Saigon

It's Wednesday evening already and tonight is the latest I have been able to stay awake ~ it's 10p.  This is about the time in the trip I tend to really settle-in to the time change and am no longer worried about causing myself a spinal cord injury around 830p, as my head is bobbing so badly.  Phew...I'm now in the clear! 

We traveled today from Can Tho back to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City).  It's a little like going from Omaha to New York City in a matter of 4 hours.  We traveled in an SUV with a driver from Can Tho.  In the past, this trip has been fraught with confusion, misdirection, getting lost and today's trip went quite smoothly overall.  A little confusion on the driver's part when we were about 10 blocks from our hotel, as Saigon is broken into Districts.  Our hotel is in District #3 and as we were traveling up the main street that runs outside of our hotel, he was looking at the addresses on the left side of the street ~ which were in District #10 ~ rather than the addresses on the right side of the street ~ which were in District #3.  He called the hotel and asked for directions and then via pointing told us we needed to turn around, but because Amy and I have stayed at this hotel the past 3 trips, we knew that we were going in the correct direction, but he turned around anyway, as we really couldn't communicate with each other.  Then, miraculously, Amy noticed he was saying we were in District #10 and needed to be in #3, as Amy is really good at recognizing the numbers now (me...a little bit, but not quite as well as Amy), so she then pointed for him to look at the left side of the street (remember: we had done a u-turn at this point, so what was on the left is now on the right and so on) and he had an epiphany...we were in District #3.  (confused yet?  Don't worry...that's the moral of this story!)

So, we again did another u-turn to begin traveling back in the correct direction and then the next challenge was to show/communicate to him which alleyway to pull into, as our hotel is slightly off of the main street.  We accomplished this with some skilled pointing and use of a simple command by Amy in Vietnamese to keep going ~ lai, lai ~ and then one of the folks from our hotel were awaiting our arrival in the alleyway. 

We got out of the car and the driver thrust his arms in the air and took a really deep breath.  We all did a little happy dance!!  I think he was quite relived to get us to our destination.  We just hope he found his way out of Saigon and back to Can Tho safely!

So, we are back again at our most-lovely Ma Maison Boutique Hotel, which is an island of serenity in the midst of the chaos of Saigon.  It is owned by Natasha Long, a lovely young woman who is Vietnamese, but has lived in London and throughout Europe, but inherited this great house ~ 4 or 5 stories tall ~ and so decided several years ago to move back to Saigon and start a hotel.  If you are ever in Saigon ~ which I'd recommend as a destination ~ this is the place to stay!  We are now 'regulars' and everyone is so kind to us, treating us so, so well.  It was mid-day when we arrived and quite hot ~ about 95 degrees ~ and so were greeted with a passion fruit and glass of freshly squeezed mango juice!  Delicious!

This is what was left of the passion fruit after I ate it...was so hungry and so didn't get the photo taken soon enough, but trust me...it was delicious!

Natasha then told us she had a baby last year ~ yay!  A little boy called Ben.  We are planning on meeting baby Ben tomorrow ~ he's 3 months old ~ so that will be fun and exciting!  We then got caught-up on each other's lives and Natasha then offered to make us lunch, which she did herself.  So lovely!  She made us an omelet on bahn mi (french bread) with tomato and onions, as well as a delicious plate of fruits for dessert ~ papaya, banana, watermelon and pineapple.  So yummy and fresh!

Ma Maison at night...so lovely!

A closer view

The best telephone ever...a great seafoam green color!

My comfy, comfy bed!

Everything one needs.

Cute little accessories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, around 245p we set-off to walk toward downtown, heading toward the Ben Than Market...a huge market about the size of a football stadium and filled with anything and everything one could ever need, want or try to find.  We walked until about 615p, did a little shopping, as today is really our only free day and the off to a great dinner.  Here's a few pictures from our noisy, congested and hot, hot walk today...

This is for the Texans ~ Scott, Allison, Elise & Tristan!!  I am not sure what makes it Texas chicken?  Thoughts?

Always love the ways words are combined here ~ why not fruit juice?

Electronics super-store...want to buy a flat-screen?

Vietnam Telecom...always insane!

So we stopped in a coffee shop for some iced tea, as we were roasting and this was on the the Community Board.  Amy thought Woman's Day was on March 1st and I was curious if this was the 3rd annual Woman's Day?  Go Ladies!

Saigon is building a subway.  A Japanese company is doing the work, so one native said to me that means it will likely get finished on-time.  I think they are starting small with the subway and then plan to grow their system.  Should be interesting when we return in a couple of years to see what progress ~ if any ~ has been made.

A collaboration. 

Ben Than Market on Le Loi Street

A nightclub and discotheque...love the name!  And no, we didn't go inside. 

This was one of the names on the outside of a cell phone store.  Again, always interesting with the spellings and uses of words.  No selphy to attach here, sorry!

The 10th sign of the apocalypse...Starbucks in Saigon.  Sigh.

A Vietnamese 'sandwich shoppe'

We then jumped into a taxi to take us to dinner.  After showing the taxi driver + 2 other taxi drivers where we wanted to go and after much discussion, pointing and lively exchange of words, we were off.  Well, 30 minutes later + 2 stops to ask for directions + Amy and me looking at street names and finally finding it, we arrived at dinner.  I can now see how on the Amazing Race some racers fall behind due to bad taxi drivers.  Our dinner was amazing and we have been to this restaurant before and definitely will return again.  It has several very steep and precarious stairs one must climb to get to the dining area, along with going through 2 extremely short (in height) doors, which Amy must duck to get through as well, but it was well-worth the effort for our tasty dinner.  Here's some highlights...

Cuc Gach Quan...the restaurant

The last line is the best...'Our specialty a menu based on vegetables'

Our dinner.

Morning glory (veggie) with garlic and clay pot shrimp (spicy)

Tofu with lemongrass and Vietnamese spring rolls with prawns (sans pork) with peanut sauce

Tofu up-close...Amy's favorite.  Me...not so much.

My thirst-quenching, adult beverage with a hollow vegetable straw.

Back at our lovely hotel and off to the Pediatric Hospital #1 tomorrow.  We will be seeing patients all day with the therapists and it will be great to see our friends again. 

I have some video of traffic and of a scooter ride Amy took in Can Tho, so I'll post those videos tomorrow night.  Sleep well!

xoxo
Stacy

Evaluations, Day 2 at Can Tho Central General Hospital

Day 2 has come and gone already!  Time is moving so, so fast and Amy and I don't have much time left here in Vietnam on this mission, as we are traveling back to the US very soon.

We have concluded our work here in Can Tho and tomorrow ~ Wednesday ~ will travel to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to begin our work at the Pediatric Hospital #1 there, beginning on Thursday morning.

Today was quite a busy, busy day, as we screened an additional 56 patients (which with yesterday's 50 gave us a grand total of 106 total).  I believe the surgeons will be doing 40 surgical cases, beginning tomorrow and ending on Thursday, April 1st.  They will be very busy!!

There were many more structural cases today ~ patients with more foot/ankle deformity due to polio and a few less kids with neurological issues ~ which took us more time to assess and to come to agreement on how to proceed surgically, if appropriate.  Lots of good work and good collaboration was had though and as I feel I can say during each and every mission trip I do with this group, I continue to learn so much and enjoy the collaboration with this team.

I have taken on a new role within the team this year, which is a challenging role for me, but feel I have done a good job.  For situations where the patient has more significant needs or more global needs, I have now taken on the role of explaining to the patient and/or family that there is no surgical intervention that can help them or heal them, as this is the question we get asked the most.  I have always enjoyed working with families and with help of our interpreters, especially Mai, was able to have several challenging conversations today and yesterday.

There were 3 situations that challenged me greatly and were the 3 patients that I knew if I was seeing in the US for an evaluation there would be many more options to help them with independent mobility than I can offer them here.  Here's a little about each one...

This 16 year old boy was awesome!  He has cerebral palsy and is not a surgical-candidate, but really, really wants to walk.  The likelihood of this happening is small, but he is so motivated as is his family, so we are going to try and connect him with the right medical team to see what can happen.  He told me ~ he's incredibly intelligent ~ that he had made himself a brace for his legs out of materials he had in his house, but that they don't fit right and are uncomfortable.  I am going to talk with the Rehab Department Director at the Pediatric Hospital #1 in Saigon when I get there on Thursday about bringing this boy to see the Neurologist at that hospital for some management of his high muscle tone and also to explore some other treatment options.  His grandmother and he were interested in going to Saigon to see what they can do to help and I told them I would make that connection.  I was also quite clear with them ~ repeating this many times ~ that there are no guarantees that he will walk, but his motivation and interest are very, very high, so I think it's only fair to give him a chance.  Cool, cool kid!

I also met a little 4 year old with a diagnosis of arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a condition in which the child is born with multiple contractures of his joints.  In this boy's case, he was born with elbow contractures, wrist flexion contractures, finger anomalies (limited movement and strength), and hip/knee/ankle contractures.  This little boy will never learn to walk or run, which I had to tell his mom and she was understandably very sad.  He is a very bright and intelligent little boy, who really wants to go to school, as does his mom want him to go to school.  Unfortunately, in Vietnam presently, unless you are a typically-developing and typically-functioning child, you do not get an education and stay home with your parents.  There are a few private classrooms for children with moderate to severe disabilities, but these are more day-care-like entities, rather than educationally-driven environments.  So, this very smart little boy, who wants to go to school, will never go to school.  So, I talked with his mom about all of his strengths ~ there were many ~ and about how she can be his teacher.  She seemed bolstered in the moment by this idea and said she always liked school and thought about being a teacher, so I told her this would be her chance...to teach her own son.  I also talked with her about, perhaps, in the future being able to get her son a device that folks with varying functional impairments use for mobility to traverse around the streets, etc.  I call it a hand-cart, but am not sure of its best title.  Here's a photo of one...

 The user moves the circular device in the middle back and forth to cause it to move, as well as this device also allows for steering.  I think this little boy would be able to utilize a device such as this when he is bigger and then he would gain some independence.  We had given him a page of animal stickers and while mom and I were talking, he managed to take off several of the stickers by using his hands/feet together to peel them back and his legs were then covered with a cow, a duck, a dog and a pig sticker.  He's amazing...but made me sad, as there is such limited help I could offer him today.  I think after our conversation, his mom was still sad ~ of course ~ but feeling a little more hopeful.  He then did one of my most favorite things here in Vietnam that children do...he crossed his arms across his chest (as best he could) and then bowed forward, saying 'cam on' (thank you).  This is something children are taught to do here as a sign of respect for adults.  It's so endearing and lovely.

The last really challenging conversation I had with a family was with the mom of a little 5 year old girl, born with a structural deformity and malformation of her right leg.  In this deformity, the leg bones don't develop properly and some of the bones are missing, including the big leg bone below her knee, as well as her foot was positioned backwards on her leg, making the whole leg non-functional for her.  She also was of typical, age-appropriate intelligence and was not scared by all of the medical team engaging with her.  For children born with this anomaly, the typical management of it is amputation of the non-functional components of her limb, leaving as much of her limb which is more structurally typical and then fitting her for a prosthesis so she can learn to walk.  Currently, she will hop on her left foot quite fast and independently, but this isn't a great plan for the long-term.  So, as a team we discussed our recommendations and needs for a prosthesis for this little girl, so I talked with the Vietnamese orthopedists about whether or not they would be able to fabricate a prosthesis for her.  They would be able to at this hospital, so the next step was to talk with the mother about the recommendation.  So, our team asked me to have this conversation with the mother, as we wanted to emphasize the functional gains and independence with walking she can obtain following this surgery and how the prosthesis will be utilized for her independence.  This isn't a conversation I have ever had with a patient's mother/family, so I was a little nervous to say the least.  So mom, the little girl and our interpreter, Mai, were in a more private area and I began explaining our team's recommendation and why we were making such a recommendation.  I explained once she was healed from the surgery she would be fitted with a prosthesis to begin working on walking.  I have very little concern that this child will not be able to figure out how to walk once she has a prosthesis.  As parent's often do, her mom surprised me greatly when she said (via interpreter) that she was thinking this would be the recommendation and that she would like to do it, so that her daughter can go to school.

This is her foot, which is not properly positioned, nor which is functional for standing or walking.

 

Mom told us that she had sent her daughter to school a few months ago, as she is very bright and wants to go to school, and the school sent her home, because she had a 'funny leg,' and that she couldn't come to school anymore.  Mom was understandably very upset by this and said she didn't want to deny her daughter the opportunity to 'walk like other children and go to school.'  Deformity here in Vietnam is very challenging, as there isn't yet a culture of acceptance, rather more of a culture of isolation around it.  So, this little girl's mom was ready to take these steps to give her daughter a chance at an education and a more typical life.  Very strong mom!

Mom also shared with me during our conversation that for the past 4-6 months, the little girl has been asking to get a 'plastic leg' so that she can walk by herself and go to school!  The little girl told our interpreter that this is what she wants to do.  

So, she is scheduled for surgery next week and I think this surgery has the great potential to provide this little girl with such a change in her life and will allow her to go to school, just as she wants to do. 

So, I am a little exhausted tonight, as these are just 3 examples of some more challenging cases, but there were many more that were interesting and provided our team with good opportunities to help many people.

This little ray of sunshine was so sweet.  After his evaluation, we gave him this coloring book and colors and this was his more 'tame' reaction, as his initial reaction was one of sheer glee!  Made us all so happy to see his beautiful smile!

Saigon tomorrow ~ our only non-working day, so we're going to go to our favorite Saigon spots and enjoy our time.  One small note ~ today was the nicest 90 degree day I have ever experienced in Vietnam in the 5 times I have been here.  Wonderful breezes and limited humidity!  Yay.

Off to sleep now...

xoxo
Stacy

Evaluations, Day 1...50 down, perhaps 70-80 to go???

Good evening, all.  It's 9p and I am still awake ~ amazing, given that I am practically asleep while I am typing this.  Had our 1st day of evaluations at the general hospital today with our team and the Can Tho orthopedic doctors.

We awoke around 6a this morning, after a glorious 10 hours of much-needed sleep last night...so nice, but definitely remembered that the beds in Vietnam are generally quite firm ~ kind of like sleeping on a concrete slab.  But, as Amy and I discussed this morning, it's usually a good thing for the 1st couple of days, as one's body is a little out-of-alignment from all of the travel, schleping, etc., and so a rock-hard slab feels good for those couple of days.  But, if one continues to sleep on it for longer, then it becomes just a really uncomfortable bed.  The upside is for us in 2015 is that we are here such a short time ~ 8 days in-total ~ that we are going to sleep on these beds for 2 more nights and then we will travel back to Saigon and stay at the Ma Maison Boutique Hotel and their beds are fantastic!!

Back to the work ~ we met with the hospital Director ~ i.e. Chief of Staff ~ met with our team to welcome us to Can Tho and this is a traditional and expected ceremony.  It's always interesting to hear the 'message', but he talked, Bruce talked, he talked, Bruce talked, etc.  It is always nice to see the doctors with whom we've worked since I have been a part of the team in 2004.  Dr. Em ~ the guy in charge ~ told me I looked exactly the same as I did 2 years ago.  He's nice...and perhaps a little delusional.  But so kind.

We then walked around the somewhat confusing hospital and found our room ~ which was supposed to be 2 examination rooms, but we only had 1, so we requested another treatment table and that was placed in the hallway with a screen partially providing a little privacy.  So, we had our team, 2 interpreters and got started.  During the Director's speech he said they had 120 patients for us to see ~ they do a little pre-screening ~ and we saw 50 today.  So, we aren't sure if this means we'll see 70 tomorrow or if those original total numbers are accurate?  We'll see.

The Director of the Hospital and Mai (our interpreter)

The Director, Bruce and Mai

Amy with Mai's help, registering new patients

Ta and Anna (the surgical residents) with Jeff, MD

The hospital

Kim, Amy and her team at registration and all things medical records

14 year old boy who we have seen since 2004, who is doing great but needs a little more surgery on his right leg to improve his walking, although he's independent

Little 5 year old girl who has a valgus deformity (means her knees bump together with the problem on the left), which after x-ray is a bigger problem than it appeared, so they will do some surgery on her left leg to improve her alignment and help her to walk better

Meir Nyska, MD (orthopedic surgeon from Israel)...I have benefitted so greatly from working with him since 2004, but we all, including Meir, miss his wife, Fruma, who usually comes along, but chose to say in Israel this time.  Both Meir and Amy and me have agreed that Fruma is not allowed to stay home for the next trip.

The medical team consulting with a new patient.  This man had polio as a child and then was in a bad car accident a few years ago and has lots of impairment of his right leg.  He really wanted surgery, but we as a team agreed we would negatively affect his functional independence with walking and quality of life by doing anything.  It is very difficult to tell patients with great hope for surgery that we cannot help them.

A great little guy...he was awesome!

Our intrepid front-desk staff

A sweet little girl who was a little worried about all of us, but did very well with the evaluation and during my time with her.

A good brace made locally.

We saw a huge variety of patient diagnoses, ages and needs, and we saw more kids this time than we have seen since I have been coming, so I was quite busy, as most of those cases do not require surgical intervention, rather a more therapeutic approach, so I spent some time with many of those kiddos and their parents.  There were a high number of patients today with severe motor and/or global impairments ~ due to a variety of causes ~ that I had to talk with and share with the families who were so hoping a surgery on their family member would 'fix' the problems they have, that no surgery would in-truth fix their issues/problems.  Those are the toughest conversations because many people travel quite far to come to see us and to be told there isn't anything surgical that can be done is heart-breaking.  We had one family travel 515 km (basically 320 miles) to come to see us and we had to tell them there wasn't anything we could do for their family member.  One thing I have learned greatly during my time working here in Vietnam is that functional independence is the key!  So, we have to be very cautious about which surgeries we do on folks, as we don't want to take a person who can walk independently ~ albeit with a significant deformity ~ and make them non-ambulatory.  There were a few cases where the patients were very strongly wanting surgery, but we as a team agreed that the surgery would do more harm than good.  A difficult scenario.

All were tired at the end of the day, as usual, but a good day it was.

We then came back and had dinner with our friend, Phuong, (pronounced 'Fung') and her little 1 year old baby Phuc (pronounced 'Fook').  It was really nice to see her and to meet little Phuc.  Phuong has worked as an interpreter with our team in the past.

Well, it's actually Tuesday morning now...couldn't quite finish this last night, so I must get moving.  Off to the lovely Golf Hotel breakfast and then off to work!

Take good care...

xoxo
Stacy

Our Sweet, Sweet Home...in Can Tho

Greetings from Can Tho, Vietnam!  It's 630p on Sunday evening, the 22nd (I think?!).  We arrived in Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) around 10a and made it through baggage claim and the final screening ~ running all bags through a metal detector, but this can prove to be tricky, as it has in the past, but today it was a breeze.  Our group is made up of 23 (or 24, I cannot remember) folks, mostly from the Bay Area, but also from Israel ~ Meir and Ezekiel (a new surgeon/protege of Meir's) and Amy is from Chicago and I from Omaha.  There are a lot of new faces and new names to learn, but I think I have it figured out ~ or at least I have convinced myself I do.

Here's the team...

• Attending/Resident Surgeons ~ Bruce, Jeff, Meir, Ezequiel, Wing, Narjwa, Anna and Ta
• Nurses ~ Jenni, Nicole
• Speech Pathologist/Medical Records/Database Creator ~ Amy
• Physical Therapist ~ me
• Surgical Tech ~ Jean Robert
• Medical Assistant ~ Mai
• Students (pre-med/interested in medicine + have a connection to someone on the trip) ~ Maddie, Michelle
• Trip Coordinator ~ Henry
• Media Specialist/Social Media Coordinator/Blogger ~ Kim
• Documentarian/Photographer ~ Flecher

Hysterically, and not atypically, I got asked in the past 36 hours if I live in North Dakota, Oakland or Orange County.  Omaha apparently is proving to be too difficult for some to remember.  Egads!

We had a lovely day in the Bay Area on Friday, walking and enjoying Burlingame.  Because of my travel delays on Thursday night, I didn't arrive in San Francisco until Friday morning ~ with a lovely sleepover in Denver the night before ~ and so, instead of traveling into the city, we opted to walk around the lovely little hamlet of Burlingame, California.  Both Amy and I were blown away by the lushness of the greenery and the blooms of the flowers.  I was quite excited that at the end of the day I had walked 18,500 steps ~ nearly 8 miles!  I think this is the longest distance I have walked in a day since getting my Fitbit. 

Pretty purple-y flowers that were succulents.

A field of succulents.

Lots of fishermen fishing off of the pier

Looked like a cross between a hydrangea and lavender, but wasn't either. 

Then, we met the entire group at the San Francisco airport for the marathon trip to Vietnam.  This is a pretty compliant group, so not too much craziness ensued.  Our flights were uneventful and we love our Elite class on EVA Airways...more space, a little more reclining of the seat and elevation of the foot rest and lots and lots of movie choices.

Amy carrying a 'heavy' box (full of ACE wraps, so not so heavy) on her 'flat' head

Jeff's original art to indicate box #20 was frag-i-l-e

I watched St. Vincent and if you haven't seen it, please do.  It's lovely.  And...Bill Murray is fantastic!  Then basically I slept the majority of the time, so was happy with this.

A little over an hour in Taiwan and we walked a lot again and stopped by our favorite Hello Kitty boarding area.  EVA Airways is a Taiwanese airline and they have a fleet of planes which are Hello Kitty planes.  Fully decked-out in Hello Kitty down to the napkins, carpet and wall coverings.  Amy and I would like to fly on one of these planes soon...would be so funny.  The thought of businessmen on these planes makes me chuckle.

Here's some sights from the Taiwan airport...

Aviator Hello Kitty

A beautiful orchid garden

These were really beautiful orchids

The weirdest display about family love...with robots??

Once we were outside the airport and were moving loads of trolleys with our own luggage ~ 1 piece per person allowed ~ and then 20 boxes of medical supplies, we awaited the arrival of our motor coach that would transport all of us to Can Tho ~ about 170km from Saigon.  We couldn't leave though until the doctors from the general hospital in Can Tho arrived at the airport in Saigon to pick up the 20 boxes to take directly to the hospital.  They arrived ~ 3 docs + a driver ~ with a smallish van and we watched them load in the first 10 boxes and then were on our way, but I have no idea how they got the rest of the boxes into that little van...and had a place to sit themselves.  Someone mentioned that a couple of them drove their own cars from Can Tho, so perhaps that's how they were able to get it all delivered.  Tomorrow, when we arrive at the general hospital, the boxes will be there, for sure!

So, upon our arrival we were greeted with rose corsages and apple juice!  And, apparently on April 1st, this hotel will be closed-down for 3 months (at least) and completely renovated and/or razed with a new hotel being built!  The Golf has been our home, sweet, home for all of my mission trips with this group and it is really 'tired.'  Time for an update/upgrade, but needless to say, they haven't really done much to keep it up in the past 2 years.  At least this year, the interior ceiling of the lobby is intact and the pool is functional!  If you want to read about this, I wrote a little about it in my 2013 blog, which you can find at www.vietnammissiontrip2013.blogspot.com. 

So, it's now 715p and I am really, really ready to sleep.  Will have enough energy to unpack a little to prepare for tomorrow and then also to take a much-needed and well-deserved shower! 

Take care...I hope you've all slept well in your 'sweet, sweet homes!'

xoxo
Stacy

Let the Travels Begin??? Yes!!

Well, I am on my way...well, not so much on my way yet, but will be leaving soon, if the airplane I am supposed to be on from Omaha to Denver ever arrives.  I guess this gives me more time to watch basketball in the airport, but although I really like basketball, especially at this time of year, I'd really rather be traveling to Denver right now.

Hopefully soon...and then it will be a race to see if this flight can arrive in Denver prior to my flight to San Francisco leaving and if so, can I get from gate-to-gate fast enough to catch it?  Again...we'll see???

So, given the least-ideal scenario ~ which I was going to call the 'worst-case scenario' and that seemed way too dramatic ~ I'll arrive in San Francisco tomorrow morning where Amy will be awaiting my arrival.  She and I then like to spend a day strolling throughout San Francisco ~ walking, walking, walking to basically tire ourselves out and this year I am excited to see how many steps I will take on my FitBit.  I wonder if it will keep track of how many hills we climb too? 

This will be the first trip in quite some time where I will not get to see Meredith ~ my niece ~ while in San Francisco.  Why, you ask?  It's because she's no longer in college and is now living in Pohnpei, Micronesia, while she volunteers with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, but will be returning to the US in about 2 1/2 months!  Yay.  We Skype-chatted (is that really a word) this morning before I left for work and she said she would be in 'solidarity' with me during my travels to Vietnam as I will be dealing with the same high level of humidity that she has been living with for nearly 2 years.  She is my humidity-sister (aka niece).  Here's a lovely picture of her (with her brother, Trevor, and Tristan and Elise, my other nephew and niece)...just in case you didn't know what she looked like.  Side note ~ my niece, Elise, (on the right) is now officially taller than me and I am sure Tristan (in front of Trevor) will pass me up soon.  I will have to keep wearing heels when I can to keep up!

So, both Amy and I will brave the 'wilds' of San Francisco ourselves and will explore ourselves silly, as usual.  Usually a trip to Walgreens is also necessary to gather the items that we both invariably forget.  Thank goodness for Walgreens.  (no, I am not a paid sponsor)

Well, we gather with the whole of the International Extremity Project (IEP, but not the IEP all of us pediatric therapists and educators are used to) at the San Francisco International airport Friday night at about 9p or so and then we will leave around midnight for the marathon travel to the lovely country of Vietnam, with a stopover in Taipei, Taiwan.  I have reading materials of all sorts, music, headphones, etc., so I should be prepared.  I will post again once we arrive in Can Tho, Vietnam (Amy's and my first stop of the trip with the group), which will be on Sunday afternoon/evening (add 12-13 hours from wherever you reside to get the approximate time where I will be residing for the next 9-10 days).

This has been the view from our hotel room at the Golf Hotel (no golf though) in Can Tho each and every time I have gone to Can Tho, Vietnam, so enjoy the view and if it changes, I'll let you know.

Thanks for reading...getting so excited for another adventure!

xoxo
Stacy