Thank you supporters and donors

In addition to medications and medical supplies for our patients, the fundraising money goes to all sorts of mission charity needs. For instance, some of our amputee patients have not walked with a prosthetic for over 50 years, or children with bone cancer requiring additional assistance, therefore a successful fit requires the use of a walker to relearn how to ambulate. So far we have purchased 25 walkers and are donating them to the patients who need them. Also, this year, our team purchased a much needed wheelchair to use on a daily basis for disabled patients at all of our locations. None of this would be possible without your generous support. The patients thank you!!!

First day of clinic, Ben Tre

Today we depart hotel at 7:00am for a short ride to our first clinic location of Ben Tre. When we arrive we are greeted with about 80 medical patients and 50 amputees who have been eagerly awaiting our arrival for months. To a newcomer it looks overwhelming, but with deep breathes and trust in our training, the team tackles the adventure. Our pharmacy/medical mission has multiple goals, two of which are to provide orthopedic care to patients who have malnutrition and partake in hard labor. Second is too fit leg/hand amputees with lightweight universal prosthesis following land mine injuries from the war, traumatic injuries and medical complications. There is an organized flow within our clinics, of which I will blog about individually. Needless to say, we depart clinic at 6:30PM (ortho/pharmacy team) and 10:00pm (Prosthetics team), with a grand total of 126 orthopedic patients and 57 prosthetic legs and 7 hands. Not a bad first day!!!!!!

Internet Back/ Pharmacy Mission set up

My apologies for not continuing to post sooner. Ben Tre has sketchy internet access, so today is the first time I can access the blog. On 5-29-19, our team met our new Mercer colleagues and spent the day setting up for mission work in Ben Tre. Thanks to our gracious supporters, donors, family and friends, we were able to purchase enough medications, supplies and medical equipment for this 4 week journey. In the 108 degree real feel weather of Ben Tre, it did not take long to realize what kind of mission rotation this is. Fatigue, sweat, aches, pains etc.... I continue to tell our students that the rewards we will get from out thankful patients will provide enough energy to last the entire mission. We were able to safely transport all medications and supplies and prep for 2-3 days of clinic in advance.

Local Saigon Charity Work

Before setting out on the Pharmacy/Medical Mission component of this journey, we decide to provide charity work to the locals in Saigon. Through our partnership with Nhat, who provides monthly charity work, we embark on a day of giving back. To start we meet in a remote alleyway arriving to a table and food supplies. We then get tasked with making over 250 Banh Mi (Vietnamese hoagies) and packing for distribution. I guess you never know what to expect during an international charity rotation. (cooking class was not a part of our teams initial training or a stated objective on the syllabus)!!! Once we made 266 Banh Mi, we traveled by Taxi to Benh Vien Ung Buou (Cancer Hospital of Saigon) and distributed sandwiches and water to the poor families who basically struggle to pay for medical bills for their sick family members and live either inside or outside of the hospital with very little access to proper food or conditions. Following food distribution, we changed hats to provide needed clean up services in a local neighborhood, cross intersecting with a railroad system. We exchanged our food making supplies for trash bags, rubber gloves and Tongs to pick up approximately 10 full bags of rubbish just discarded for moving trains etc....

Cultural Tour of Saigon

After traveling for close to 24 hours, we arrived in Saigon safely. As for the initial portion of our trip, we explore the Vietnamese culture with a walking tour of Saigon. Included in this tour is the Ben Thanh market, The Cathedral of Notre Dame, and the famous Saigon Post Office. This first day gives our group a chance to acclimate to the weather conditions. (Real Feel Temperature 106 degrees) as well as adjust to the local foods. We will continue our cultural experience on another day.

Meet Team 2019: Sunny Ro, Mai Le, Ivy Chen, Ann Sam, Michael Nguyen and Michael Doan. This group was selected from a highly competitive, highly qualified group of applicants. After months of training, planning, fundraising and team building, Team 2019 is ready to embark on APPE Block 1. Today we depart TUSP at 5:00am, leave JFK at 10:00am and land in Saigon on 5-22-19 at 6:00pm for a grand total of 22 hours in transit. What awaits us is a warm and welcoming culture, many patients in need of assistance and hopefully many great lifelong memories of global pharmacy care.