The really last post…maybe!

2/2/09- hold the press….the blog has not ended! I have one last entry! I’d like to personally thank all of our volunteers who participated on this mission. I am honored to have been in the company of the most dedicated and compassionate doctors who went above and beyond to deliver the highest quality care they could under unfavorable adverse conditions. You took a leap of faith coming on this, our first group mission with DelMed. You have taught me a great deal and for this I am grateful. 

Yesterday Zeke, Jules Sue and I enjoyed a wonderful brunch at a restaurant called The Butchery Shop. The name does not sound very appealing I know, but it’s regarded as the best restaurant in Fajara. It was the first taste of modern food we’ve had in a long time and it was a buffet! We all made multiple trips to the buffet and enjoyed every minute of it. It felt like we made one tiny step towards getting back to the ways of our old lives. We left with smiles on our faces and content bellies! 

I’m sad to say that shortly after I arrived in Africa my grandfather of 91 years passed away. “Pop” was an avid tea drinker and I will never have a cup without thinking of him. I’d like to thank my family…Mom, Dad, Diane, Bud & Carl for everything you have done to comfort me while I was afar. Your kind words and support helped me deal with this distress while trying to stay focused here….many thanks.

Zeke, Jules, Sue and I have made our way to the coastal area and are preparing to fly home tomorrow via London to Phila. We are all wondering how cold it is in Delaware and we just found out the Super Bowl results! Bits and pieces of home are trickling back into our lives and the familiarity is nice. 

See you all very soon…wait, I hope….I’m hearing in the back round on a TV that eight inches of snow fell in central London last night, the city is paralyzed…OMG! The biggest snow storm in England in 18 years! Adversity continues and so does our journey! All I can do is laugh now! I’m going to get a cup of tea and visit with my Pop.

~Lonnie

Not Done Yet…

Sunday, February 1, 2009. I’d love to have known that I could reply to all the comments people have been sending…! We are new to this blogging stuff, and I am not very versed in all the nuances. I wanted everyone to know, however, that we appreciate so much your comments, your support, and you following along with us on this adventure! We are currently in Fajara, on the coast, for 2 days until the last of us fly out on Tuesday, and I thought we’d be incommunicado, but go figure the hotel has wifi. What was I thinking? Of course they do. I have been in Bwiam too long.

Just to let everyone know, Amie’s father, Mr. Ceesay was successfully transferred to Banjul on Saturday morning for his CT scan and further management. I have not been able to get to RVTH since we’ve been here on the coast, so I don’t have any further update, but there’s a small chance we can go there tomorrow and check on him.

We got word that Adam, Jason and Amelia safely returned to Philadelphia on Saturday; although Amelia wasn’t feeling very well by the time they landed. Jason and Carl, Lonnie’s husband, saw her safely home. We’re all over here hoping she is feeling better, and being very liberal with the hand sanitizer!

Lonnie, her husband, and our friend Modou are all very depressed, as Chelsea lost today. Jason and I are very depressed, as Roger Federer lost to Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open today. I hear the Superbowl is tonight, and although it starts at midnight Gambian time, we’re planning to grab some JulBrew’s and muscle the European vacationers out of the lounge in order to watch the game here at the Kombo Beach Hotel, where we are spending our last 2 nights before leaving.

We are hoping to have an uneventful and safe journey back to America on Tuesday, and decompress for a bit before jumping right back in and working on all the projects we’ve started while we have been here. Lonnie and I are already looking forward to our next trip to SJGH, to our next volunteer coming, to getting feedback on how our projects are coming along, and to the next way we can try to make a difference. The world is such a big place, and there are so many people in it. To experience a new environment is always a good thing, no matter the ups and downs; it shapes us and opens our minds to things we did not think possible. I’m looking forward to my next adventure, wherever it may be, and hoping that somehow I can make a difference in a positive way in the future.

Thanks again everyone for listening.

Lonnie may blog tomorrow. ☺

∼Sue

Josh Usen examining a woman with abdominal pain

Sue washing the local healer's poultice off a child's infected foot laceration

Sue looking at thrush in the mouth of a child with suspected HIV