ISHI Blog

 It is Saturday morning in Sierra Leone, 1235 am.  Getting here was an adventure.  Arriving at JFK airport at 2:45 in the afternoon on Thursday, and having arrived about 1 hour ago to our hotel “Franco’s” in Freetown.  We have been on the road for the last 33 hours).  We are pretty tired; the ride was bumpy (literally)…. The accommodations are top notch for this part of the world with running water, semi flushing toilet and a water heater, simple things that we take for granted as we go about our lives, not even thinking that most of the world doesn’t have luxuries that we knew since time immortal…

Getting off the plane in Freetown you get an immediate sense that you are in a developing country.  The smell of gasoline and burned garbage gives it away.  If I was to close my eyes, I can smell India and Haiti, and I probably would not be able to tell the difference.  We arrived to a muggy 82 degrees F and palm trees as the sun was setting over the Atlantic….Advaith said something that stuck with me.  He said, “It is beautiful looking over the Atlantic from the opposite side of it”… Things do look very different from this part of the world.  With dirt roads, and few sidewalks, people walking up and down side of the road, no electricity in most places.  Even the electricity at the airport kept going in and out as we were passing through immigration and customs.  I am happy to say that our luggage arrived safely and so did we.  No one got lost or sick.  Giovanni was asking everyone if they needed an antiemetic (nausea medicine) even before we boarded….a very typical question to ask by anesthesia…. The streets of Freetown are lined with stands selling bread, fresh fruit (mangos, bananas, and oranges), popcorn, and pre-packaged snacks. 

The airport is situated on an island, separated from the capital city of Freetown, we took a Ferry to get to the mainland…. A first class ticket cost us 5,000 Leones.  And the exchange rate is 4,000 Leones to a Dollar.   I wonder if the 3^rd graders at St.Joseph’s Catholic School can Figure out how much I paid for my ticket.  I wanted you all to know that I am wearing that bracelet you bought me…it is a reminder to me of what I need to do while I am here….and I thank you for it.  We have all read the beautiful cards you made on the plane….and I want you all to know that ISHI is very lucky to have such fans, rooting for us and praying for us….I want you to know that I noticed and felt your prayers as my luggage became a bit lighter, and my heart more open to receive this all in…

Before I left work on Wednesday, I noticed myself wondering what would happen if maybe, just maybe I might have to change things around a bit…shake things up a bit in my life….change some things about my life that are not fulfilling, that don’t give me this inner peace that I so long for….ISHI does that for me.  And I know and feel the time approaching when I look in the mirror and I don’t recognize the person staring back at me…it is at these times that I know that it is time for another mission.  When I find myself getting upset at silly things in life…when I can’t remember why I do the things that I do and why I do my job, and why I go to school…..

My friend Rana emailed me today saying “just remember to soak it all in”….I want to let every moment just lead me to where I am supposed to be….experience every breath, every person, every single moment on this journey…So today, I will not complain, and I will give myself to every opportunity and to every challenge, no matter how big or small.  And I will try to remember that this very moment only happens once, and this moment is all that I have…

I have been reading up on Maggie Doyne and www.blinknow.org , and her story is ever inspiring me to maybe do a bit more for the world….and to remember that we are all a part of this family and that we are all  in this together, and I can see and hear my sister Agnes singing a song with words that go something like this… “ when the end time is near..you can’t take it with you, you’ll go barefoot”…. For no matter what we each believe in our hearts about life and religion, we will all certainly die…and nothing on this earth is coming with us to the other side….So if there is a message here is that I want to live a life that matters…that makes a difference here on earth….and forget about that superficial life of greed and money and power and all those things that really don’t matter.  The only thing that matters is us…and how we treat each other…

In the morning we are heading out to a Chimpanzee Reservation, and hopefully get to see the animals in their own, natural habitat…

I woke up about 7 different times last night, thinking that I might be forgetting something.....probably my brain.... ;-)   I would just like to thank all of the people who have worked so hard at helping us prepare for the mission....

A special thank you to the 3rd Grade of St. Joseph's Catholic School in Mendham, NJ with thier teacher Mrs. Ehmann and the class moms Agnes and Angela for organizing a wonderful collection for the Blind Children of Kabala.  Thank you...thank you...thank you....for all of your hard work, for creating the beautiful posters and working so hard at helping children who are less fortunate than you are. I will take lots of pictures for you and I cannot wait to come talk to you when I come back.....

My personal thank you to Casey Warren for organizing a monetary collection for the Blind Children in Kabala.  We are so grateful for your hard work....we promise you that it is money well spent....

A thank you to Lana Ayyash for coming up with and selling "Be Kind to the Blind" bands....it was a great idea and we will be wearing the bands on the mission.....

I would like to thank my boss Brian Dolan and Kathy Ennis for allowing me to take this journey at a time when we are so short on staff.  Thank you for recognizing how important this is to all involved....I am forever grateful... And a thank you to my colleagues for taking extra shifts and signing up for OT for the days that I will not be there....you guys are like family....

Thank you to Dr. Kamienski for supporting Nurses for this work that is so important to our profession....and for the donations from Dr. K and my classmates....

I would also like to thank my mom's work United Stationers for donating tape recorders and batteries for the children in Kabala.....

I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to go with ISHI again on what will be a very successful mission.  I cannot wait to get there and to meet the people of Kabala....

Charlie...really hoping to win the Kasava cake....

DEAREST ISHI FAMILY....I am thinking about you all...I know you have started  your mission with great success...I can't wait to hear about your adventures, the lives you are changing, the pain you are easing, the hope you are bringing to those who are most in need.  Please let us know that you are OK....wishing you lots of work  :-)

" How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world" Anne Frank

Just wondering if my Mission Mother and Sister are OK...have not heard from them  :-(