that many, not all mind you, we Americans are spoiled in our cushy jobs with 15-minute breaks in the morning and 15 in the afternoon including an hour lunch break.  We get overtime pay and weekends off.  We are subject to injuries too, but we can claim a worker’s comp. injury and get sick leave and even get retrained at WC expense, even if it was our fault for getting injured in the first place.  Then there are vacation days, holidays, sick leave, and retirement.  We can hang around the time clock discussing what a tough day it was waiting for 5:00 pm to click around.  If anyone was offended we should be guilty or appreciate it to have a good paying job.   Until you see what these people do just to survive and make a meager living, you I don’t think one can truly understand the meaning of hard labor.  I still can’t relate because I am not doing the hard labor but I see it’s effects first hand.  I think that is why they call it WORK!  I feel lucky or guilty or both that people pay me for unnecessary surgery; surgery they WANT and don’t necessarily NEED. Yes, I admit that I am one to have a cushy job but I am truly humbled by what I see that some of my guilt is eased and I attempt to fulfill my obligation to help my fellow man-kind.  My plea to you is to take your God-given talents and get out of your comfort zone and give back.  Not only is it the right thing to do it will make you a better person.

They average patient that I have seen in the clinics have been less than 5% body fat, rippling muscles that are tense and tone and developed no matter if they are a teenager or a 75 year-old laborer.  They’re buff.  I’m envious.  The children work or beg.  The mothers and fathers work.  Grandma and granddad work.  It could be bailing bamboo, gathering sticks, weaving yarn, getting water, feeding the animals, harvesting vegetables, planting rice, slaughtering the animals, or caring for children; they redefine the meaning of labor and work 24/7.  I really admire these people in the 3^rd world working just to put food on the table.  They show up at these clinics with so many musculoskeletal complaints and repetitive strain injuries.  They want to be cured just so that they can return to work.  They have a great work ethic and with our limited resources we do what we can and they sincerely appreciate it.  Pastor Khoon summed it up as we gathered our things and are about to leave this village by saying that it was through God’s grace that we came to this village and that He made it possible because we are all children of God. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Health check.  There have been a few illnesses and causualties.

1. After all those nine vaccinations, Jennifer, of all people has been inflicted with the common cold. I am proud of you for hanging in there, baby girl.
2. David has come down with a nasty cough which is getting better but now we are out of dextromethorphan.  He gets dibbs on the meds.
3. Richard’s plastic chair leg collapsed under him due to, well, er, a, too much, a, how do you say, a,… Let’s just say that they don’t make plastic chairs like they used to but fortunately he landed on something soft.  He was doing a different type of spread eagle.
4. Richard hit his head on the doorframe sustaining a small laceration on his head.  Good thing it hit something hard.  The average Southeast Asian that we see here is less than 5’ and weighs less than 90 lb.
5. Richard fell into the bushes sustaining a green stain on his pants.  To his defense he was looking for trash bin for Jennifer’s tissue that she brought out of the outhouse since there is no place to flush it.  (Jennifer is the only one who wears a mask into and out of the outhouse.  Is it you, Jen, or is it them?)
6. Poor Richard, I thought I was clumsy.  You were in the Marines?   What does it mean Special Forces?  Like Special Olympics?
7. I tripped over the edge of the raised floor and did a kung fu roll to purposely land on my back to absorb the fall.  I am good at this because in kung fu I’m always the one getting knocked down.  Interestingly no one offered me assistance or CPR.  I get first dibbs on the AED since I brought it.
8. Lynelle’s chair collapsed under her due to, well, er, a, see #3. She’s very graceful when she lands.
9. Kane almost chopped off his finger from a ceiling fan.

10. Bill’s is suffering from insomnia from all the details that he has to deal         with so he reads my blogs in order to fall asleep. Thanks Bill. You made me do them.

Don’t worry though; we’re all in one peace…MTI signing off.

Thailand 3.11

March 1, 2010-Monday-11th day

See Jennifer’s blog  at www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com now with video!

www.markchinmd.wordpress.com and www.fcbcfresno.org

WE’VE MOVED!

MTI traveled about 2 hours to the Khmu Eane Village in Chiang Khong on the border of Thailand and Laos divided by the Mekong River.  The mayor is known as King Khong.  We will be working here for the next two days.  To get here the roads are bumpy and winding and I’m glad that Jack has a steady supply of carsickness meds.  We have covered a lot of territory going into Myanmar and across Thailand with long hours on the road.  Thus, the exposure as a passenger subjects us to risks and can be hazardous to our health.  But if you have the opportunity to ride scooters like Pastor Jack, Andy and Dr. Tajiri in Thailand or will be visiting these parts, I have made several observations and recommendations about traveling on the road that might be useful.

Wear a seatbelt even though the driver wraps them up neatly with a rubber band and doesn’t want you to use them. Markings on the roads and traffic signs are for suggestion only.  A few drivers follow the guidelines and even though there are no posted speed limits most vehicles don’t have enough horsepower to drive very fast although some try.  It is suggested to stay on your side of the road (which is opposite to the US, unless you are back in Myanmar and the only direction I want to drive is to the border).  The drivers like to meander around the curves and utilize the principle of “the shortest distance between two points is a straight line” so as long as no one is coming on the other side they have another lane to use.   Although some vehicles have GPS systems and maps they still can get lost so they generally leave them off.  You are really a skilled driver if you can watch a DVD and drive at the same time.

Drivers of scooters have a death wishes.  As a courtesy, two honks alert the scooters who are in the way of a larger vehicle while three honks, whaling on the last one means the driver really means it and you are about to be road kill. And if you are on a scooter and get hit it was your fault for being there in the first place.   If you get in an accident, the larger vehicle wins.  Scooters are a one-size-fits-all.  If you have 1,2,3,4, or 5 members of the family plus a pet and fit on the scooter and the scooter moves, you have transportation.  Remember, it’s not that impressive since 2-3 of them make up one average American.  Pets may travel in a basket, on the seat in front of the driver, or if you are a monkey you can sit behind the driver if you know how to hold on with two hands around the driver’s waist. The scooters, who are like ants, yield to the larger vehicles. Scooters are multi-functional and you may stack things as high as you want as long as you adhere the physics principle of center of gravity.  The centrifugal force allows you to drive in a straight line.  You can use an umbrella as a windshield.  You don’t have to have a license to drive a scooter and there doesn’t seem to be an age limit.  Scooters can drive on either side of the roads in any direction. A recent helmet law reinforces the emphasis of driver safety involving scooters.  Women passengers like to ride sidesaddle because straddling the seat with a dress is not lady like; they have uncanny balance even when reading a book.  Children often sit in the front, unless they want to stand, in order to block the flying debris and bugs from hitting the driver, which might cause an accident. Interestingly there doesn’t seem to be road rage. I think because there are no traffic rules no one gets disrespected, no one has expectations, so no one breaks the rules, so no one gets angry, therefore, no road age. Americans should learn from this simple lesson. Remember to share the road. Driving is a privilege, not right. Happy and safe driving!

Now that we made it safely here at our intended destination, safe and sound, our local contact for Eane village is Pastor Khoon and Pastor Phonekeo.  Pastor Phonekeo is from Fresno and is associated with the Laotian congregation at the Mennonite Brethren Church in Fresno.  Born in Laos, of Khmu heritage, he felt that God led him to this village and seven years ago he started this church.  In the first year of the churches existence there were three Christians and today there are over 100.  He will leave the church in Fresno and become a full time missionary back in this area next year.

We arrived at the one room church and set up shop.  They had to retrofit the sanctuary that we are working in with more power lines since the dental and optical teams are power hungry.  They were shocked at the lack of outlets.  These teams have a constant power struggle because some feel empowered with all the energy that they can get.  Some of them are AC/DC. Watts the problem here. You need a high voltage guy like Bill to take control and keep us grounded.  All the equipment seems to work so the team gets charged.  Currently, it’s electrifying to see how we all work together.

The initial group of patients we treated traveled from communist Laos up and over the mountain and illegally crossed the Mekong River just to come to the clinics.  We have to see them first so that they can return to Laos before sunset.  They seem to have more illness than some of the other groups we’ve treated with multiple conditions requiring more medications, some, which we do not even have.  They   have traveled so far with vague complaints of total body numbness or pain or achiness “all over” and it’s hard to pinpoint a cause for their complaints.  Furthermore the language barrier compounds the translation of their symptoms. Without lab tests or X-rays we really have to use our diagnostic skills and treat our best guesstimate. I just say, “When in doubt, cut it out.”  A lot of them are dehydrated and Andy is antsy to start an I.V. to rehydrate a patient.  I suggested giving him bottled water but there were several gasps amongst the team.  Apparently there is a water shortage and they want to conserve our supply.  Okay, go ahead and spend $50 on that I.V. ;that sure makes sense  That’s why there is a health care crisis in the US.  Then add all the unnecessary surgery that is done…wait that’s all I do, but my patients want it.  I’ll get off my soapbox now.

I think that Lynelle is carrying the team. In fact, I know she is.  She spent at least 45 minutes alone on this one patient with a 50-year build up of tartar.  Exhausted, she felt triumphant and yelled, “Victory!” and raised her hands.  It’s not unusual to have the dentists gathering around talking about the stock market or golf swings while Lynelle is working in the background.  Is that why you invited her, Bill?  And Bill has way too much time on his hands.  He comes around the medical turf and tries to triage the patients and wants us to pick up the pace.  We’re just doing fine, thank you very much.  Why it was just yesterday during one of Pastor’s dinner lessons that we talked about teamwork and he was teaching us  “Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interest of others. (Phil 2:1-4).  Is that what your doing?  Pastor Jack prepared a lesson book for each night with scripture and responsive readings.  At dinnertime it is a nice way to reflect on the days experience to see how both the group we treated and how the team was touched.  It also gives us encouragement for the next day because we feel that we are doing what God wants us to do: serve his children and spread the Gospel by example.

MTI saw about 200 patients today and we are expecting 200-300 from three villages tomorrow.  It’s a testament to their trust in foreign doctors and to those who refer them to the clinic.  Many of them are in dire need of care and endure hardships including illegal crossings of the border that we don’t want to disappoint them by either not providing health care or not being able to improve their health status.  Many of the medicines only last a month and we hope by identifying a disease we can educate them to help themselves.  For example a patient who had GI pain and chronic cough was advised to stop smoking, stop her daily whiskey consumption, and avoid spicy and fatty foods.  A newly diagnosed diabetic can be taught about hydration and limiting sugar intake to slow the progression of the disease in addition to some of the limited medications.  There are a lot of repetitive strain injuries that can be helped with proper ergonomics.  Of course the optometry dept. continue to improve vision and ability to read and provide an instant cure for most patients.  Even in the US we have to wait 2-3 weeks for glasses.  The dental dept. also provides eventual relief by tooth extraction or restoration.

At some point the questions will be raised as to “Who are these people that make sacrifices for us?” that will give us the opportunity to spread the gospel.  Despite our trials and tribulations and the hardships and setbacks that the team experience during this trip, I believe that there is no bad news, only Good News.

Medical Team International half was through…more to come, stay tuned for part 2.

Thailand 3.10

February 28, 2010-Sunday-10th day

See Jennifer’s blog  at www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com now with video!

www.markchinmd.wordpress.com and www.fcbcfresno.org

QUOTE OF THE DAY: After our chaotic and hasty departure from Myanmar Jack Patton said, “I usually only drink at home.”

We look forward to this day as we are going the Huisan Akha Village to see some familiar faces.  This is Luka’s church and we are going to attend church service.  On the 7^th day God rested and since we are not God and don’t work as hard as Him we get to work a half a day.  The time of season is hot and humid and my most memorable moment is when we went during monsoon season and the river current was quite fast and strong and our vehicles could have been swept our off the waterfall.  Now I was sincere and I warned Leroy about the risk and he rolled his eyes because he can’t trust me now.  I wanted him to be ready to capture it on video.  Okay, so it wasn’t as torrential as I thought and one of the 4 x 4s was spinning donuts in the shallow stream and later people were washing their motor scooters and cars and some children were playing naked in the stream.  So it wasn’t exactly life threatening as I thought and anyway, we had enough excitement for this week.

We drive up the dirt road through the village and the villagers are waving at us as if they have been expecting us.  As we ascend up the steep hill towards the church we are greeted by an elderly couple who shake our hands as we pass by.  That was interesting since they usually greet us with both hands together in a praying position, fingers pointing up and bowing saying “Sawasdee.”  Perhaps they’ve adopted the American tradition or wanted us to feel with our own American gestures.   Some greeting us with a necklace of beads as a token of their thanks for coming. Dr. Tajiri hitched a ride up the hill on the back a motor scooter driven by Luka hanging on for dear life; I think he wanted to drive.  Yesterday Pastor Jack played Easy Rider and took a scooter for a spin around the foundation’s compound and said he felt that he wanted to keep on going down the highway.  Bruce, who has ridden for forty years was very tempted to hop on a Harley here but says Nannette won’t let him ride one.  What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand.

Many of the villagers are in their best Sunday dress with traditional Akha headdress and clothes.  It’s so cute to see a child in the outfits as well.  Immediately we start recognizing patients and relatives of Luka and his family of helpers.  My betel nut buddy from the past smiles proudly displaying her dark red blackened teeth at me and we immediately connect since that was the least memorable moment for me-when she gave me her dose to try and I passed out for an hour; that what the team tells me.  As a welcoming gesture, she reached into her purse to pull me out another one but really, it was too early in the morning and I had to work;  I usually like to have betel nut with my dinner.   Luka’s mother is dressed more contemporary and she has this stylish Star Wars T-shirt on with her Akha headdress.   May the Force by with you. We meet Luka’s father as well and he appears to be standing proud saying “That’s my son.”

We attended the worship service and we sang hymns in Akha.  Pastor gave a mini-sermon and several members were either praying a very long time or nodded off.  Similar to when Pastor Jack gives his sermon back home.  Pastor thanked the church for giving us the opportunity to come and serve them again and how God sent us here and that we are brothers and sisters in Christ and gave a talk about uhhh, ummm; I can’t remember I fell asleep. I’ll have to see Leroy’s video.  Thank God we didn’t have to sing; we were spared the humiliation.  We will save our talents for the karaoke bar and after betel nut!

The villagers brought some of their offerings as food and brought vegetables and fruit and placed them on the altar while some poured bags of rice into a large community container.  It was their way of giving back.  The goods were auctioned off at the end to raise money for the church, kind of like our doong fundraiser.  The team members took up a collection and Pastor presented a group offering to the Akha pastor.  When he collected the offering from us he went around and asked ”Do you want to give again?”  He liked the idea so much that I think he wants us to pass the offering plates around again back home.  Be prepared.  Now, now for most of the congregation it will still be less than 10%.

One of the deacons stood up and talked directed at the team and loosely translated (my Akha isn’t very good) he felt that God put the village on a hill so that we could find them. He kept some of the elders alive so that they would have the opportunity to see us again.  All of us together, Akha and us Americans, are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  Thanks for coming back, we knew you would because you said you would.

We worked half a day but it seemed longer.  It was getting late and triage had to deal with turning about a dozen patients away. It’s not a good feeling. Andy felt that we didn’t complete our job and felt bad for the patients, especially after traveling miles. Logistically or for the sake of the team members’ physical state there has to be limits on what we can do or how many we can see.

Another frustrating moment was for Dr. Chinn.  The process of getting glasses is very long and arduous.  The patient has to do an eye exam by first reading the chart.  Then Dr. Chinn examines the eye itself for disease and determines the needed refraction.  Then Dr. Tajiri determines which lens is needed for that prescription and Jennifer and Leroy grind the appropriate lens, smooth the edges to fit snuggly into the frame.  These are handcrafted.  Then the glasses need t be fit on the face adjusting the arms and nose pads.  So after going through all that, he asked a patient if he can now see the clock which was an object in the distance. “No”, the patient replied.  Surprised, Dennis checked him again, looked at the eyes,  reconfirmed the prescription, put the glasses back one him and asked once again if he could see the clock.  Again he said, “No.”  Now we don’t’ see Dr. Chinn really frustrated and you can see him saying, “In all my 57 years of practice…”  He readjusts them again, checks the Rx and was about to make brand new glasses and he basically blames the patient our of frustration, “I don’t understand why you can’t possibly see the clock??” Dennis is not chuckling anymore. He’s about to say “Are you blind, man?!”  The patient turns to the interpreter and points toward this huge object.  As Pastor describes it, “He couldn’t see because my fat head was blocking his view.”  After Pastor moved, the patient had 20/20 vision and could see the clock.

Working the production line and experiencing bottle necks is taking its toll.  Poor Jennifer, on her very first trip, got so exhausted she passed out in her chair, snoring.  We checked to see if she was arousable. “Hey, it gets so slow waiting it’s time for a nap.”  Jennifer there are no such things as breaks; there are no child labor laws here in Thailand.  She’s not use to manual labor.  I bet she was raised with a silver spoon, almost positive.  No, I’m sure of it.

Jack, holding his chin up high, was so proud to say that a patient (my betel nut buddy whom he’s trying to steal) felt that Dr. Patton cured her aching shoulder because after the injection she had total range of motion and she could do jumping jacks, handstands, and cartwheels once again.  “It’s a miracle! I’ve been cured!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees, kao towing, and kissing his feet.  I think that Jack was trying to get on her good side for some betel nut as a token of her appreciation.  And then Jack had the audacity to say, “Mark got a chance to do good work.”  A chance? CHANCE??  You mean I haven’t done any “good work” yet.  Thanks a lot.  I’ll have you know that I cured two people today.  Okay, so it was just a mole.  But it was hairy and big sticking out on her chin.  People would say, “Is that a spider on your chin?” After I cut it out she proudly wanted to take it home so I gift-wrapped it for her.  Yes it was that women that Pastor came into the room and suspiciously said, “Why are you in bed with that woman, doctor?”

You try working in those conditions, doing surgery in a dark room with only a flashlight, operating literally on my knees and sitting, I said sitting, on the bed, which was the only makeshift operating table available, contorting my body in between back spasm, trying to sew up flesh with throw away instruments.  I’ll have you know that Luka’s dad came to me, to me, Jack.  I removed a 1 lb. fatty tumor, okay maybe 1 oz. lipoma and a neurofibroma from his back.  I got HIS back; I wish you watched mine, Jack.  Just wait for that local anesthesia to wear off then let’s see how cured she really is.  Who’s the hero now?

I’m sorry; I got a little testy.  I know, it’s not about me.  It’s about them. Jack, let’s go have that drink, my treat.

Medical Team International signing off…It’s Miller Time.

Thailand 3.9 February 27, 2010-Saturday-9th day

See Jennifer’s blog at http://www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com now with video! http://www.markchinmd.wordpress.com and http://www.fcbcfresno.org

QUOTE OF THE DAY by Richard Bruce on Lynelle wanting all the men to wear a sarongs for her birthday: “Lynelle may want to wear a sarong, but you will not see Richard Bruce in a sarong.” A birthday wish gone bad.

NEWSFLASH: A reputable source tells me that members of an army of a country that we briefly visited as tourists are being investigated by the United Nation Council for Women’s Rights on charges of mistreatment and inappropriate behavior of Karen Christian women. Aren’t we glad we got OUR women out of a certain geographic area in the nick of time? By the way, we got out so fast Lynelle left her underwear behind. Maybe its a souvenir for the army. Pastor’s also looking for his Speedos.

I’m laughing because it’s hard to get this picture out of my mind. I dreamt that Leroy was riding on an elephant with two huge tusks yelling “heeyah!” all the way back to the Golden Triangle Inn down the main drag escorted by motor scooters all because we forgot Leroy and left hem back at the elephant rides. Then coming up and saying, “Did you guys forget something?” It’s hilarious but it could’ve been a nightmare. It’s a long way back to Chiang Rai. Bill, faithful shepherd, you better count your sheep and get the flock out of here in one piece. We don’t want to sacrifice any lamb.

Today’s a special day on several accounts. First of all it’s Lynelle’s birthday. Happy Birthday! You don’t look a day over 35! (Have you had work done; you look so natural?) Hey Tom, I thought you were going to fly out here and surprise her on her birthday! You have one more week to come here. They have nice golf courses; now will you come? Secondly we went to the Akha Youth Development Center where we will got to see the fruits of FCBC ministry to support the various projects of the Thai-Akha ministries. There are many projects that are ongoing and Luka has an incredible vision and has great faith in God, such that, something’s in his mind are a done deal and he plans for it. The Foundation has a large property for the children’s school medical clinic, tea crops, tea processing and storage facility, catfish ponds, corn field, passion fruit crop, pineapple crop, and a 4 acre rice field that FCBC recently purchased to help the goal of being self-sustaining. It yielded almost 400 bushels of rice, enough to feed the children and some of their families for about 8 months. In one day, all the villagers come to plant the rice. They want to add additional acreage adjacent to the current field to feed them for a year and perhaps have extra to sell. YWAM (Youth With A Mission), an organization that the BYF worked with in Mexico to build a house, came from Canada and built a training facility near the agriculture fields so that others can learn from their methods. We wanted to go see the affects of the Bull ministry and how the families propagated the cows but we had udder things to do.

We saw a good number of patients, about 182 in all. Most of the children are in good shape anyway and even their teeth just needing cleaning. Lynelle gathered the children and gave a dental floss demonstration on how to actually floss their teeth. Usually the floss has been used to tie around the teeth and connected to the doorknob to pull the teeth out. Since we are in third world country we use third world techniques. A lot of reading glasses were given out so it balanced out the grinding and making glasses. We have a good pace seeing a balance of patients but sometimes it gets hazardous for the doctors. For example, Kane was demonstrating to a patient using his hands and his hand hit the ceiling fan. He’s Yao Ming compared to the natives and the buildings are built as such. Good thing all parts were there otherwise I would have had to bury his finger into his side, get it back out in the US and then try to replant it. After explaining this he almost did give me the finger. His music career would be in jeopardy as well; he strums a mean guitar and is an accomplished pianist. Ask him to play his jazz version of “Chopsticks.”

We are not picking on the newbie on purpose but I’m sorry I had to get back at him when he told me to stand in the bucket when showering to collect the run-off in Myanmar and I almost fell out. Leroy likes to video everything so someone told him to go video us doing some laboratory tests. I used my printer as a “mobile lab” so we took some brown sticky rice paste and put it in some gauze and with a rubber glove pretend it was a stool sample. He videoed the docs holding a conference and analyzing the smell and the consistency of the “stool” specimen. Oh yeah, we also tested it for taste. Kane said it was a little sweet and I thought it was crunchy but we felt it was some worm infection. We wished someone was videoing Leroy with his mouth open. Leroy you been punked.

The team has peculiar appetites. Kane has a voracious appetite and stays thin. Some of us are full of it, food that is. Bill and Gail can eat anything and they just go run 5 miles to burn off what they ate during the day. I like to conserve energy myself. The food that I have been eating is not Atkin’s friendly. I must have been in carbohydrate withdrawal and my body is craving starch and sweets. Richard eats cornflakes every morning despite a Thai cuisine at his disposal. Jack likes the fish just for the halibut. Dr. Tajiri doesn’t like oily foods and eats mostly rice. Lynelle puts food she doesn’t want to eat on Andy’s plate because apparently he is a human garbage disposal. We eat at least three meals a day, more food than we usually do, so we might have to rearrange the schedule to include a day for team liposuction. Half of the team got to eat at this great buffet at this fancy restaurant yesterday. The other half didn’t know that we went until now. You snooze you loose.

We were looking forward to a nice Thai cuisine from Luka’s wife, Ghan as we fondly remember from the last two trips when she whipped up mouth watering Thai food the spicy peppers helped too. So when we went this time to her home she surprised us with an authentic American meal. Welcome home, Americans! Spaghetti and meatballs and salad and French bread and Marie Callendar’s pie: French apple, berry, coconut cream, and cream cheese; Pepsi and Coca-Cola too. Beggars can’t be choosey. It was a great treat and a gastronomical delight. Burp! Ghan and Luka always makes us feel welcomed and at home. In fact, Lynelle was presented with a birthday cake as we sang “Happy Birthday to You” with Gi playing it on the guitar. We got to spank her; just kidding Tom.

Irma usually shops til she drops and must have been exhausted because she didn’t go on that 4 block stretch of street vendors tonight. Bill, Gail, Lynelle, Jennifer, and Leroy all love to shop and we all find in fun to bargain even for 10 baht (30 cents). They ask high, we go low. If they say yes too soon we know that we didn’t go low enough and we’ve been had. It’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Lena would be proud of me for not buying too many souvenirs (her definition of junk).

There is an incredible amount of energy flowing through this team; we could have lit up Myanmar. Many members of the team wake up early to walk, run, go to the market, blog, and then don’t go to be until wee hours of the night, No one complains about the long hours or long journeys. On the contrary, we complain if it gets to slow or we didn’t see enough patients. Richard was happy that every patient today who came to the clinic today was seen. But some of us are slowing down a little day by day including yours truly. Please pray for our stamina and health and continued enthusiasm despite the adversities that may encounter. Thank you for your prayers, your support, and concern. Thanks for listening.

In Christ, Medical Team International signing off.

Thailand 3.8

February 26, 2010-Friday-8th day

See Jennifer’s blog  at www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com now with video!

www.markchinmd.wordpress.com and www.fcbcfresno.org

Happy Birthday19th Lindsey Lowe!! I hope you still have that star pillow you got for your birthday because you’re a shining star!  Don’t give it to Bailey.

YOU’RE FIRED!!!

Now that we have been fired its time for some R & R: Reflect and Regroup. I want to clarify my last entry and sign-off.  I must point out that “embarrassment” isn’t an accurate reflection nor the sentiments of the rest of team.  I felt embarrassed.  It’s a personal thing that probably goes back to my childhood as an insecure child.  Except for these set backs I’m getting better.  I felt rejected for unwanted for perhaps viewed as meddling in foreign affairs. I have been in a position of volunteer work before and “let go” and it is embarrassing for me especially when I don’t know why I’m being dismissed.  When you give of yourself of time, money, effort, and sacrifice along with the risk of health and safety and then get dirt kicked on you it’s humiliating.  We don’t go for appreciation or acknowledgment other than as Christians representing Christ.  We are humbly just volunteers for God’s sake.  We are just trying to help, but on the other hand did they ask?

A pole of the team reveal mixed emotions about what happened.  While some were disappointed there were also feelings of despair.  Pastor felt victorious and proud.  Proud of what we did despite being persecuted.  We were willing to share but now the doors were shut on us.  But we can be a witness to others for just being there in the first place.  It tells others who First Chinese Baptist Church represents and what we stand for.  IT tells about individual efforts of team members.  We still did a lot during our brief stay.

There are a variety of emotions that go through what we are trying to accomplish.  Our mission is two-fold: 1) to serve God by serving others though our God-given talents and 2) to spread the Good News.  #1 allows us the opportunity for #2.  This experience affected members in different ways.  For Kane it taught humility in that what we think we’re doing or why we are doing something may be different from God’s plan. “We are called to go and are still glorifying his kingdom and not just giving out medications.” It may just demonstrating obedience to God and trusting in our hearts.  Cindy said “It was a fantastic testimony of the whole group working together” during the evacuation.  Bob felt that it gave the people encouragement, fellowship, and education.  It would give the people the impression that people care for them and in fact, showed up, and not just sent in money.  That will have a lasting impression.  Pastor feels that we need to be the light of the world in this literally dark country.  On a lighter note, Dr. Tajiri felt it allowed him to appreciate the Golden Triangle Inn more!  Bill said that the Lord was with us all the time and took us into Myanmar and brought us out.  He said that the driver’s name was “The Lord” but we know which Lord he meant.

We are saddened for the untreated people that we could have touched and disappointed because we didn’t get to do what we set out to do; that is, go to three different venues in Myanmar and offer services to hundreds of people.  Only a few were treated. But a restricted country we are at their mercy and it is an uneasy feeling.  They can change their minds at will.  We are on their turf.  They play by their rules.  Sometimes there are no rules.  We’re never sure what to expect but we try to be prepared and prudently take precautions.  Even Rev. Dr. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches (head honcho, the “Baptist Pope”) was invited to come to Myanmar a few years ago and was locked up for 2 weeks.

Something of note: Perhaps the local authorities were not happy that we did not take up their offer to give them $omething, in return for allowing us to stay and to be left alone.  Sounds like extor…, you know what it sounds like.

Several Myanmar churches welcomed our medical team and the Myanmar government knew we were coming.  The State department knew we were coming; (Big Brother is always watching. ) God is watching.  The team went into the country knowing that we might have restrictions but didn’t expect to be kicked out.  But at least we tried and got an “A” for effort.  Perhaps we have opened the doors for others.  As we prepare to leave they ask “When will you be back?”   Only God knows.  Even some people called their relatives to say “Come quick; the Christians are here.”

Thank God we are safe, we can learn from this experience and move on.  Personally, I was scared, I was scared for the safety of the team and in particular, my daughter Jennifer whom I love and have a great responsibility for watching out for her.  I know she can take care of herself, after all, she demonstrated that living in Paris for a year.  But as the father watches over his children.  God, our father, watches over His children.  And like children, we often don’t understand the meaning of things.

The eviction itself may have done more good than actually treating the patients.  We may have only treated 50-60 patients yesterday and 260 the day before but we probably impacted hundreds more by our exodus.  We could have quietly treated the patients but now it is known throughout the region that Christians came to help and that they were kicked out by the government.  People will hear and people will talk about those Christians. Maybe THAT was God’s plan. That can’t look good for the bureaucrats. The repercussions will be felt, even after we are gone.  The Christians were sent packing and went home. But we let the Myanmar people know that they are not alone.

A fourteen hour round trip and only 320 patients treated and a forced mass departure; so it was worth it?  The concensus: Absolutely!  We also traveled 35 hours and at the first clinic in Chiang Rai a student accepted Christ and seeds she will sew was worth the trip.  Until I wrote this, I missed the message.  I get it.

Now we had the Lord with us all the time.  He was one of the drivers.  He knew his way all around Myanmar.  I can’t pronounce his last name, but Lord I can remember.  It’s comforting that he was always by our sides.

We sleep in today since we are still recuperating from yesterday.  Bill says “Let’s go elephant riding.” Several of us are looking forward to riding elephants. But it’s a nice relaxing boat ride up the Mekong River so most of us go.  We first play hide and seek with the two vehicles.  In our van, we past where we think we’re supposed to get off but we are patient, especially because we don’t speak Thai. Arlene suggests that we will know where we’re going when we get there.  Luka’s truck is nowhere in sight.  “Boat river” Jack gestured with his hands.  The guy says yes but we don’t look like we’re going to the river.  Our driver doesn’t speak English and then shakes his head and says, “Oh no!” and points to his head.  I can’t believe Luka got lost but we found him.  We saw a garden and then went to the boat ramp.

Now the boat people must of heard what happened with the flat tire. So they decided to divide our group into two and we took 2 boats instead of one to lessen the chance and capsizing and eventual sinking.  Luka said we didn’t need life jackets because the river is not that deep. Yeah, right.  We donned our vests and loaded the boat.  We did not have any near sinking’s.  Leroy, Kane, Irma, Lynelle, Jennifer, and I rode the elephants.  Giddyup doesn’t work with these animals.  Some of the tusks needed cleaning and flossing to get those tree branches from between the tusks.  One elephant avoided me since I weighed too much last time.  An elephant never forgets.  Lynelle was training one to nod his head.  He’s no Dumbo.  Kane wanted to ride bareback.  We had a nice jaunt around the park and through the river.  Water seems to increase elephant GI motility.  My suggestion: Do not drink from the river.  Do not swim in the water either.  I’ve been there dung that.

Leroy is year of the Snake and was playing buddy buddy with this 50 lb. python around his neck.  No one dared tell him the snake loves Chinese food.  He’s like Indiana Jones and almost needed to be Indy to get back to Chiang Rai. Remember  the motto “No man left behind”?  Well, according to Bill, it depends upon if you are punctual or not.  We went shopping along the strip to support the locals and were to meet at 1 pm.  We loaded up the vehicles and the van and truck started to leave and we almost hit this guy holding shopping bag in one hand and videotaping in the other not watching where he’s going.  Someone pointed out that he kind of reminds us of Leroy.  “Hey!” Bill chuckles, “It’s Leroy.”  Bill’s accused of not doing a head count.  He said he did but there was one OVER and besides he says, “I’m off today!” So getting extra people I guess it’s standard practice not to see who’s actually there.  Ghan and Libby snuck on board. “It’s only 12:58 and you said 1:00!”  “Well, actually we were just about to go looking for you.  We’re glad we found you; we were worried. Don’t scare us like that, Leroy!”  CYA Bill.

So far we have lost anyone and no one got stuck in Myanmar.  We have had today to regroup and ready to move on.  I overheard Bill whispering to Luka.  Yes I was eavesdropping.  He’s already thinking ahead.  “We really have to work the team.  The team likes it when they work hard.”  Who asked you?  I thought this is supposed to be a vacation.  We are tourists aren’t we?  Make up your mind Bill.  Slave driver.

Medical Team International….Sponsored by Timex

We take and lickin and keep on tickin.

Thailand 3.7

February 25, 2010-Thursday-7th day

For Blogs please see www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com and www.markchinmd.wordpress.com or www.fcbcfresno.org

FLASH!:  AMERICAN MISSION TEAM BOOTED OUT                                      OF BURMA

First of all I thank God that I am even able writing this at this time and not on a piece of toilet paper in a jail cell that I have to smuggle out and that we (see the definition of we in yesterday’s blog) are not in jail, or prison, or out in the roadside walking home empty handed, or something more terrible.

Secondly, I wish Allison Happy 18^th Birthday and I love you and I want to see many more of your birthdays.  I wish I was there instead considering what happened here.

Thirdly, we are back in Chiang Rai, luckily crossing the border before it closed, which, on the bright side, will give us more time in the clinics here.

Here’s the debriefing of today’s excitement:

FAST FORWARD: Woke up. Fewer roosters. Larry happy. Wrote blog. Group to flea market. Irma bought tablecloth.  Ate crispy worms. Bumped into patient. Bob and Libby lost. Have breakfast. Turned in laundry (yeah!). Guy yells “Free Clinic” to local market.  Walked down street to church for clinic. Set up shop. Being watched. Crowds form, Car loads come. More crowd. Start clinics. Got generators. Blew fuse. Jack looses bags again.  Find bags again. See patients.  Police come to check commotion. Oh crap. Pastor confronted. Crowd grows. Some sneak up.  Kicked out. Police talk. Pastors yell.  Ready to rumble. Constable told… Pray to God.

“STOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPP!“ Pastor Jack yells and tests authority.  Few minutes past.  “Resume.”

More minutes past.   Hid satellite phone.  Download ejournal to flash drive.  Police go talk.  Not happy. Ready for lunch. Lunch cancelled. Evicted. “YOU’RE FIRED!”
“Every one pack your bags, we’re leaving NOW! We have 2 hours to get to the hotel and get out of here.” “GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!!!

Frantically pack. Grab things. Grab my daughter. Stuff bins. Pee our pants. Say “Bye-Bye.” Good-bye hugs. Few tears. Dry eyes. Pack truck.  Bob MIA. Rush to hotel. Find Bob. Pack bags. Grab laundry. “GO, GO, GO, GO!!!” Pack vans. Escorted out of town.  Police follow. People wave.  Immigration office. Wait… We leave. Good Riddance. Pray to God. Bumpy road. Throw up. Check points. Wait… Pit stop. Play Squat N Point. déjà vu. Hall butt.  Take naps.  Reach the border. Stand in line. Wait… Feed beggars. Get passport. Cross the border.  Thank God. Kiss the ground. Civilization. Street market. KFC. Pig out. Lick fingers. Go home. Hug Pillow. Thank God. Go to sleep. Close call. Escape with lives.

Whew! And how was your day?

MTI teams is now known as the BOOB team: Booted Out Of Burma.  A BOOB job gone bad.

REWIND: The day started like any other day.  Woke up refreshed waiting for the generator to kick it and noticed the paucity of roosters crowing. We are looking forward to do good deeds today having been encouraged by our production the day before.  A bunch of us gather to go to the farmer’s market.  It’s a huge market several acres large just below this large nice hotel.  It would have been ideal to stay there and go to the market everyday.  This is their livelihood. Whether its pastries, clothes, stuffed animals, food, hardware, flowers, drugs, this is the place to be, kind of their version of Costco.  “The more you buy, the more you save.”  Bargain hunters think they got a steal while the sellers are laughing all the way to the bank.  Some try a delicacy of grubs, crispy worms.  “Good flavor” as Lena would say.  It’s the after taste catches you.  Some guy starts to talk to me.  I don’t speak his language but he shows me his hands and I recognize him as a patient I saw yesterday.  Small world!  We get to the vans and Bob and Libby are gone so we have to look for them but Bob is the least likely to get lost here.  We return to the hotel to have breakfast and Richard says that we just missed a guy with a bullhorn yelling down to a group in the mini-market that there is a free clinic down at the church today, which is just down the street. He chuckles at the thought.  Maybe it’ll drum up some business we think but we don’t realize what’s in store ahead.

It’s so close to the hotel, we walk.  We are relieved that we have power today thanks to the generators.  A crowd is already forming and they are choosing their spots in line and find empty chairs.  We set up shop and have plenty of room.  The dentists are downstairs and Lester nonchalantly hangs out his satellite phone in case he needs to reach the outside civilization.  People are watching.  Carloads carrying people from miles away show up.  We assumed we were going to treat mainly church members and some local folk.  You know, however, when you ASSUME you make an A.. of U and Me.  U being them and us being Me. We are being watched by the authorities, as police come around and check things out.  They get concerned about the crowds that are forming and who we are and what the heck are we doing in there and who gave us permission to do so in the first place.  I dunno.  Quick play dumb.  “Officer, we just happened to be in the area and were just observing and demonstrating how to set up a remote clinic in some 3^rd world country in case they wanted to do the same.  Those aren’t real patients; those are actors!” They query, “Aren’t you guys listed as tourists?” “Hmmm…let…me…check.” They have a point.  Maybe that’s why Luka suggested for us to look like tourists and don’t wear our blue scrubs or our photo badges (I didn’t like them any way) when we go into Burma to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. And maybe that’s why we hid the bins way under the luggage. Now I get it.  Because remember, we ARE tourists just bringing our belongings with us so they don’t get lost or stolen.  We just like to play Doctor.  Hey Bill, this was all thought out ahead of time right? What was the worse case scenario that you didn’t want to talk about, the fate of Baptist missionaries in Haiti perhaps?  Luka assured us it was “Safe.”  I realize that the meaning of “safe” is lost in translation.

Pastor Jack runs in the room and waves his hands and yells, “Stop! Stop what you’re doing.”  Then we wait patiently to see what’s going on.  He feels comfortable to say “Resume” and then the church people say let’s pause and have lunch while this gets sorted out in an hour.  Then Pastor returns quickly and says, “Pack up we’re going home.”  Back to the hotel? “No, out of Burma.  We’ve been evicted!”  Then it’s a mad house but we want pack up before all hell breaks loose.  They might confiscate our things and take us to jail.  So I download 3 days of ejournal to flash drive.  We hide the satellite phone because they don’t like the fact that was have access to outside world.

The police are concerned about crowd control.  They don’t want a riot.  The constabulary want control of their turf.  They got a bunch of foreigners coming into a country that is prideful and make it look like the country can’t take of their own people and that looks bad.  We weren’t exactly invited nor welcomed and were working under the radar.  Now they see a blip and we have bogies on our tail ready to fire and blow us back across the border.  We are seen as the “Meddling Team International.” The country likes control even with electricity.  They flip the switch when they want to.  They don’t need your help. After discussing with the local pastor of the church and with the police they want us out and want us out fast.  We have two hours to get out of town and be escorted to the immigration office.  I don’t want to know what “Or else” means.  I did want to spend more time with Jennifer but didn’t expect to be cellmates.

We pack our things, pronto, faster than unpacking.  We don’t have much time.  We say our quick good-byes.  See you later; maybe not.  Bob is missing. But we have a motto, “No man left behind.”  Even Bob.  We later found him at the hotel. How he’d get there first?  I hope he was going to wait for us.  Was there something he knew that we didn’t?  We pack our bags like there is a fire approaching.  Women and children first.  “Adios amigos” Irma yells as we leave a trail of dust.  We are getting out of Dodge.  We run with our tails between our legs. We. We. We. Go. Go. Go.  How apropos that Pastor Jack gave us a wrist band with John 10:4  “We will go…” 10:4, roger that.

A private judicial escort takes us to the Immigration office where we wait nervously as they determine our fate.  Will we be let go to returned to Thailand or will we be detained?  We get through the 1^st checkpoint and then the next and so on.  I wont’ bore you with our details going back but we shaved an hour off our road time because we had to get back before 6 pm when the border closes.  If we are late, then what?  Cold cell, bread and water?  We get detained at the Thai/Myanmar border and it takes some time to process and we have to fill out papers. I want to list my occupation as “journalist.” No, no, no, no, no!!! Worse thing to put down. Just kidding, “physician.” We are wondering if there will be a “problem.” We scope out the lay of the land to see if we can make a run through the border.  The runners have an advantage but we can always trip them.  There is a small stream that we can swim across but the toxic water may kill us.  Viagra might not even get us out of this, so I don’t waste them.  The end is in sight. Eureka!  We get our passports and clutch them tightly and cross the border into civilization and I mean civilized.  The feeling is different in Thailand.  The feeling is even better in America.  God Bless America!

We don’t know if we have rooms at the Golden Triangle Inn so I suggest the hotel the late David Carradine frequented.  I always liked “Grasshopper.’  It’s too bad he rubbed his legs in the wrong place.  Bill feels bad for the experience.  Don’t worry we are all in this together.  Like the Army says, “It’s not a job. It’s an adventure.”  So he decides to splurge and says “Dinner’s on me.”  So we head to Kentucky Fried Chicken for a special Thai cuisine.  Thanks Bill.  Always keeps us humble.

We make it home safe and sound. Remember, God won’t put you in situations that you can’t handle. What a relief.  Thank you God.

John 10:4 modified…”We will go…to bed.”

Signing off….Team embarrassed.

Thailand 3.6

February 24, 2010-Wednesday-6^th day

For Blogs please see www.fcbcmissions.wordpress.com and www.markchinmd.wordpress.com or www.fcbcfresno.org

Can’t we get any peace and quiet here in this pitched black campground?  We’re expecting crickets and owls but this sound wakes us up at 4 in the morning.  “Er Er Er…Errr.”  Then there are two roosters then their buddies join in and now we have a quartet of competing roosters. They crow a different dialect here.  I’m pretty sure that in the US “Wake up!” is pronounced “Er er Er er Errr.”

I’m depressed since it’s only 0400.  I try not to make noise but Jennifer is afflicted with insomnia as well, a trait amongst bloggers.  We have to work some time.  There is this muffled noise.  At first I thought it was a speaker system with public propaganda that is played at night.  But I think it’s chanting from the Buddhist and there is a smell of burning either fire or incense in the air.  It is unusually cold this morning as we are dressed for cooler weather so I put some clothes on.  As I breathe out there is vapor from my mouth and that’s inside the room.  The cracks in the walls leading directly outside and the cracks under the door and windows let the morning air and smoke enter the room.  I was mistaken; there is air-conditioning. We do use our laptops to light up the room until the lights come on.  Even the bugs are attracted to our computer screens. And let there be light!  Like clockwork the generator starts up at 0540 cranks up and the engine roars but it’s annoying since it’s just outside our room.  What did I expect for a large corner room with a view and air-conditioning.

We go to the fine dining area which is located on outside pouch.  I see Larry walking looking exhausted.  He’s been up since 0230.  No smile; just says “Roosters for breakfast” and keeps walking without breaking stride.  The cooks look like they are in pajamas cooking like they just got up.  The pho noodle dish is good.  The Arlean and Pastor are less adventurous and prefer the made-for-American toast and eggs, which surprised me, but I guess I don’t know Jack.  Kane put things in perspective.  “Without electricity or internet I have more time to pray and talk to God.  What else is there to do?”   Blog.

We gather in our tour vans and appear to go sightseeing trying to loose anyone who may be following us.  We get to the Agape Kengtong Church and set up.  The size of the work area is smaller and basically it’s their sanctuary.  The triage area is set up under tents outside while the medical, optometry, and pharmacy are set up inside.  The dentists learn from the prior clinic and set up outside way in the back so that the screaming kids are not audible.  Jennifer is too sympathetic and didn’t like what she was seeing and said to Uncle Bill, Uncle Larry, and Uncle Lester (who is also Jennifer’s dentist) said, “ You guys make the kids cry and you have the worse job ever! Okay Jen, don’t hold back, tell us what you really think.  Dentists, I am sure, have a different perspective than patients.  They do get the usual American grade not out-dated anesthetic and these kids and adults alike seem to be a lot more tolerant, free or not, and appreciative than some patients back home.  Pulling teeth is not a pretty site but rest assured they really are anesthetized with the good stuff.  Everything is not rosy like Dr. 90210.  It’s a means to an end for the benefit to the patient.

The optometry department saw a lot of patients who got to sport fashionable eyewear.   They continue to bring sight to the blind and continued they production line.  The medical docs saw infants to geriatrics with the usual complaints of headache, respiratory, fatigue, back pain.  I couldn’t get any facelift patients.  Two government officials popped into the clinic that we were “just visiting” to see what we were doing.  We were concerned with them confiscating equipment or stopping what we were doing.  Hopefully they were just interested in getting freebies for themselves or for cosmetic surgery for their wives.  We feel charitable.  Whatever they want; that’s what I say.

We are grateful for all of the interpreters.   We saw over 5 different ethnicities: Akha, Lahu, Chinese, Burmese, Shan, and others.   We had to use interpreters for interpreters.  Luka was great and would try several languages until he could converse with them.  It was either, “I speak her language!” or “No. I don’t know that one.”  But he alone speaks about 5 languages.  I have a hard enough time with English.

You know I am not one to complain J, but while Jack, Kane, and eye have a production line going.  Bob is on easy street.  He has his concierge practice and sees only VIP patients, especially, with the Burmese with whom he speaks fluently.  They’re like family you know.  For example, a head honcho or honcha comes in with their entourage of three or four.  Bob is a friendly guy you know and loves talking with people, for hours.  And he is a smooth talker. So after he sees one who is officially checked in, they ask, “Oh by the way, be a dear and see my sister, would you?”  Bob is a sucker for a smile.  So that scenario repeated several times until he saw over 20 extra-unregistered people who got in the backdoor.  I mean, it’s okay, since we would have eventually seen some of them anyway.  Maybe I’m just jealous that I got all the decubitus ulcers and warty lesions to cut off and he got the rich and the famous.  I miss my practice.

One interesting patient that we fell in love with was this precious one-year old infant born with a congenital disease.  The whole body was covered with scaly dry patchy skin with cracks.  She had the prettiest eyes but literally 90% of her body was covered with diseased skin.  The docs had a conference to see how to treat her.  Diagnoses included atopic dermatitis or Icthyosis (fish skin disease).  We chose conservative treatment to treat the wounds.  The mother had adopted the baby.  The story goes that the biologic mother died at birth and the rest of the family didn’t want her after seeing the horrific condition.  Their culture was Animistic Lahu those that worship spirits.  They thought the baby was demonic and got rid of her by putting it on some steps perhaps of a church.  The adoptive mother saw the baby felt pity and adopted her.  She looks and plays with the child as if it were her own.  Well, I guess she is.  Blood is not always thicker than water.   God bless her and her baby.

All together we saw about 260 patients today.  That was a good day. Another day at the office it’s Miller time and searched for the local pub for a few drinks but couldn’t find one.  Oh well, I don’t drink anyway but after this trip I might. As we walk wearily back to our rooms, knowing that there is no power yet, Dr. Chinn says, “ The Golden Triangle Inn is looking better all the time.”

We got ready for dinner and Jen entered our bathroom (the one without a definitive shower area and just a toilet and sink) and asked if I took a shower because she stepped into something wet.  I said, “No, it probably didn’t drain.”  She took her shower but I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was probably urine.  I didn’t think we HAD to use the toilet since the whole bathroom gets sprayed down…at some point in time.

After another nice Chinese dinner we only have until 10:30 pm before literally “Lights out.”  Doesn’t leave much for nightlife.  Kengtong is definitely not a party town.

Lights out Kengtong….Medical Team international, Fresno
ADDENDUM:

I have been saving this personnel file to add to a relatively shorter ejournal day so it wouldn’t to be too long so please meet the A-Team:

I keep mentioning we, we, we, we.  No, that’s not my poor French.  I should take this opportunity to define who are “We”.  Here it goes…We are the world… We are the children…We are the ones who make a brighter day so let’s start given…

Okay, okay, I took that last line from Michael Jackson, may he rest in peace.  The answer to that pressing question to who went on this mission will be presented on this Who’s who or Who’s Wu list of Medical Team International, Fresno.  This team has both talent and yeeeaarrrrs of experience.  Some depts. more than others as you will appreciate.

Spiritual Leader: Pastor Danny Jack needs no introduction.  He’s the Great White Hope to some and he tells us what we are SUPPOSED to do and how to act.  Don’t get mad at him because he did not set the rules.  God did.  He has had 35 years experience in ministry.  His experience with Southeast Asians go back with the liberations of the Hmongs to the US assisting in relocating tens of thousand of  Hmongs to Kansas City and Fresno.  He doesn’t let us slack spiritually and makes us do homework with these Chapbooks that he puts together. mien

General Helpers: Jennifer Chin, Irma Jue, Leroy Gee, Richard  Bruce

Jennifer Chin, rookie.  She’s my baby girl. This talent was drafted during her 1^st year of eligibility.  She was so excited to go on this trip that she was the first to submit an application last summer.  She received a total of nine vaccinations in preparation for this trip.  She got them so that she wouldn’t get sick.  She got the point. She is working temporary jobs in San Francisco that allowed her to schedule this time off at a moments notice for this trip.   Anyone reading this who may have a permanent job please contact her for her resume.  I would love to get her onto some one elses payroll! She is assigned to the optometric division and gives new meeting to the daily grind (grinding lenses that is). Jennifer, You Go Girl!

Irma Jue, rookie: public relations and marketing manager at Kaiser hospital.  She brings an enthusiasm to this group that is infectious.  Her colorful personality and optimism will continue to reenergize us.  She is a member of the diaconate board at FCBC.  Her familiarity with glasses is invaluable as her late husband, Craig Jue, was an optometric technician for Kaiser.  Through her generosity she established the annual Craig Jue Scholarship for graduating senior high schoolers.  She’s working on a Kaiser $2 co-pay with the villagers but they already told her, “Why $2 when we can get it free?”  Good point.   She self admits that she is a “glutton for punishment” so she volunteered for this trip.  As a reformed cathoholic she was doing penance by hanging around Baptists but eventually became one herself.  Baptists have that affect on people.

Leroy Gee, esquire, rookie: an attorney for the Kings County Courts.  His expertise in the legal system will hopefully keep us out of legal trouble.  With his personal legal counsel by his side, Bill warned me what I say will and can be used against me.   Leroy was interested in doing whatever he can in whatever possible position and is ready to work in whichever capacity he can.  So far he has been lugging Bill’s luggage around so Bill won’t claim a worker’s comp injury.  He’s one of the optical technicians grinding lenses after lenses and is an avid videographer.  If you want to feel what we did, ask for one of his tapes to watch.  He has about 30 hours of footage so far.

Richard Bruce: his background is classified.  He is a true patriot, serving the USA in various capacities official and unofficial.  He is the brawn and troubleshooter or the team.  We can help him best by staying out of his way.  An ex-marine (although once a marine, always a marine) whose favorite saying is, “Pain is weakness leaving the body.  He’s a real trooper and risk taker whose memorable Kodak moment is his spread eagle formation on the back of a truck moving 50 mph during Thailand 1.0.  Contrary to belief, he does know how smile.  Get that whip out and whip those newbie’s into shape.  He doesn’t tolerate slackers.

Nursing Dept.:  Andy Alejo, Cindy Wu, Ming Chong, Arlean Jack, Gail Ho

Andy “Rambo” Alejo: a two-year missions vet nurse who’s nice to have around in those dark back alleys of Thailand.  He takes his years of emergency room experience to the fields and will help triage the patients to the respective departments and go wherever nurses dare to go.  He will use his sensitive side and show compassion, as he will be one of the first contacts to this team of foreigners.  His smile is a reflection of his confidence.  I know not to get on his bad side.

Cindy Wu: the better half of the Wu couple (just stating facts as both Cindy and Bob would agree).  She is a nurse practitioner and college professor.  She will be part of the Triage dept. directing traffic with Andy and who are the gatekeepers and will determine who will or won’t be seen.  She is known for he loud HA HA! Pause… HA HA! (She just did it reading this!) and for her dual double-clutch bear hugs and genuine affection.  She is always a pleasure to be around.  She is a very sensitive person and if you are lucky enough to have her as a friend you’re blessed.

Ming Chong:  our Thai liaison and tour guide.   When we go to Thailand he’s like an American Express card…don’t leave home without him or you’ll get lost.  Wait, HE got lost last time!  As a native Thai his stomach is stronger than yours so don’t eat what he does.  He’ll work as a psychiatric nurse for Fresno County and is our very own translator as he speaks about 5 languages.  He is a wealth of information when it comes to Thai culture.   Let him pick your brain and discover your psyche.

Arlean Jack: arguably the better half of the Jacks (I see a trend here) and wears the pants in the family despite Pastor’s constant sermons on submission.  She’s an OB nurse specialist at St. Agnes Medical Center so I hope we get a chance to deliver a few babies so we can see her in action.  She’s upbeat and not as serious as we think she is and has a great sense of humor.  He keeps her husband in line and his best counsel.

Gail Ho: definitely better half of the Hos (definitely a trend).  She keeps Bill sane and her soothing voice is equal to 10 mg of Valium.  She is one of the nicest people you meet and never will talk bad about you (to your face at least).  An eternal optimist and a very sensitive, empathetic individual, she comes out of retirement during these mission trips to support her husband.  She makes a better roommate than me.  She’s his bag lady. “Don’t let that bag out of your site!”

Pharmacy Dept.: David Chow our veteran drug dealer and drug pusher (35 years).   It’s amazing he doesn’t get glasses from the optometry dept. since he could go cross-eyed counting tens of thousands of pills.  He’s a poker face with a dry sense of humor.   I like him already.  When he speaks, we listen, but we have to figure out if he’s joking around.  A man of many talents, he’s delegating the optical chores this time to Jen, a task he helped out the last mission.

Medical Dept.: Kane Kuo, Jack Patton, Bob Wu, Mark Chin (80 years of experience)

Kane Kuo, rookie: a much needed emergency room physician formerly attended FCBC for four years and moved to SoCal to practice ER medicine (SoCal vs. Fresno? What were you thinking?).  His passion to help on this trip is expressed by his very presence, a commitment that pulled him from his very busy LA practice.  He makes a valuable asset to this medical team with his expertise in acute care and trauma medicine.  The guy has an appetite and I would like to know his secret to staying thin.

Jack Patton: a cross between Marcus Welby and House.  His knowledge of medicine is equaled by his knowledge of the Bible and the history of the churches.  A walking encyclopedia I usually just nod at what he’s saying because it’s going over my head.  A gentleman with a gentle voice, he has become my mentor in family medicine.  He recently retired after 40 years in practice but is so good they asked him to come back.  If you have the time (a lot of time) he’s a great conversationalist.

Bob Wu: hey Wu, you who. He’s a passionate man indeed and very opinionated in his beliefs.  Don’t get in a debate with him.  I also just nod my head when he’s talking (but I roll my eyes too).   We have history and we go way back to medical school and residency.  He’s why I’m at FCBC.  Bob’s a talented physician and musician and has made great sacrifices and has already been serving Burmese clinics for several years.  He salivates at the thought of spending a week in Myanmar.  With an anesthesiologist on board we might get to do a little surgery.  He’ll be and asset as our translator Burma and will know his way around.  I’m going to stick by him.

Mark Chin: AKA as Dr. 93710.  He has an affinity for blood as long as its not his own and hopes he gets a chance to “Cut to cure.”  A trained plastic surgeon turned GP on these missions; he flies by the seat of his pants, with Dr. Patton looking over his shoulders.  He is responsible to accurately record the daily activities of the medical team in detail as best as he can remember.  That there lies the problem since his Old Timers disease is prematurely arriving so he might have to make up a few things along the way.  Don’t take him too seriously.  Most people don’t anyway.

Dental Dept.:   Lynelle Win, Larry Lowe, Lester Lowe, Bill Ho (108 years of experience)

Lynelle Win, rookie: a very personable and likable dental hygienist in the field for over 20 years.  She likes to get to know the inside of a person, especially their mouths.  Her commitment to this mission is supported by the fact that she risks the lives of her three children leaving them in Tom’s hand and misses them dearly.  She adds a woman’s touch to the dental team.

Lester Lowe:  down the fort and with Larry is the core of the dental team.  He’s dependable and would give his shirt off his back to you and let you keep it.  He’s the high tech guru and with this satellite phone ensures that we have contact to the outside world all the time.  Look forward to his best-selling DVD of the Thailand mission trip and ask for the last two in this ongoing mini-series.

Larry Lowe: tag team member of the Lowe Bros. He’s a happy-go-lucky guy and when you are around Larry you are probably smiling.  He’s a workhorse and troubleshooter and is the master of extraction.  No tooth can hide from him.  A man dedicated to his job at home or abroad.

Bill Ho: needs no introduction.  After a long and successful dental career he retired to commit himself to church and mission work such as this one.  He is the life force behind this team and drives to our max.  He makes us guilty because we can’t keep up with him.  His brain is always thinking and is always a few steps ahead of us.  A humble gentleman who desires no credit, he deserves accolades, but when the do-do hits the fan, he gets the heat.  He shows true grit.

Optometry Dept.: Dennis Chinn, Akira Tajiri (117 years! of experience or 4,237, 452 eyes examined, give or take)

Dennis Chinn: that O.D. means he O.D.s on effort.  Don’t let his age full you but he outpaces a lot of younger guys like me, but that might not be saying much.  He’s often the last one packing and the one of the longest ones working.  He’s a friendly guy with a warm smile and makes the patients happy especially with his God given talents.

Akira Tajiri: inventor, optometrist extraordinaire, and entrepreneur.  He’s not a man of many words because he doesn’t have time to talk because he is working so hard.  He’s a generous man donating thousands of dollars worth of equipment and supplies for glasses toward overseas mission projects.  He is the inventor of the process that allows the team to grind the lenses on the spot and make glasses to give to the patients within an hour.   At 82 years-young it shows that you are never too old to give back and serve.  No excuses now.

Luka Chermui: honorary team member who is our Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar liaison.  He is the Thailand Ministries Foundation Administrator which runs the Akha Medical Clinic and Akha Youth Development Center which provide housing and scholarships for over 100 students.  The foundation serves the hill tribe people.  He also has a tea industry to raise funds for the foundation and FCBC’s Bull Ministry provide cattle for the tribe people and we helped purchase a rice field so that it -could feed the students and make them more self-sufficient.

When we return congratulate these individuals for a job well done as they are representatives of First Chinese Baptist Church of Fresno.

EOM

Thailand 3.5

February 23, 2010-Tuesday-5^th day

We met for breakfast and discussed the day’s itinerary subject to change.  Today will be a travel day so we had to pack our things up again but we will be back.  We are going into Myanmar and hopefully coming out too.  We sang “Happy Birthday” to Cindy.  She wouldn’t let us spank her.  Neither would Bob.  Dr. Tajiri handed out neatly wrapped bags of special candy for all of us to suck on.  The dentists inquired, “Sugarless?”

The plan is to drive across the border hopefully getting everything and everyone across.  We have a truck and three matching Toyota vans to disguise us as a tour group.  My van looked like the partridge family bus with all these flower decorations on the side. As we gather our things, Bill gives Gail some of his bags that, Gail hands it off to Jack who casually tosses in the back of the van.  Later, Bill is frantically looking around for his bags and asks Gail what she did she you do with his bags and she said, “I think it’s in the back of the van.  So he runs to the van and tosses out all this luggage out until he finds this crumple baggage sitting on the bottom of the pile and, somewhat relieved but still shaking, says “You weren’t suppose to take your eyes off of it! This wasn’t suppose to leave your side!”  Bill gets excited some times.  It was his moneybag that he got from the bank yesterday to cover us for the next five days, essentially our lifeline, and has all of our plane tickets back to the US.  The money may help us get out of Myanmar too.  I’m still counting on the Viagra.

It’s odd that as we fill up the vans they don’t want too many into any one van.  They don’t want to overload the vans and these aren’t mini-vans either.  They’re used to small Thai people who are used to fitting three adults on a scooter, not us plus-sized Americans.  They are embarrassing us.  They try to fit only six but then fit hesitantly seat seven or eight passengers even though it can seat10 plus a driver.  The driver looks at the tires to see if they’re flat. Don’t worry we’re not that fat. We only take up one seat on the airline anyway.  Sheeesh!

Now this is hilarious.  We start to drive and this is a deluxe van that is decked out with a customized on-board entertainment system including this 17 inch drop-down screen for viewing movies, etc. and a flip-up DVD screen on the dash.  A karaoke video starts playing so that we can learn to sing the Mambo Rock.  The only problem is that no one is looking at the words because these scantily closed women in these thong bikinis are dancing and moving and getting into positions that I did know that were anatomically possible.  The moves could have been to “Shake Your Bootie.”  The driver is proud of his collection and wanted to give us some American entertainment that he surely knew we would enjoy.  We are laughing from embarrassment.  I’m worried about Dr. Chinn and Dr. Tajiri and reach for the AED just in case of cardiac arrest.  Personally, I wanted to critique those bodies but was unimpressed because, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I’ve made better.  We ask for a different video and he has about a dozen discs all with the same dancing and singing videos.  I’m worried about the driver keeping his eyes on the road and watching those curves on not on those curves on those bodies.  To keep us from sinful lustful thoughts the driver changes the disc to a CD where there is a blank screen to allow the steamed-up windows to clear from the couple making out in the back.  God tests us in strange and unusual ways.

I am still wondering if it is safe to go into Myanmar.  Are the powers to be telling us everything?  Then why was it Luka’s suggestion to look like tourists and don’t wear our scrubs when we go to Myanmar?  I don’t get it.  I will give you other details if and when after we get out of Myanmar, if you get my drift, but if you see photos of us looking like tourist is that if anyone is wondering and monitoring this journal or it gets intercepted is that’s because that is our sole purpose is to go to Myanmar as tourists and have fun and spend lots of money in Myanmar to support there country because that is what we like to do and that’s because that’s the kind of people that we are is to travel 36 hours one day and loose sleep and unpack and repack everything in the middle of the night and then travel again 7 hours with 5 inspection points.  We might have to carry some things we brought to Thailand that we don’t want left in Thailand so we don’t loose them but we are just carrying them with us and not going to use anything because we are just going to Myanmar just to have fun and spend money to feed the economy.  We are not going to liberate anyone or bring orphans back or anything like that.  But of course being a medical dental team we might coincidentally want to visit some clinics to learn new methods so that we can add to our experience and future reference.  If they ask us to demonstrate some American technology or techniques and other things like showing optometry inventions of course we will be accommodating since they asked and we want to be like friendly Americans and maintain cordial international relationships.  Also we are grateful for Bob Wu who is a Burmese native for allowing us to accompany him while he looks up family members but we might get detoured along the way and do some sightseeing.

We stop at the Thailand-Myanmar border and have to get out of the cars and walk over the bridge.  We are escorted into this dark room and get our picture taken and have to give up our passports at the border and get them when we come back.  It disturbs me to see a row of passport on the wall under “Unclaimed.”  It took about an hour to get processed and we are let through but without a passport.  Someone is holding onto our permits so if we are stopped we have no papers and could be in trouble.  Richard says he doesn’t need any papers to get out.  I wonder what his connection is.  I carry around my Viagra in case I need to get out of situations or make friends.  Bill yells at me to put it away.  Can’t they take a joke?  There is a small baby being pushed across the border and someone is so excited and says how cute she is.  Don’t get any ideas on bringing them back, okay?

We thought we’re going on a leisurely sightseeing ride to Kengtong on one of Myanmar’s premier highways as depicted on our map.   Have you been on the big dipper at Santa Cruz beach boardwalk?  Mix that with Malibu Grand Prix racing for six hours on the road and you’ll my drift as in Tokyo Drift.   The road conditions were hazardous being one and a half wide roads for both directions with potholes and mudslides adding to the bumpy ride so much that we would hit our heads on the roof.  Pastor had no complaints since it straightened his back out!  There were swerves within swerves going fifty MPH dodging obstacles.  And this is their good road!  Our only relief was the periodic inspections where paying money gets you through.  At one we lost traction and swerved and the driver skillfully kept us from going off the cliff.  He slowed down and peaked out the window to look at the rear tire and then pulled over.  He shrugged his shoulders and then continued more cautiously which would eventually proved to be prudent.  We stopped at a food stop and closer inspection revealed a completely flat rear tire.  The drivers looked at the situation and, loosely translated, said, “Oink! Oink!  Those Americans blew out the tire!”   I wont say who was in the van that was overloaded with the wide load attached to the back or who was directly sitting over that tire but I will say that I was in there but I did my part by dropping weight before I came on this trip. Obviously others didn’t.  See, fat can be hazardous to our health; it almost cost us our lives.  Fat sucks so you guys better see me when we get back so I can suck fat.   At this pit stop I wanted Bob to help me order a Coke.  I asked specifically for Coke Zero and he was quite irritated.  “Mark, they don’t need to be on a diet!  They need all the calories that they can get. Look at that guy over there.  You think he needs diet Coke?”  Thank you for your opinion Bob.  Okay, there aren’t too many size 2 adult males in the US but maybe we could have avoided a flat tire if we were.  Someone, who I won’t identify asked, “Hey driver, do you think you can turn on the video while you fix the flat?  Take your time.”

We crossed the road, as a jungle fire was 10 feet from the edge of the road.  It supposed to be a controlled burn, so-called “slash and burn” so that the tribes can plant in a new field.  I didn’t see any fire trucks around so what keeps it from spreading?  Lack of Santa Ana winds, I guess.  It’s a good thing we’re going away from it.  We got to stop for lunch and a few riders look green. Good thing Jack brings motion sickness medication (he charges an arm and leg for it) but they threaten to barf on him so he gives them out for free.  Gail and Irma play a game in the john to see who’s a better aim when squatting and must be having a grand ole time since they can be heard laughing down the hallway.  Irma cries, “Don’t leave me!”  I guess she was pissed.  The newbie’s carefully examined the juicy delicacies trying to decide if the dishes are edible. “Brown tofu?” someone asks.  No it’s boiled blood soup.  Coagulated blood is cut into cubes and added to soup.  I don’t think that the dish is Burmese; I believe it originated in Transylvania.

When we get there at the hotel in Kengtong we are relieved to see a large modern hotel. Finally luxury; we deserve to be pampered and we are hoping for all of the amenities.  This is what I’m talking about!  It was a really grueling road trip that we all looked forward to end.  We looked exhausted but all we did was sit and try to sleep and not to vomit on our neighbor.  We were cramped and tight and were ready to stretch out and use the restrooms.  Truly we were beat. Even Richard was tired from hanging on the back of the van the whole time.  The hotel looks nice but after careful examination the truth comes out.  God gave me an attitude adjustment.

The manager came out and welcomed us and started to hand out room keys.  Now the rooms varied from “inside cabin” rooms on a ship where space is a premium and are like a closet to cabins with a dual king sized beds.  I guess they were ready for us plus-sized Americans this time.  We hope we don’t break the bed frames.  She says, “Enjoy your stay! Oh, by the way, the electricity is only on from 5:30-7:00 am and from 6:30-10:30 pm.”   Huh? Talk about power shortage!  Richard did they forget to tell you about our rolling power outages?  This is true throughout the city especially where we have to go so Richard, our planner and organizer, is freaking out.  I’m selfishly thinking, “You can’t have my batteries.” We need power to work.  It’s nice to have someone thinking about these minor details. Generators have to be rented and taken to our area or it will be a short day. There is also no heater or air-conditioning either.  When we have black out we get these little LED lights (wow, high tech!)  that are equivalent to a night light that we can turn on to guide our way to the toilet at night.  I guess we are camping.  It brings back memories and now I remember why I don’t like to go camping.  Satellite TV is provided during those electricity times but we don’t speak Burmese except for Bob.  Oh, some of us have a dual showerhead “His and Hers” set up (Arlean and Pastor) while some have just a toilet and the sink and a spray hose and a large garbage bin sized bucket.  Leroy suggested that we stand in the bucket to collect the run-off of the water.  I think I’d trip and get a concussion.  The sink is nice but it drains onto the floor toward the corner of the room.  So we are supposed to take a shower when the electricity is available if you want a hot shower and let it spray all over the floor so it drains to the corner too.  We get a flushable toilet! “Yippee!”  But the pressing question was if there was toilet paper in the rooms.

I’m going to go into power withdrawal.  Omagosh! There isn’t cell service either and the closest internet is a 30 minutes walk. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?!?!? I calculate that Bill can run there in 10 minutes so we will elect him to go.  If you don’t get any internet contact or blogs from Jen or me it’s because Bill wouldn’t go.  Blame Bill; email him how disappointed you are in him.  Also, we have no pool, no spa, no concierge, no room service, no fun.  Fun is relative.  Great if we were camping.

The powers-to-be decided going to Mong La at the China border would be too hazardous to our health.  China is trying to control Burmese Mong La and they don’t like it.  It’s like Clovis trying to control Fresno.  Hah!  We’d say, “Get out of my face!” too. Splitting the group was briefly considered since Mong La was really counting on us and we did not want to disappoint.  But we’re a team!  We gotta stick together.  Besides Bill has all the money.  Any way the ride would be 3 hours long and the road conditions are even worse.  At some particular point we would have needed to get out and push the van.  (They probably didn’t want these Americans-of-size to collapse the bridge.) Then our return drive to Thailand would have taken over 9 hours on those roads.  Talk about Chinese torture!  There still is tension between the junta and the Chinese and we might get caught in the middle so we will stay visiting.  God, thank you for granting wisdom to the team leaders.

The team went into town to a Chinese restaurant and had a good meal. We do get fed well on these trips. The power suddenly shut off and we thought the electric curfew went into affect.  We got punked. “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Cindy, Happy Birthday to you.”  A single candle lit the room and we celebrated her birthday.  Barely palatable Fig Newton type of cake was served and she was touched by the thought.  No spanking opportunity once again.  We are carefully watching our water consumption.  Luka is drinking the soda with ice cubes in it.  I ask him if it’s safe to drink with the ice.  He says, ”Sure, it’s safe.”  He drinks a little more.  “I’ll tell you tomorrow if it’s safe. HA! AH! HA!”  Yeah, we know what that laugh means.  I’m overly concerned since that last ice cubes took three days for my body to defecate, I mean evacuate.  You’ve hear of ring around the collar.   I had ring around the buttocks.

It’s been a long day.  We get up at least by 0600 every day.  Some of our biologic clocks are out of sync and are up at 3-4 am…so we blog.  Tomorrow itinerary is to visit locally and visit the Agape Baptist Church and hang out with them.  Remember, we are looking forward to that great tour tomorrow and opportunity for cultural exchange, aren’t we gang?

It’s lights out early tonight at 10:00 pm even before the electric curfew when the streets are completely black.  It gives quiet time a new meaning.

Nigh nigh…zzzzzzzzzz.

Thailand 3.4

February 22, 2010-Monday- 4^th day

Most of us were early risers today, REALLY early due to the lack of acclimation to the new time zone.  We were in the zone but in the wrong one.  Even the rooster hadn’t crowed.  Lester and Larry went to he market, some of us blogged, and others repacked for a day trip to the Sahasartsuksa School (I got the spelling right this time).  After a pleasant meal topped with a mango/sweet rice combination we gathered in the lobby to sign documents and more documents for our visas into Myanmar.  It would have been a heck of a lot easier to stay in on place but it’s hard for Bill to sit still in one place so the team is on the move.

We looked so cute with our matching blue scrub uniforms and laminated photo ID badges with MTI and FCBC logos furnished and professionally hand crafted by Gail and Bill.  They’re so talented.  A few dedicated and proud individuals (“good listeners”) liked the badges so much that they wore them all the way from Fresno to Bakersfield to LAX to Bangkok to Chiang Rai on the bus and on the plane in their sleep and while awake; they wore them like jewelry for 36 hours!  I found out later they just didn’t want to get lost from the group.  We either look like a large tour group or a special needs group lined up with our respective photos so that we all know what we look like and say “nice picture”.  Some photos look like mug shots and others looked like models especially the one that looks identical to the one on the cover of SALT Fresno magazine. But the idea was to look professional.  I think that the badges and the lanyards are really our leashes because it’s been pretty ruff so far.  Our transportation arrived with Luka’s team that included some interpreters and church members.  It was a pleasure to see Ghan, Luka’s wife again.  She has such a pretty smile and remembered us all.  I tried introducing Jennifer as my wife but no use tricking her.  Jennifer got grossed out.  She’s pretty sharp and I couldn’t fool her.

And then I saw Auntika, or “A” as we call her.   You might recall her from the pictures we took of her condition vitiligo.  Her face had looked like a sad clown’s face with dripping tears of normal naturally normal dark skin on a pale white face and spotty hands and arms with splotchy brown and white pigment.   Her unnatural light skin always made her stand out in a people-of-color crowd and the vitiligo (MJ’s disease) patches made it more so.  The last trip I had brought her some cover makeup to blend the darker skin to lighter so that it was more uniform and   was less of an attention getter.  When I saw her from a distance I noticed that she had an EVEN skin tone.  It was either a great makeup job or maybe she had some special treatment that American medicine couldn’t treat and that I had no knowledge in treatment.  I felt humbled at first until she said that the dark spots just went away after getting married about a year ago.  We were happy that she appeared “cured” in that her skin complexion was even and looked relatively normal, to us.  Before her unevenness brought her attention but now it was just her beauty.  Aesthetically it looked a lot better.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I was truly happy for her.

Vitiligo rarely goes into remission and is very hard to treat; really it’s rarely cured.  So I jumped on the chance to brag how my magic application of the makeup cascaded into a cure.  Lester coughed and I heard muffled “God-complex”; yes I felt empowered.  A few moments it hit me and I was again humbled to my knees.  Thank you Lester for bringing me down to earth.  It dawned on me that the vitiligo was actually worse and now has spread to the other pigmented areas wiping those remaining melanocytes out.  Now she was pale white.  She is supposed to be DARK!  THAT is her natural color, not white.  Further discussion with her revealed that the condition developed in childhood it didn’t really bother her; she just lived with it.  Now she feels that she is too white like an albino and is more self-conscious about her skin because her ghostly complexion stands out amongst her native villagers.  Some in her culture believe that when you loose your color that you will die soon and she is scared.

She lacks the protective mechanism of the melanocytes and needs to protect her skin from the sun and the UV radiation that makes her susceptible to skin diseases.  Her arm pigment is fading and she doesn’t wear shorts due to remaining vitiligo patches.  I brought her more blending and cover up makeup if she wanted to blend the remaining areas.  But sadly, she isn’t cured, rather worse.  My professional business is beauty but my interpretation of beauty including even skin tone needs to be reevaluated.  Someone asked her, ”So you’re married now, is your husband cute?”  She just responded by holding her hand against her chest and said, “He has a good heart.”  Now THAT’S beautiful.

We loaded up the trucks and bus headed out to the school.  Richard yelled out “same spot” and jumps on the back of the bus clutching the bars spread eagle.  I think he was in the marine airborne division.  Go ahead, be my guest.  Richard looks death in the face and just laughs.  I think he has a death wish but he is as giddy as a school boy having a great time.  The school’s just minutes away as we passed the golf course the Lowe’s yelled “detour!” Bill had his own detour to the bank with Luka to change currency so that he could cover our expenses on this trip but I wondered as you could hear that all familiar laugh all the way to the bank!

We set up in our usual spot with Bob and Cindy manning the triage area guarding the gates so to speak.  Crowd control.   People line up crowding the entrance screaming and raising their hands waving like a Hanna Montana concert.  Remember they’re kids.  Oh, adults are doing that too!  Andy and Cindy assure them that they will be seen. Next!

We anticipate that today’ scenario is an example of what each clinical day will be like.  The first hour is to unload set up all the equipment and stations (remember the bins?): eye charts, eye examination, optical bench to grind lenses and install into frames, medical, dental, and pharmacy stations.  Today we have the luxury of a large room; at some clinics we are bumping elbows.  The triage area check-in the patients get vital signs and determine their concerns or ailments.  Do they want an eye exam and need glasses or do the teeth need cleaning or do they have a toothache?  What medical complaint do they have? Luka’s team provide the much needed and appreciated interpreters.  Pastor Jack escorts the patients to their respective waiting areas and tries to get them to accept Christ.  He only gets about fifteen seconds to do that so it’s pretty hard.

Irma and Gail do the eye chart examinations.  When the patient says, “What chart?” they know they have a problem.  Irma gets a lot of stares because she’s so hot looking.  But they are also trying to figure out what she is.  I mean ethnically.  She doesn’t think that they have seen a Mexican before.   Arlean helps Dr. Chinn with the actual eye examination determining the prescriptions.  The Rx is taken to Dr. Tajiri who then selects the lenses and guides Leroy and Jennifer into making the glasses who grind the lenses smooth to fit and pop into the frame.   They sit at a bench with this tremendous ear-piercing hum from the vacuum whining to remove the fine mist of particles from the grinding glass.  That vacuum sucks. They wear masks and eye protection.  They need earplugs but after the trip they won’t need them since they’ll probably be deaf (workers comp!) and they are at risk for developing pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovocanoconiosis (go look that up in Webster’s) from the inhaled silicon dust.  They deserve hazard pay.  Maybe it’s a bad idea to have the attorney working in that particular position.  The patients all smile as they walk away with custom made Tajiri designer glasses.  Some with 20/20 vision don’t need glasses but want to buy the frames just for their looks. Incidentally, if I didn’t mention it or if I did it deserves mentioning again, Dr. Tajiri has donated about $10,000 worth of optical supplies.  Kudos to Dr. Tajiri.

The optometric dept. works like mad cranking out lenses after lenses making dozens of glasses.  You can see the cloud of dust hovering around Leroy and Jen. They are  working like mad and the team delegate at least six team members to function with efficiency. They were almost done when one patient tried to sneak in and was almost turned away but the team felt sorry so they fitted him for glasses.  When he put them on he cried, “I can see!”  They were so glad  that they let him through. The optical crew was the last to pack  up and look exhausted.

I know that they cannot see into the future but it is my opinion that this backlog could have been avoided by the Eye team. They could have been more visionary and better prepared for the onslaught of patients.  They were blinded by the fact that there was way too many patients to see in so little time.  However, their reputation proceeded them.  If they had foresight they would have eyeballed the situation and after careful examination they could have seen what was developing.   Instead they had tunnel vision that clouded their judgment.  Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 and they all wouldn’t have left red-eyed.  See what I mean?  Hopefully, they will see it coming next time.  Is that clear?

The pharmacy dept. sets out and displays their drugs organized from Amoxicillin to Zithromax.  You can identify the pharmacy with the sign DrugsRUs hanging over Dave’s head.  David is the lone pharmacist this trip and already we miss Ben and Gerry.  He’s trying to drum up business and asks, “Drugs anyone?”  After counting thousands of those pills one-by-one

The medical docs set up stations for physical examinations and are ready for poking and probing and injections of medications.  A student desk becomes a makeshift OR table and examination bed.   I requested my own boutique section for BOTOX injections but was denied. I’m a moron having not brought my stethoscope.  What was I thinking! It’s like wearing a holster without a gun. Got my scalpel though.  I sheepishly ask Cindy if I can borrow one of hers and she says, “Baaaad doc!”

Kane looked around and in a confused and surprised look asks, “Where is the CT scan?  What?  No X-rays, no labs?”  Sorry Kane but finding out if someone’s diabetic you have to use the “taste test” on the urine. Or if you’re too squeamish see if the ants are attracted to the urine.  Do you want to know how we obtain a stool specimen to check for worms?  You will pray that you get a glove 50% of the time.  In the US we’re so high tech that 80% of the diagnoses is based on tests and not by touching the patient. He’s looking for gloves that are in limited supply.  We actually have to touch the patients and risk catching what they have and our aseptic technique is far from ideal.  Jennifer knew that so that’s why she got nine vaccinations.  Masks are one barrier.  Our own skin is the other one.  But we like to be hands on.  We see headaches, dermatologic disorders, orthopedic injuries, repetitive stress injuries, tendinitis, aches and pains, GI disorders, ear infections, and respiratory conditions.  Okay, that was one patient and then we move on to the next.

We get a steady stream of patients but fortunately when it gets slow the docs get a chance to work on their golf swings. Being a surgeon I can’t help my thirst for blood and the triage nurses send me a bone now and then.  Most surgical problems can’t be dealt with here.  But this hanging, protruding eyelid lesion bothers this one patient so I quickly prepare my Ginzu knife to lop it off.   Kane is concerned with my eyesight since I have to wear these telescopic loopes that he helps me see better with his flashlight. Swish! Swoosh! Gone in 60 seconds.  Okay, I’m not that good but seven stitches later she’s cured.  Leroy is fascinated and gets in on tape.  Jack’s experience really helps out and we often bounce cases off of him for advice.  His soft and soothing voice not only calms the patient but calms me down too!  Bob is in his element and enjoys talking to the patients.  He’s done this a lot working in Myanmar helping out with the medical clinics near Mae Sot.    I’m reminded to stop telling the patients that we accept cash check or credit card with an id.  I forget I’m not at home.

The dentists always seem to be organized.  They are up and running in a flash with four treatment substations, one for cleaning and one for extractions and two with capabilities of restoration.  Lynelle gets her feet wet right away and starts going to the patients and says, “Ahhh.”  She gets a clue why their here and either cleans their teeth or send them over to the dentists.  Larry is the extraction maniac flinging teeth over his shoulder one by one.  Lester and Bill are on a seek and destroy mission for cavities, drill out a hole, patch it up with tooth bondo then delicately craft the new architecture.  Richard is at the center of attraction and has his central supply unit for instruments and cleaning.  Fortunately the loud high-pitched humming from the optical vacuum cleaner drowns out some cries and protest from the children dental patients.  Curiously a few students changed their minds and “Uh, no thanks” and bolted.  Those dentists need sensitivity training or at least turn up the music to drown out excess noise so that the kids won’t be scared away.

This was a nice day as a dry run in a controlled setting.  It’s not going to be nicer than this.  We got spoiled today with the facilities and space.  How did we do? In about seven hours we saw 52 eye patients, 57 medical patients, and 61 dental patients.  Pretty fair distribution.  We felt pretty good and we are ready for the tougher challenges and conditions and longer day.  The newbie’s jumped right in and I am amazed at how smooth the day actually went.

Of note is that a few American Baptist missionaries started this Sahasartsuksa School in 1957 in a shack with 57 students.  Now it serves 3200.   The school administrator knows the history and was appreciative to Pastor Jack for the Baptists coming back once again.

There was this 17 year-old girl, the last one of the day who was upset.  Pastor Phonekeo helped calm her down and then began to talk about Christ and her beliefs.  He shared his personal story with her and at the end, prayed with pastor and accepted Christ into her life.  One conversion; one at a time.  Yes it was a good day.

MTI, Fresno…signing off