Time To Breathe

.... thats how I felt, that the last few days I had time to breathe, sleeping in, taking afternoon naps, taking all day to cook a wonderful meal and several hours to consume it just hanging with the kids and catching up. Our lives really have been that crazy but we had a wonderful Christmas Day, spent mostly in our pajamas. Most fun and regretted christmas gift - the indoor remote control helicopters that are already a nuisance but great fun for boys and cats. Post Christmas Day Joe, Katie and Elliot have spent most of it on a mountain either teaching snowboarding or enjoying the riding themselves. Of course this means negotiating who is going to have a car is more difficult than Middle East Peace Talks but so far everyone is happy. Unfortunately I had to go into work Monday and Tuesday but really not a great deal going on in clinic, just tying up lose ends for the end of the year. We plan on spending a very quiet New Years Eve just the two of us (we have been ditched by the teenagers) but on New Years Day we fly to Miami, pick up a cruise boat and "do the Caribbean" for a few days, I feel like I have been holding my breathe for this trip for several weeks and now it is nearly here I am very excited. Looking forward to starting off 2009 with sunshine and relaxation. Happy New Years to all of you.

Homework and Homecomings

I am at the end of another intense graduate school class, with only 7 classes left to go in 2009 I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This class was focused on nursing education and though I basically enjoyed it, loved learning about learning styles and dynamics of teams I am pretty certain now I do not want to be a nurse educator, a worthy profession but I just cannot be doing with all that curriculum writing, evaluation and assessment. So the last paper is written and submitted and now I am just awaiting my grade. Next class starts Jan 7th so I am mighty happy I have a couple of weeks break, perfect timing too, Christmas and New Years. In many respects I do not feel I have taken a breath since I came back from the Haitian Refugee Camps in early November. Came home tonight totally exhausted feeling like I could sleep for a week, just too many days getting up at 5.30am after going to bed really really late (homework) lots of complicated and very sick kids at work and add to that all the craziness of Christmas, I would like to get off this really fast train now please.

So tomorrow Colin and Katie are going on a road trip, they are going to look at a University Katie just got accepted at and got a generous scholarship but we never got to see as yet and go and get that delicious boy called Joe who had better get his butt back in my house as soon as he can. He also has had a stressful week of freshman finals and finishing up his first semester, he has had a great time and has done really well but... its time.....to come home now.

So I am now looking forward to a quiet weekend of waiting for everyone to come home, wrapping those gifts and last minute shopping and planning a menu for the next couple of weeks. Feeling the need to get recentered with what really matters to me, my lovely family, enjoying the season and my work (that I really do love even though it exhausts me at times!)

Christmas is When!!?

Like many of you December is whizzing by at a speed faster than light. Its adding to my stress, which so far has been way more stressful than any December should be. I officially entered my final year of graduate school and to reward me the classes increased in intensity and demand, my current class ends December 22, it has proved to be very demanding in terms of research and papers, causing much sleep deprivation so my Christmas will not officially start until this is done. Work is its usual crazy and I had 2 days out last week when I attended a meeting in Baltimore, which was very interesting but will only add to my "must read" pile. As a result had minor meltdown at the weekend, told the family I cannot do Christmas on my own this year and assigned everyone jobs, Katie and Elliot are decorating the house, Colin is wrapping every gift (poor boy!) and I am on kitchen duty - we shall see how it goes. It did snow this weekend though which made everything feel so much more festive. Adding to my worry is a close friend who was just diagnosed with cancer, having surgery today, praying for and expecting a good outcome. Joe comes home in less than 2 weeks, really looking forward to that, not looking forward to the daily fights over who gets the car, the extra laundry and huge grocery bill of having 2 hungry teenagers in the house.
Katie had a great weekend, completing her snowboarders instructors course at a local mountain and getting hired - good for her, now carrying a full load at college and holding down 2 jobs - awesome girl.
Elliot is doing his own bit too to become fiscally independent, working hard at a local tavern which gives him his own gas and mountain money.
Me, all my money flies out of my purse as soon as it arrives, I dont see much of it with 3 teenagers in the house but I am going to try and slow down one day soon and enjoy some of this Christmas season. I am really holding on for Jan 1 when we plan to fly to Miami, pick up a boat and cruise around the Caribbean for a few days, just what we need......take me now!!

Thanksgiving 2008

So we are not born and bred American but we have been very happy to embrace all things American since we moved here in 1994. One of our favorite holidays has to be Thanksgiving, all the feasting of Christmas with nonen of the extravagence of useless gifts. It was made even more special this year because my family had been seperated by educational and professional requirements but we all came back together for this week. Joe flew in from University on Tuesday joined by his good friend Heather from Upstate New York, my mum arrived for a few days from the UK. The house just seemed to buzz constantly with teenagers (always hungry!), lots of coming and going, seemed to empty the trash every 15 minutes and the washing machine returned to its glory days of going constantly.

Thursday was a relaxed feast day, lots of hanging out, watching cool movies, doing jigsaw puzzles, playing games and the essential fine wine tasting and good food munching late into the night. Friday November 28th was Joes 19th Birthday. Now it hardly seems possible that I am old enough to have a 19 year old child and it feels now that the past 19 years have gone at warp speed. I want to go back and do it all over again, I have enjoyed Joe and his brother and now Katie, sooooo much, I feel like I am almost done and I dont like it one little bit!!! How did this premature baby turn into this strapping young man who now towers over me and just moves me out of the way and laughs if I get annoying!!!!! However, he did have a great day. Tradition has it in our house that the morning after Thanksgiving all the men go flying in Colins plane and today was no different. Then Katie had organized all of Joes closest friends to join him at the local rock climbing gym so they could climb all afternoon. Post rock-climbing everyone came back to our house for pizza and cake, noisy, messy, always expensive - I say bring it on......I will sleep when I am dead!!!!

Joe's Blog

So, Joe has a blog -- who knew. Check out all his adventures. So proud, that boy makes me so proud.


http://ampedupadventure.blogspot.com/

Surviving The First Week In The Developed World

...err not as easy as I thought it would be. First of all could not get the faces of those gorgeous haitian children out of my mind and had a yearning to get on a plane and go back. Also, felt like I had been hit by a truck, no major symptoms just very depleted, as a result I did not go back to work until Wednesday. Then did not get much work done as loads of people came in my office wanting to hear my stories - sweet really, I do work with a cool bunch of people. I staggered home after a full day on Wednesday, dragged myself back there on Thursday to be told by my trusty co-workers Cindy and Wendy "errr Angie did you know you have a head full of lice eggs!!". NOOOOOOOO was my reply, I tried so hard to avoid an infestation, even treated myself propholacticllly when I got home. So I immediately left home, spent the budget of a small nation in the drug store. Came home put mayo on my head for an hour (its supposed to help the eggs release) boiled the bed linen and towels, sprayed down the whole house with nuclear standard lice homocidal repellant, boiled my head, Elliots, Katies and Colins ( oh yes they were happy). Anyways a few days later there is no evidence of any eggs on any of us so maybe crisis averted.

Good news is my appetite finally came back so I can work on putting some of that weight back on that I lost. I thought peace was finally restored to the house and then on Friday something awful happened. Elliot passed his driving test - oh glory, there goes my peace and sanity for some time. Really I am proud of him, pleased for him, its a right of passage and he wanted it badly but as previously stated I am going to miss our little chats in the car and will worry like a fishwife until he gets to where he is supposed to be going or gets home!

Tonight we have a bunch of University students coming for dinner so I am off now to make a kick ass apple pie and a turkey tettrazzini because November in the States is Turkey Time.

A Typical Day in the Camps

So this is how my day would usually go

2.30am Rooster would start talking to his friend on the other side of the village, it became a bit like chinese water torture, you knew he was going to squawk and the agony of waiting was nearly as bad as the roosting itself.

4am My GI system would wake up with a sad game of twister and someone beating my insides with a plank of wood with nails on it. After going to the bathroom go and get a bucket of water to flush. We were leaving buckets in the bathroom but after a few hours the mosquito larvae would start swimming and then they would hatch so you would get attacked by a swarm of mossies every time you went to the bathroom

6am Make a pot of tea and coffee for the team shortly followed by bacon, eggs, oatmeal, stale bread and peanut butter whatever we could find

8am Load the bus with our clinic supplies and go and get the local medical team

9.30am Arrive at camp of the day set up clinic. See kids until the last child had been seen

3-5pm Arrive back at the house, everyone was forced to have afternoon tea with me and just chill for half an hour

6pm Dinner and then start processing the paperwork. For every child we saw we created a medical record, we took every height and weight and crunched the numbers to assess the chronic and acute malnutrition rate for each child

9pm- completely wiped but not finished. Played cards and drank beer (the only thing that was really cold) this usually degenerated into stupid card slapping games

11pm bed in the heat and the sweat and the filth of the day, usually without a shower. Glad to have survived the day to do it all again tomorrow :-)

Things I Learned Whilst In The Dominican

1. You can live without power but you cannot live without clean water.

2. 1 Dominican minute is equivalent to 15 US Minutes!

3. Adolescents can be moody and non-communicative where-ever they are in the world.

4. Daily contact with family makes it all better.

5. Everyone regardless of race or income deserves constant and free access to good healthcare.

6. Whatever the poverty level children will find the joy in their situation and make you smile

7. 90% Deet is really good for keeping away the mosquito's, however, it burns off the first 2 layers of skin and if you get it in your eyes it stings like #$%*&!!

8. Finding humor even in the darkest days helps you to survive the almost unsurvivable

9. I am soooo over rice and beans!!

10. Coming home is best!

I Survived

Arrived home yesterday at 4pm, bit of a culture shock being back in the developed world, toilets that flush, power at will, water that always comes out of the tap, hot showers!!!! and real food, I am sure it will take me a few days to adjust but despite the harshness of the work and the living conditions but if someone said to me please could you get on the next flight out we need you in the camps I would be there with bells on!!
I thought in my arrogant westernized mentality that I was going to go there and change the world and yet I was the one who was changed. Nothing could have prepared me for the level of poverty and disease that I saw, little brown babies that were so covered in ulcerated scabies they looked white, children who were so malnourished their hair turned blond due to lack of nutrition, asthma, TB on a grand scale (yes I am going to get tested in a couple of weeks dont worry!), lots and lots of dysentry. Yet kids are kids the same over, even with nothing and these kids had no toys they still had that joy in their faces. They taught me their counting and circle games and I taught them the chicken dance and the macarena - now that was funny, who needs a common spoken language when you speak in love, I knew no spanish they knew no english but we communicated perfectly with a touch and a smile and often a belly aching thigh slapping laugh.

I have many stories, too many to write today, I will try and get them all down. The one that I just cannot get out my mind though is the third day in the camp when this young girl (who looked about 14 yrs) wandered into clinic with a near-death newborn laying limp in her arms. Now the Haitians spoke either spanish or creole and it became apparent that this girl only spoke creole and we had no creol interpreter. So by the grace of God ( and that really is the way this worked) this non-spanish speaking girl wandered deep into the camp by herself (not advisable) and somehow came across a woman who spoke both spanish and creole managed to get her to follow me. The translator spoke to my new found friend in Spanish who interpretedt to the new mom with near dead baby in creole and in this way we communicated. This girl did not know how old she was or how old the baby was (not uncommon) but that the baby had diarrhea since birth, she was breast feeding but not producing much milk. Slowly and lovingly I rehydrated the baby and poured a liter of clean(very precious) water down the moms throat, gave the baby antibiotics and vitamins and gave some to mom too, many hours later when they left and the baby was more alert and finally breast feeding on his own, I noticed how carefully this young girl was walking and wished I had a private and clean place to examine her as she probably had a traumatic delivery and her perineum was ripped to shreds. I could not help wondering as I watched them walk back into the filth and disease if that baby would live to see 1 month old let alone his first birthday, the mother had such a dead look in her eyes as if she had given up already and no amount of loving touch on my part elicted any reaction from her.

But even though I do have many more stories like that I do have ones of joy and laughter too and knowing that every time I gave a kid a vitamin A dose and dewormed them ( and I cannot count how many mouths my fingers were in the past couple of weeks) I knew I was making a huge difference to their life expectation and quality of life right there and now. We saw close to 850 children in 2 weeks a record we as a team did not really care to break but we did it willingly.

To all you angliphiles I sang God Save The Queen every day and every Broadway hit I could remember - 'The Sun'll come out tomorrow" was a big favorite along with"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". I learned the intimate bathroom habits of all my housemates and they knew mind - s0 much fun having a daily BFR (bowel function report) we laughed a great deal because if not we would have truly have gone crazy. The Dysentry was a huge issue but once I got on the right antibiotic it has cleared quickly but I still lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks, on my current size 6 frame that is a little extreme so I intend to fatten up for Thanksgiving.

When I got home all I wanted was a cup of tea without evaporated milk (yuck) a hot bath, a glass of wine and a pizza in that order.

Thanks to Colin for maintaining my blog - I thought he did a brilliant job!! Who knew he was so funny and so verbose. The house and the kids and the animals are all in great condition........so maybe its not too early to start planning that next trip!!!!!!!

Last day.....

At 07.30 am I get my first text of the day "My size 4 pants are too big!"

I was in a meeting so could not reply. However at 09.00 am we chatted via phone. Angie sounded tired, has lost allot of weight and ready to come home, but they were traveling to the last camp. Between the later text and the phone call I learned that the team had seen 850 children - a team record. They were only supposed to see between 300 and 500. Medical supplies were running very low, with only a few of the antibiotics left. The children's vitamins were nearly all gone, and rather than being able to provide them with any meaningful amount they were basically giving each child about a weeks worth - 7 tablets. They wish that they had been able to bring toothpaste - Angie said they have not seen such bad teeth. The kids have nothing to eat so they chew on the wild sugar cane and get black and rotten teeth. Their mouths are a mess.

This afternoon I get a new text at 2.45 pm "We are doing inventory right now but I have to keep lying down before I pass out. The only thing I can keep down is water. I am over hot and we have no power or running water again and it is 90 degrees in the house".

We have a few more personal texts and a few about a re-union dinner that the team are planning, but nothing more of note. Their mission is finished and they will be leaving the DR tomorrow. Hurricane Paloma missed them and hit Cuba - the flights should be able to make it back to the USA.

It is Friday night and we have survived 17 days apart. I am so looking forward to seeing her tomorrow, but I am also concerned how she will look and be. Hopefully a day or two at home with the family, a warm shower and a glass of wine will help revive her!

This is my last time writing on this blog, and I will now leave it for our intrepid RN to continue the missive and provide the pictures of the trip. As I sign off on Friday night, I check around the house and yes, everyone is happy and present.....1 student at UNH, 2 teenagers at home, a manic dog, 2 cats a crazy kitten and a fish. Tomorrow all will be well and complete with the family......

..........All will be well.

....2 nights and 1 day.......

The poem for tomorrow, composed by Elliot:

In one more day I'll be so merry,
To be rid of the lice and dysentery
To see my boys, Katie and my dog, will be so grand
I can't wait to get off this island and onto the mainland.

Just hop on a plane and a short drive in the car,
Suddenly drinking tea at home doesn't seem so far
But not to sound crass or to sound greedy,
I have loved helping these kids who have been so needy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
So this morning I wake at 6 am to hear that there is a hurricane brewing in the Caribbean - just what the team needs! I sent a quick text to Angie letting her know that there was something brewing, but ABC news really did not have too many details. This was followed up by a flurry of text messages asking for more details. I had to spend some time getting a full weather synopsis and texting the info. At the current time it looks as thought the storm will, in the most part, miss the DR. They have been getting allot of rain in the last 24 hours and what they didn't know was that they were under the edge of the tropical depression that was building into a hurricane. So hopefully it will not affect travel plans for Sat.

so the team set off for the day believing they were going to work along side a nun. If you thought the storm was bad enough, their day was about to get much much worse............

At 2.50 pm I get a text (way to early for them to have finished)... "Today was the first time I did not feel safe. So many people wanting medicine it turned into a riot. We got out by the skin of our teeth....mucho machettes.

Not the sort of message a husband wants to hear when there is nothing you can do about it. I just want her home NOW!

I asked via text where was the nun - apparently she left them after the first hour.

Later on the messages were much more on the mundane, or at least after that scare everything else becomes more acceptable........

Angie: "Flagyl no longer working for dysentery so now switched to Cipro"

(My text to Angie): Oh Great! Are you all resting at the house this evening after escaping the mob?"

Angie: The team is going to a basketball game but I need to stay near the bathroom

Me: That does not sound good. Is anyone else staying behind? Only 2 nights and 1 day to go

Angie: Can you get me some lice shampoo? I feel I should treat myself before I sleep in our bed

Me: OK, Lice shampoo, any particular drinks to help keep your fluid levels up? Anything else? Do you have any other friends you are bringing home? :-)

Angie: Trying not to bring any more friends apart from my amoeba.


Editorial: I get the sense that everyone is now just hanging on to get home. The panic phone call about the storm although very quick, said it all. I keep trying not to think about everything down there - if you notice I ask question and don't get a reply to my questions.......it is on a need to know basis at this stage.

Everything at home is fine. Joe's situation has been resolved this evening and I have just received a good text from him. All is quiet as Elliot and Katie do homework. Biggles is sleeping at my feet as I type this at my desk. The only thing that is wrong is the leather chair opposite my desk is empty.........

New Day....New President.......

Arguably one of the most historic elections in American history has just occurred with the election of Obama, but it does not change the condition of the sick and suffering in the DR or elsewhere......... I sent a text to Angie giving her the news this AM and that PA voted Democratic in the electoral college. (For those of you reading this a little unknown fact about our intrepid Pediatric RN.....She worked in Tommy Thompson's team in Madison as a policy analyst for the state of WI for nearly 2 years as part of the team developing the Works to Welfare reform - it was during this time she gained her interest in politics and saw it being worked out first hand - and helped form her opinion of American politics and her political standing. BTW, this does not provide you with any insight into her political leanings, in case you were wondering, and yes she voted by absentee ballot).

Enough of the political stuff and onto the reason for the blog....an update from the DR. I received the following text this morning: "No power or water. Poverty and filth is wearing me out. Today is supposed to be the busiest day yet to come - come and get me!"

I received this on my way to run a 1/2 day symposium and to give 2 lectures so was unable to text back so I waited until later and then great news...........I got a phone call. We decided to chat for while (and forget the Verizon bill!!), since she wanted to hear the latest about Joe, Elliot and Katie.....and of course not forgetting the dog, Biggles. It was good to be able to tell her that on the home front the problems seem to be resolving and things are ticking along.

So what other "gems" did I gather about life in the DR. Apparently life is just very wearing and tough. Even the evenings are tiring, it is very hot and there is very little time to really relax during the evenings. The bugs are enormous and apparently there are photos to prove it (the size of a hand). Bug bites are de rigor although Angie seems to have avoided the worst of it - one of the team has 35 on her legs alone. At 4 am most mornings Angie finds her GI system decides its time to spring into action and sleep therefore comes to a halt. A rush to the bathroom ensues and afterwards, due to the lack of water, a trip outside to pick up a bucket of rain water is required to flush the "loo" (OK British parlance for toilet).

It seems that everyone on the team (and here at home) is now really counting the days and nights before they return home.......

...................3 more nights and 2 more days...........

Nov 4th - voting day

So I am standing in line at 7.15 this AM....doing what????? Voting of course. Everywhere seemed to be packed.....and then my phone rings.....Yes it is my sweetheart - she called. We caught up on the family news before she had to go with the team to the next camp. She sounded in much better spirits and the drugs she was taking for the dysentery were working!

I received 2 further texts:

06.42: Team moral getting low so I made them all bacon and eggs and oatmeal for breakfast. Now spirits rising.

6.25pm: The food is disgusting. I have lost all enjoyment in it. I eat purely to sustain myself.

So I can only assume that either the rooster is dead or he was a hen and the reason for the eggs (see previous blogs). Angie does a mean bacon and eggs, so I can understand the team feeling better. Back at the ranch here everyone is hanging on and we are starting to watch the elections results come in. I have just heard from the other room that Obama has just won Pennsylvania...... Whatever the outcome, this has been a historical election (and no I won't give away where my political leanings are or who got my vote today :-).

Biggles keeps coming up and snuggling - he misses Angie. When he goes out, he still keeps sitting at the end of the drive way waiting for her. (He never sits there normally and you can see him watching the cars).

Day 8 or is it 9 or 10............

Monday 3rd - weekend over and all surviving well in the Miller home. As you will see by the blog earlier today (Newsflash), Angie is less than well, and just surviving. At least this evening she reported feeling better via text. (Yes her cell phone is still miraculously powered - of which I am grateful).

So Sunday Angie and the team were heading to a resort.. At 10 am her text read "its raining and the resort is really crummy but the massage will make me feel better. I am sick again".

At 3.30 pm the text text read...."happiness is a hot shower, a pina colada and merangue on the beach" There was a second one 2 minutes later which started ......"unhappiness is doing it without you...." It is now 11 days since we have seen each other, and the gap is noticeable for both of us.

So on to Monday morning. The first text came through which I posted in brief about the dysentery. The full text read "so half the team has dysentery including me. My hair is falling out and pains in my legs due to potassium depletion. Off to another camp today."

The final text at 4pm this afternoon read "took over an hour to get to today's camp. Lots of mentally handicapped children and parents = mucho poverty. Feeling better.

I can only begin to imagine the situation over there and the conditions in which they are working. I am concerned for her health and that she will manage the remaining time over there but come back seriously weak and sick.

On the home front, Joe is having a tough time at college for a couple of reasons and I have got involved for his safety and sanity. He had sent a couple of texts to Angie and she had picked up that something was wrong. She does not know the extent of the issues.

Newsflash......

A quick update, Angie and half the team have gone down with dysentery and not well. They are pushing to the next camp, on but have already seen as many children in week 1 as a team going down there sees in 2 weeks. Medical supplies are low and they are trying to buy more locally.

I'll give a full update tonight when I have more time.

The rough and the smooth

Friday was a "hell hole" of a camp and Saturday is relaxing, at least according to Angie.

Apparently Friday was the worst day and the level of poverty, filth and disease dropped to new lows. For those reading this with a medical background and want to know the diseases Angie commented that "they are seeing allot of malnutrition, parasites, impetigo, asthma and vitamin A deficiency, just to name a few. Angie said it was the worst camp yet and she had a little cry.

Back at camp, at least the water was back on and electricity (periodically).

So what do they do to relieve the stress? Apparently go the bar, have a drink and learn to dance the Merangue (the native Latin dance of the DR). That was Thursday night. Friday was going to the bar for drinks and Saturday........a day off! They went to Santa Domingo in the morning (the capital city of the DR). In the afternoon they went to the beach and watched an amazing sunset. Angie sent me a text stating she was ordering her Gin & Tonic watching the sun go down. Later on she had chance to call me from the restaurant where they were planning to have a really good meal and relax (possibly something to do with the G&T!!).

As for the rest of us, the weekend has been fairly busy. I managed to go flying with a friend this morning up to the Pocono's - the colors are wonderful. Elliot was doing homework all day and then went to work in the evening at the tavern busing tables. Katie and I ventured out this afternoon and bought her a car. We spent most of Friday evening researching and then Sat looking and found a 10 year Plymouth Neon that had not been advertised with only 29,000 miles on it - it drives well and is a great purchase.

The one negative is that Angie's phone does not appear to be recharging. We are therefore not certain how much longer the messages are going to keep coming.....we have said goodbye until next Sat in case we now get radio-silence.............BUT fear not intrepid readers, I will press on and keep her blog going ...........

We had a phone call!!!

It was great to hear from Angie this evening particularly after the text this AM:

8am Been up since 4am with the runs - it was bound to happen. Still no power or water. Don't worry they will give me an i.v. if I fall over.

I was a "little" concerned as you can imagine, so to hear Angie's voice was great. She was feeling much better, although still a little weak and had not eaten anything all day. Whatever the stomach upset that had affected her was now working itself through the whole team (Angie always likes to share :-) ). After 48 hours they finally had electricity and water so Angie was at least clean again! As we were talking the power went off again and they went back to total darkness, so that ended the call.

But in the time we did chat Angie gave me the following info: They are moving between 12 camps which house between 500 and 1200 people. They are working as 2 teams and she is the basically working the pharmacy. The local medical staff are weighing and taking the heights of the kids and then they go to the medical staff. After the diagnosis they go to Angie who is dispensing the necessary medication and having to do all the calculations for dosing etc.

They are dealing with infections, de-worming and malnutrition. Today they had a slightly quieter day - 88 children. The families have nothing, but they are friendly and give everything they have to the visiting medical team - hugs all round.

The conditions are poor - even the "fresh water" you would not give to your dog over here. There is no employment since even the sugar plantation closed down. The kids spend their day chewing on sugar cane which now grows wild. Their teeth are in terrible condition because of the constant sugar cane chewing.

Even with the heat, bugs, dirt, and poor conditions, I asked Angie if she would do it again and without hesitation she said yes. She was having a good time and the medical team were great fun, so they were all getting on well.

So with that I will sign off for today...and head to my nice clean bed with a warm shower in the morning. It puts life into perspective.

Day 4, of Angie being in the DR, and Oh, the Phillies won

Philadelphia is now going wild, not because of this blog but the Phillies have just won the world series. For those reading this and not from the USA, this is Baseballs biggest trophy (and yes it is called the world series but no other countries are invited to join!). The phillies have only won this once in 126 years and the last time was 25 years ago so quite the event. There are fireworks going off even in our area and car horns beeping!

Now I have put the world into perspective, there is a link.......it will be quite the night in the DR for Angie. Apparently most folks over there are really keen baseball fans and many of them support the Phillies. I can only imagine the celebrations that will be going on.

So to the texts from Angie - just the two (and nothing about a rooster......it must be dead or had its beak taped shut!).

8 am: So last night we turned Uno into a drinking game. Crazy game. Crazy people. About to go to another camp.

5.30pm. No power or water for 24 hours. I am disgusting. Really bad camp today - we saw 120 kids.

The last text says it all. I know she will be finding this tough and I have heard nothing else. Here at home, I think Biggles states it well.....he has taken to sitting outside in the cold at the end of the driveway waiting for Angie to come home.

Day 3: Hot or Cold?!

Its October and its snowing - when does that happen in Philadelphia?? Angie is roasting somewhere in the DR and we are freezing up here. Is there something she is not telling us?

The boys are excited however - it is nearer snowboard season. Joe was was texted by all of us and a few friends about the snow - it was a local effect and he was not seeing the white stuff which he loves so everyone was rubbing it in.

So whats the news from Angie you ask? Good question, I had 2 text messages:

8.07 am: There is a rooster. I want to kill him!
3.15pm: The camp is a black hole that kids get sucked into but I have found my calling and may never come home.

Editorial: 1) I would not want to be a rooster when Angie is sleep deprived and at "half past dark" in the morning - he does not understand! (I also feel very sorry for her house mates).
2) She will get home sick and come home eventually........BUT she is not allowed to bring any babies back with her........we have enough going on with 1 dog, 2 cats, 1 kitten 2 teenagers and I forgot to mention the 1 fish last night and the 1 student at UNH.

So it is time to log off as I sit here with one cat on my desk, another upstairs and both not enjoying life with the cold and the pesky kitten. The dog is outside laying in the snow!

Day 2 and a phone call

She called! After a couple of texts we had chance to chat this evening, albeit briefly as they charge $2/minute airtime (phew that keeps conversations to the necessities). All is going well, she is sharing a room (and bed) with Ann, one of the resident MD's. The whole team were all going to the local casino tonight to watch the Phillies.

Apparently it is very very hot and they have very large bugs! One text quote was "happiness is counting 35,000 vitamins out to give each kid a 2 month supply drinking a beer and listening to Jack Johnson."

So that's the news other than phone coverage is sporadic and text messages are also expensive, so we are now on messages as needed. Tomorrow they head to the refugee camp, so life gets really busy and contact will be very sporadic.

Other than that, back home I did role call.....there is still 1 dog, 2 cats, 1 kitten and 2 teenagers here this evening, so it seems everyone is correct and present. Everyone is fed and watered and it is now time to head to bed, so it is time for me to say goodnight and go Phillies!

She's there!

So, this is Angie's blog written by her husband. For those of you keeping an eye on this blog you will be pleased to hear that she arrived safely. I have received a number of texts so I can transcribe those:

2pm on Oct 25th: I am here and it is really hot and really Spanish.
2.45: We now have a 4 hour drive to the convent.
3.10: We are on a really rickety bus no air, bad roads.
5pm: Arrived at the convent - clean and basic. Village is here to welcome us. Miss you (that was for me :-) and I won't put in my text's to Angie!)

Sunday 1.30pm: Angie found a teapot and china plus a french press, so anyone who knows her will appreciate a couple of the home comforts will have made her happy! Her text goes on to say.....no one knew how to use them, so now I am house mother. Church was good - all Spanish (another editorial - they all had to attend the local Catholic church on Sunday to fit in with the culture.


So that is all the news from Angie. So what has a hubby been doing all weekend? I was up in New Hampshire at parents weekend with Elliot, to see Joe at UNH. We had a blast of a weekend ate well, and caught him up to date with shopping and food (thank goodness for BJ's). We watched him rock-climb on one of the walls, as part of the U demonstration rock-climbing team. Sat afternoon, the boys thought they would go and play racket ball and I would go along to watch. The racket ball courts were all used, but the squash court was available. Joe then said, "Dad you can teach us squash?"(which I used to play). So for the first time in maybe 20 years I went on the squash court and taught the boys. After giving them the basics, I left them to play....but of course they wanted to play me. Did I say it was 20 years since I last played? Joe and I are very competitive........we played 2 games and we both one one each, but they were long and competitive. He is a young fit teenager, and what he lacked in experience he made up in agility and strength. Did I mention that I had not played for 20 years?.....I came off the court, sat down for a drink and then could not get up! My lower spine totally cramped up......I am still in pain today, but bragging rights have been maintained - Joe did not beat me!

Elliot and I returned home leaving Joe at the rock-climbing wall, and pictures will follow when I have time to up load them.

More news when I get more texts from Angie. Watch this space!

Last Day In Civilization

So I just had a really lovely cup of tea, an extra long "hot" shower, enjoyed blow drying my hair, brushing my teeth from water right out of the tap - all the things that I may not be able to do for several days. I have been a nervous ninny all week, had several panic attacks about going on this trip and had to give myself a good talking to. But now, just hours before I leave for the Haitian Refugee Camp and I am strangely calm. I have been in a self reflective mood all week, asking myself why am I doing this. I have come to the conclusion it is coming from a deep passion for my craft of nursing and knowing I have the skills to effect change for a population of the worlds children that live in the worst conditions. I want to do, be a part of something bigger than myself and I want to live out my favorite quote of all times by that wonderful role model Gandhi - "Be the change you want to see in the world." I have taught my children to live that way, I need to be a model of it too and live it.

Also I just found out a media crew is coming down with us, a photographer and a journalist are accompanying us to document our trip. The hospital is making the most of the PR machine and their role in global health. Don't really like the limelight but have a feeling I will stick out with my English accent, anyways it may result in a series of articles in the local rag so watch this space, you may in fact be about to know someone famous!!!!

I am hoping for Internet and cell phone service down there but I am uncertain if that will be possible. In my absence Colin is going to be the gatekeeper of my blog, this could be both scary and amusing so know the keeper of this Blog is in no way responsible for what Dr Colin Miller may publish on my behalf but I am certainly grateful for his efforts.

So, my dear friends I bid you farewell for a little while and pray I come back enriched, amazed and parasite free!!!!!

A Working Week

Have not blogged for a few days because one I have not had much time and two not a great deal has happened in my life - for a change. Colin and Elliot went to England for the weekend because they can so I spent a very quiet weekend on my own catching up with housework, homework and a good book, I even managed to sneak a massage in there which was just glorious and I left thinking I need to do this every month.

I am in another one of those challenging graduate school classes, well they are all challenging but I am not particularly enjoying it. This class is about writing learning contracts, rigorous, measurable objectives, resources and strategies and how to use an annotated bibliography - what the heck is that anyways. I am so much more about psycho-social dysfunctional family issues (because I come from one and I am in one!) and the nursing implications of such. So this class is a stretch for me but of course I am doing my best. This is the last week - phew, I am in my last year of graduate school and after 2 years I have to admit it is getting a little old, not sure what I will do with all that time when I am done.

Last night was our last orientation meeting before my Dominican Republic trip. It was a night of infectious diseases, basically telling us how to spot but not get TB, Dengue Fever, Typhoid, Dysentery, Malaria.... the list goes on. Half of me is thinking "What were you thinking signing up for this!!" half is me is thinking "I cannot wait, this will be a life changing experience." Whatever this will be a stretch for me. I am a homebody, I do not like to wander too far from home, even when I am on vacation with my family I tend to get homesick and yearn to see my dog and my own bed - so we shall see.

Today I am dropping Kate off at the airport as she is going to see Joe for the weekend, lucky girl wish I was going with her!! She has never really flown before and even though its only an hours flight to New Hampshire I took the day off to walk her through the airport process. However I also want to take a long walk in the local State park, it is a glorious day and the colors are spectacular right now and my life is going at such a warp speed sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses.

Kittens and Firstborn Visits

A whirlwind of a week, trying to fit what I do in 7 days into 5 because Katie and I planned to take a college road trip. At the beginning of the week we saw the arrival of 2 adorable kittens to the house. Only one is staying, the other is going to Katie's sister who will pick it up in a few days. The humans in the house love these cute kittens, the resident animals are furious, the two existing cats who do not normally talk to each other stand together in solidarity at their disgust of more felines in the house - they are such divas. Biggles, who will a heavy sigh could blow these kittens of course runs for the hills as soon as they approach him - total wuss! But they are very sweet and Katies cat (called Todd) seems docile and very cuddly, very good for a girl that needs something to hang onto.

Work was its usual maniacal pace but I managed to get most of what I wanted to achieve by Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening Katie and I set off for Connecticut, after sleeping well in a local hotel we visited a University that offers the Equine Studies program Katie would like to do. To say it was total disaster was understatement, they were surprised to see us (even though I set up the visit over a month ago) the buildings were tired and run down and they just did not have their act together - we did not stay long.

So, we hopped in the car and did what we both really wanted to do anyways, go to Durham, NH to see Joe. What a sight for sore eyes he was. Tall and handsome, I swear he has grown 6 inches and lost 10 pounds, all this outdoor life must suit him. How good it was to hug him and kiss him and just be around him for a few hours. It is very obvious he is settled and happy, everywhere we went he was saying hi to people and introducing us. First order of business was a haircut as I am not into the shaggy dog look too much and then we did some essential student shopping, great dinner and then rather late on a Friday night for me, Joe dragged us down to the Student Union to see a concert his friends were playing in, Asian Hip Hop meets Acoustic Rock...hmmmmm only in college, it was actually good. What I was not expecting was how hard it would be to say goodbye to him, I only thought that happened the first time you drop your kid off at school. That sense of loss and missing him returned and I think took us both by surprise, but it is tempered by the fact that I know he is very very happy and I will see him in 6 weeks for Thanksgiving.

Then Saturday, it was off to Vermont to see another equine school. The drive to Vermont in October was worth the price in admission all by itself. To say the ride was spectacular would not be doing it justice. And smack bang in the middle of all this glory is Vermont Tech, a smallish school in beautiful surroundings. We loved the school, loved the equine program and all that college life has to offer so that definitely will be high on our list to apply to.

A longish 6 hour drive home and now it is Sunday and I am facing a wonderful day of laundry, groceries, watching the Eagles and the Phillies play simultaneously ( whose idea was that to schedule them at the same time) oh and writing that paper that is due by midnight that not only have I not started I have not even thought about it - I had better get on with it!

Natural History of My Job Change!

Another crazy week in the Miller house, Colin keeps telling me one day it will settle down, I have yet to see it, when it does settle down we will undoubtedly go crazy with boredom. For some reason clinic was crazy this week, just full of really sick children, very time consuming and complex cases. But I have to say this is my preference to be busy and to serve the under served, overlooked and downtrodden. This is a relatively new job, I have only been in post for 6 months and loving every minute of it. I am the Neurofibromatosis (NF) Coordinator in a Neuro-Oncology Clinic. NF is a genetic condition that can cause benign/malignant tumors, ADD/ADHD, chronic pain, renal/orthopedic issues... the list goes on. As a result they are a challenging population to deal with especially if the parent also has NF ( which happens 50% of the time) as their organizational skills tend to be lacking due to their disorder so they are nearly always low income, low functioning families. We have a great deal of these families in Philadelphia (the disease is more prevalent that Cystic Fibrosis but not nearly as well publicized). But because the clinic I work at is one of the best on the East Coast we tend to get patients from all over the US and Internationally. I love working with these families as they just need that extra "care" to help them navigate a very complicated system, so I walk them through their consultations with Neuro-Oncologists, Orthopedics, MRI, Neuro-Pysch, Neuro-Opth, Social Work.... the list goes on, you can see why I am busy. Sometimes I feel like I am running all over the hospital, I work with a great bunch of physicians and nurse practitioners who have been so supportive of this new role. It is very refreshing to be in a collegiate atmosphere where everyone is keen to help their colleague be a success professionally and personally. For the past 8 years I was working in community health. Thought I would be there forever, loved going into peoples homes and staying as long as I needed to give care to sick children and their families. I especially loved being in the poorer areas of Philadelphia because despite the cockroaches and the extreme poverty I really felt like I was making the most difference. However, March 2007 I was attacked in a bad neighborhood one early evening, no great injuries but I knew I was loosing my nerve in a job I had previously been fearless at. Then 6 months later I narrowly missed being carjacked ( talked my way out of it with my Off-With-Your-Head accent), then I think my days were done in the community. When I saw this post I wondered if I could transition back into the hospital - it had been years, but it really has not been that hard and I love working with a team again rather being isolated in the field which is what I have been doing.

So, I still have a passion to serve those who live at or below the poverty line but now I am having a go at 3rd World Medicine, hence the trip to the Dominican Republic in October, after that I already have my eyes on an AIDS clinic in Africa - watch this space, you never know what I will get up to next.

We did manage some fun this week though, last night we went to watch the Phillies Baseball downtown, tons of fun, made even better by the fact that they won. And its true a hot dog really does taste so much better when eaten at a stadium. Today (Saturday) more car pooling, laundry and groceries - such fun!!!!!!

A Work Widow Week

So Colin came home from a business trip to Montreal just long enough to get his laundry done before he got on a plane to Rome - sometimes I do wonder why he does bother coming home. All I know is I spent the whole weekend on my own again and I did not enjoy it one bit, so have been feeling a little sorry for myself. Elliot kept me busy though, tis the season for school dances and 18 birthday parties and so I was usually carpooling him from one to the other. He gets his license in about 6 weeks and I am feeling bittersweet about that, great that I will not have to car pool him to his (many) social events, sad that I will not have that cartalk with him whilst he is forced to breath the same air as me, I love that connection with him so much. Great that I will not have to set my alarm to wake up at 10.30pm to go and get him from some event, anxious that I will not be able to even close my eyes at night until I know he is home safe and sound.

Before you know it he will be heading off to college too. Ahh, boys at college now theres a phenomena that keeps me smiling every week. Text from Joe this week "Mum, changing the sheets on my bed and the spare ones you sent are too short - so I am throwing them out -ok" Well first of all I am actually shocked that he is even changing his sheets and of course I was soon screaming down the phone NO don't do it!!! Then for several reasons I had my cell phone by my bed last night and at the ungodly hour of 5.45am it does it supervibrate dance on my nightstand, which woke me up. When I investigated it was a text from Joe stating "Just climbed a mountain and watched the coolest sunrise on the spot where the sun hits the States first in the morning" - wow, could he not have waited until at least 10am to tell me that!!! Although I am thrilled he is having the full on college experience.

So, this sad sad woman whose most exciting event on a Saturday night is writing this blog is going to sign off now and go to bed with the dog - because its the best offer I am going to get tonight!!!

Fun At A Wedding

So, Jane, one of the docs in clinic was getting married and we were all invited - great I love a good party any day of the week, only problem was my hubby would be out of town at a conference in Montreal. Not so much fun to go to a wedding by myself but I took the opportunity to have a girlfriends sleepover at my house afterwards. Cindy took me up on the offer because she lives in New Jersey and the wedding being in Doylestown that would be quite a long way to go home!!! We had a wonderful time, I really do work with a cool bunch of people and quite uniquely we enjoy each others company. Jane looked beautiful on her special day and I was very grateful to be invited - even if I did have a closet crisis 12 hours before the wedding and had to go to the mall looking for a dress like a crazy woman - found one in the end, always room in my closet for one more dress!!!

This week was my final week of my grad school class and I am happy to report I got a final grade of an "A". Next class is a nursing practicum so I have to think of a project at work to dig my teeth into and then write it up. Looks like we are about to acquire another kitten. This one will belong to Katie who is a gorgeous 17 year old girl, bright and beautiful and full of incredible potential. For several reasons she is living with us right now and for the foreseeable future, she found these kittens at the barn she horse rides at and we agreed to take one, not because we need one more cat in the house but because Katie really needs something of her very own to love right now and she is crazy about animals and because I am a big softie.

I continue to miss Joe but he has been in constant contact and knowing he is having a blast really makes me feel better. He has joined the climbing club, the outdoor club and snowboarding club, is out every night with new friends and loves the campus he is on .......er......homework!! Have not heard much about his classes but knowing Joe he will have it all organized any day now.

This week I also went to another orientation meeting for my upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic - every time I go to these things I wonder what was I thinking when I signed up. Malaria, typhoid, parasitic worms, infected scabies are just a few of the friends I could bring home with me. Due to the recent and vigorous hurricane activity down there we are expected to see many water borne diseases and devastation. I am sure it will be a life changing trip for me ........cannot wait!!

Homework and Hurricanes

So, a couple of years ago I decided it would be really cool to go to graduate school and get my masters in nursing. My poor husband did warn me, how are you going to manage work, home, boys, your essential wine drinking habit!! - no problem was my reply. I should have listened to him. On the whole I am having a wonderful time in grad school, I am energized by my peers, learning some really cool concepts and theories that are directly related to my job, it helped me get my dream job (more on that later) but you have to do that dam homework!! And so for the past 2 years whenever I am in class the family lives on frozen pizza, everyone does their own laundry, the iron and ironing board are obsolete and the dog looks at me morosely as if to say "Am I ever going to get walked again", and then Colin looks at me morosely as if to say "Am I ever going to get walked again!!!". So right now I am in a particularly intense class dealing with scarce resources in nursing, recent legislative interpretation - wont bore you but it has been very time consuming and lots of research and writing - end result is I have not slept much for the past 5 weeks, one more week to go and I can get back to semi-normal living (if that is ever possible in our house).

So, what with crying about Joe (down to one box of Kleenex a day now - yeah for me!!), work being crazy and an intense grad school class I was sooo looking forward the concert we had tickets for on Saturday night, Ben Folds and the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra in an outside arena - marvelous, love Ben he is raw and funny has great lyrics and wonderful melodies, and I have to say in our old age we are becoming a little cultured and like the odd spot of chamber music. We were really looking forward to it and then.....we found out the remnants of Hurricane Hannah were going to hit us the exact time the concert was going on. Because we are the epitome of mad dogs and Englishmen we did not even consider to cancel, we even got 2 wonderful friends, Dave and Kristi to come with us!! No, we just shoved on the waterproofs, a disposable pair of flip flops and out we went. Rained cats and dogs, wind blew a gale but we had a wonderful time, and Ben was awesome!!

Now looking forward to another crazy week, dealing with adolescents at home and at work. Final week of my class (pray I get good grades), Colin leaves on a trip to goodness knows where ( cant keep up) but I am looking forward to a wedding next weekend, one of the docs in clinic is getting married so the whole of clinic is going to cheer her on - should be a good bun fight!!!

Transition Time

So, even though my boys would tell you I am old and farty and a computer retard, I have somehow figured out (with much help from my 16 year old) how to create my own blog. It was time. My main intention for this page is to keep family and friends up to date during my upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic, where I will go with a team of doctors and nurses from the hospital where I work in Philadelphia to help run a primary care clinic is a Haitian refugee camp. The trip is in 6 weeks, I figured I better practice on this blog thing before I go.
Also, I am inspired by friends who blog, especially Sarah and Sandra and thought I could join in the fun because lets face it Face Book just isn't enough. Now I just have to figure out how to load photos and make my page look pretty ( I have my priorities you know)

Another reason to blog was to document the transition in our lives. Just dropped my firstborn off at University. I have been asking myself all summer, how did I get to this point? I mean it does not seem like 5 mins since I was bringing home this premature baby and now he is a strapping 6ft something man who has been ready to leave home for sometime, it just took me a little while to catch up. Really truly I am not worried about Joe at all he is bright and resourceful and responsible and has shown us time after time that he can deal with life the right way, no I am worried about me and how much I will miss him. What will Colin and I talk about now, and will Biggles (the dog) who is so bonded to Joe ever get over the loss. Because Joe is over 6 hours away in New Hampshire we do not expect to see him until Thanksgiving. Too long, way too long. I am just going to have to blog my way through it.