JFC Mission to VIET NAM 2008-2009 - TRA VINH and QUANG TRI

Nurse HARRIET's BLOG...
http://harrietandwarrenvietnam2008.blogspot.com/2009/01/january-4-2009-khe-sanh-day-2.html

Excerpts:
Friday, JAN 02, 2009 Saigon
On January 2 we traveled from Saigon and flew to Hue - a one hour flight. Then we drove another 3 and a half hours to Hke Sanh where we are staying at the Thai Ninh Hotel. We are in the DMZ - Demilitarized Zone. The weather is cool (60's). I know that is warm compared to Chicago but it feels quite cold after the almost 90 degree temperatures in the Mekong Delta last week. And it is foggy, overcast and rainy. Before leaving Saigon, we walked around the market and did some shopping. Warren ordered a suit and shirt to be made for a total price of about $140 US dollars. We got rain gear - not that we do not have any but we did not bring it. A decent light weight rain jacket was $8.

Although we had sent a van up with the dental machines and some equipment, we still had a lot to bring on the airplane. We were limited to 40 kg each but, luckily, the airlines let us do a group check in (so our bags were weighed in total) and we did not have to pay any extra money. We are carrying toothbrushes and toothpaste donated by Colgate as well as antibiotics to leave at the orphanage we will go to. And, of course, toys to give to the kids seen by the Dental Group.

Saturday, JAN 03, 2009 Khe Sanh, DAY 1
Rainy, muddy, cool.

PUBLIC HEALTH TEAM:
Harriet & the Public Health Team headed to the local Health Department for teaching. There are 53 midwives - all with some training but not at the level of a nurse. They have been brought in for 3 days of classes. They are getting paid, being put up at the local hotel across the street from the Health Department and are getting meals. Our whole group was to stay at the local hotel but, about a month ago, we got bumped for a very important group - our local midwives! They are staying 6 or 7 to a room (they usually sleep on the floor at home) and all seem excited to be here. So we (the team) have an agenda that changes depending on the flow but includes CPR, Neonatal Resuscitation, Reproduction 101, Safe Motherhood, Health Heart, Children's Health, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Hygiene, Injury Prevention, Newborn Assessment, Pregnancy issues, Anetenatal Care, Birth Problems. Whew!

DENTAL TEAM
The Dental Team saw 160 children. This was the first dental visit ever for these children. It was also the first time any of them had seen a toothbrush. And they each left with their own toothbrush and toothpaste. And a toy. They did not have the cavities and decay that the team saw previously. That is because this area is so remote that they do not have candy. Actually, this area is so poor that they have nothing. Warren said that one little boy was there in his ONLY shirt. We are all wearing scrub tops, long sleeved shirts, fleece and rain jackets. Many of the children walked to the Dental Clinic with only a T-shirt and shorts and no shoes. Through the mud and water. We had cars going out to bring the children to clinic but, because of the flooding here, the cars could not get through so the children walked. Some walked as many as 4 Km - 2.4 miles - in the cold and rain. One of the dentists said that she had one little girl who had blue hands because she was so cold. Dr. Ngansaid she wanted to go to the market to buy jackets for the children but the market did not have 400 jackets and that is how many we would need for this 3 day trip. So she plans to buy them in Saigon and ship them over here. Our last stop before returning home is at an orphanage in this area.

Our Dental Team has changed for this part of the trip. JFC's partner in Saigon, Maple Dental Clinic, sent staff last week and then more staff this week. Maple Dental Clinic stores our portable dental machines. They also sterilize all of the JFC owned dental tools and take inventory of them. What a blessing to have them here. We also have 3 Dental Team members from Canada that have joined us for this week.The terrain here is mountainous and wet with lots of ponds, small rivers, larger rivers and mud. We all keep saying that we cannot imagine being a soldier here during the war. Many members of our Team are Vietnamese but living in the US, having come here when they were children. But their stories of how they got out of Vietnam are harrowing and heartbreaking. They have been sharing their stories with us. Leaving on a boat with only one other member of their family, being rescued by a ship, going to a refugee camp, finally getting to the US and then finally meeting up with their family. We are so fortunate to be able to be on this Journey and I hope we will be able to return sometime.

SAT, JAN04, DAKRONG
Today the Public Health team presented more information on pregnancy, child health and hygiene. All 53 of the women came back for the seminar. They say they are learning a lot - that there is a lot of new information for them. Phi, our interpretor, is incredible. The dialect here is a little different here so that makes translating more of a challenge. The English-Vietnamese medical dictionary keeps getting pulled out as many of the words that all of us know in English are not words that our team know in Vietnamese.
It is cold and damp. All of the women sit in class with their winter coats, hats and even gloves on all day. There are not enough chairs so the women are sitting two to a chair. No one is complaining. During breaks, Jeff shows the women the pictures he has taken. They are like the little children at home - they love to see their pictures. They just sit and giggle. They also like Karaoke and spent a couple of breaks singing.
At lunch time we were taken to a local village where 127 people live. The people here are unbelievably poor. The women and children came out and followed us through the village. Everything is muddy since it has been raining. Most of the children do not have shoes. The livestock live under or next to the houses so the dirt is quite contaminated and that is where the children play. There is no running water in this village. The only heat is their cooking fire. They sleep in the room where they cook. We were invited in to one villagers house. She was so proud to show us her lovely mats on the floor and she served us water to drink. Just like mother's anywhere, she has pictures on the wall of her children. I gave her my barrette when I left. We all wished that we had brought something to give the children.At the end of the day, some of the women started practicing a traditional dance. They are going to perform it for us tomorrow.JFC is partnering with Global Community Service for this trip. Marcia, Rad and Tam have done an incredible job taking care of us and paving the way for our work. Check out their web site for more information. http://www.globalcommunityservice.org/

JFC Dental and Surgical Mission to Viet Nam 2008

Here are the latest pictures from JFC's Dental and Medical Mission loaded to JFC's picasa website.

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JFC Medical Team
Dr. Told Alden, Neurosurgeon
Nurse Greg Gildner
Nurse Joslyn Midgley
Nurse Lisa Gomes Scott
Nurse Laura Stein

JFC Dental Team
Thanh-Van Nguyen, RDH
Dr. Michael Seitz
Dr. Ann Bui (Tu Hoa)
Dr. Ngan Hirai
Dr. Duc Pham

Dr. Phuoc Nguyen
Dr. Kevin Truong

Dental Assistants
To Nguyen
Hang Nguyen
Quynh Nguyen
Tuan Tran
Hannah Lee
Hieu Bui
Hung Vu

Public Health Team
Phuong Nguyen
Kim Ritze, MRI Technologist
Dr. Lisette Robledo, Pediatrician
Thuy Nguyen, RN, MPH
Thanh-Van Nguyen, RDH

JFC Suport Staff
Phi Vu
Ngan Dao
Rhonda Le
TH Bach

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JFC Itinerary

SAT JAN 05
JFC Dental: Dental Screenings at Tam Binh 2 Orphanage Dental Screenings
Dental Hygiene Education at Father John's Shelter

JFC Surgical: Neurosurgery screenings at Tam Binh 1 Orphanage

SUN JAN 06
JFC Dental: Treatments at Maple Healthcare Clinic
Morning: Children and Mothers from Father John's Shelter
Afternoon: Tam Binh 2 Orphanage

MON JAN 07
JFC Surgical: Neurosurgery Screenings at University Medical Center (Dai Hoc Y Duoc) and at Tam Binh 1 Orphanage

TUE JAN 08
JFC Surgery: Case 1 - Tethered Cord on 9-year-old girl
U.S . Nursing and Vietnamese Nursing Methods and Practices - Knowledge Sharing Seminar

JFC Dental: Team departs for Quang Tri

WED JAN 09
JFC Surgery: Case 2 - Lipomyelomeningocele case on 2 year-old-girl
JFC Dental: Quang Tri School for the Blind

THU JAN 10
JFC Surgical: Case 3 - Hydrocephalus on a 5-year old boy from Tam Binh 1
Neurosurgery Procedures and Techniques - Knowledge Sharing Seminar
Case Reviews with University Medical Center staff

JFC Dental: SPANR Village

FRI JAN 11
JFC Surgery: Case 4 - Tethered Cord, 9-yr-old girl paralyzed over half her body
JFC Dental: A DENG Village

JFC Mission 2008 Albums

Track the JFC Team's adventures here...

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SAT JAN 05
Dental Screenings at Tam Binh 2 Orphanage
Dental Screenings & Dental Hygiene Education at Father John's Orphanage

SUN JAN 06
JFC Dental Treatments at Maple Healthcare Clinic

MON JAN 07
Neurosurgery Screenings at University Medical Center and at Tam Binh 1 Orphanage

TUE JAN 08
JFC Surgery at University Medical Center
JFC U.S. Nursing and Vietnamese Nursing Methods and Practices - Knowledge Sharing

JFC Mission to Viet Nam Jan 3 - 14, 2008

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Dental and Surgical Mission to VIET NAM JANUARY 3 - 14, 2008

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