Sue made it...

We received an email from Sue this morning- she made it to Tanzania!  And, it sounds like her travel experience was good!  Most importantly, someone picked her up from the airport!  She said the apartment that we are staying at is great - and there are beds!  very exciting!

It sounds busy and overwhelming, but exciting and fun.  Hopefully, she'll post soon...

in other news, i had two packages outside my front door this morning from FedEx... full of meds and things for the kids.   One less outfit in my suitcase....

here comes Sue!

Sue left for Tanzania Saturday at 1:30 pm...  Nameeta and I will take the same flight one week later.  She traveled from Portland to Amsterdam to Kilamanjaro to Dar Es Salaam.  I think she should have arrived by now... I think, but time changes generally confuse me (when I went to Scotland this fall, I managed to somehow confuse what day we would arrive back in the US and somehow came up with a timeline that allowed us to travel back in time in order to fly from Scotland to Portland...I was off by a whole day).   So, hopefully, we will be seeing a post from Sue on this blog soon.  or an email.  She did text me when she got through Portland Airport Security.  She checked 97 pounds of luggage and was carrying on another 37 pounds...  Everyone has been so generous with their donations - we have medicines, formula, NG tubing, and art supplies.  Sue took as much as she could get into her suitcases, and now Nameeta and I will shove the rest into our suitcases.  I'm seriously re-considering how many articles of clothing I should bring.  I mean, really, what all do I really need... underwear for sure and an outfit or two.  But, really medicines, formula, NG tubing, and art supplies are way more important than an extra shirt or two.  This is what we have so far... more is coming this week.

More updates to come... It's getting close.  Nameeta and I have a lot to do to get ready for the trip...  Most importantly, we should probably download some movies to watch on the long trip to Dar... The bug spray, packing, assigning people to take care of our patients here, getting our fellowship projects done... that stuff can probably wait...

take that typhoid...

Typhoid vaccine done.

one step closer to completing our tanzanian preparation...

that's kind of all i have to report at this moment.  i should do my clinic notes instead of writing in the blog.  sorry... clinic notes await... more information and exciting adventures to come soon... Sue is all signed up and ready to start blogging!  So get ready for the first Tanzanian update in just a few days!!

anxiety abated by trip to target...

i went to target.  and, i'm feeling a lot better about the whole trip.  i got all of the things on my first list.  i say first list because i'm pretty sure this isn't my last trip to target before we leave for tanzania.  there's always just one more thing.

the check out lady asked where i was headed (since everything i purchased either came in a travel container or was a travel container or was sunscreen (you all should consider buying stock in coppertone based on my purchases)).  i told her a little bit about our trip.  she replied by saying how blessed i must feel to be able to go on such a trip.  her saying that might have even made me feel better than making sure i had enough underwear!

i also got some presents for sue and nameeta (and one for myself) for the trip over and back... i bet they can't wait to wear these on the plane....

these will definitely help us get a little sleep on our flights...

also, if you were wondering what my hair will look like in Tanzania, it will be like this plus even more frizz...

Dessert Potluck Send Off

Nameeta, Sue, and i are headed to Tanzania very soon - Sue in about 10 days, and Nameeta and i in about 2.5 weeks.  But, another doctor we work with is leaving for Uganda for a medical trip in about a week... Peds Heme/Onc goes to Africa!!  So, the division gave us a dessert potluck send off on Tuesday.  It was great...and, delicious!  Unfortunately, Nameeta was unable to make it - mostly this is unfortunate because i think the primary aim of the dessert potluck was to fatten Nameeta up before the trip!!

A few things came out of this little dessert potluck (most of them are worries):
1)  i'm worried about what i'm going to eat in Tanzania- i think it will be fine, but i'm kind of (ok, maybe not kind of) a picky eater...
2)  i really don't want to die in Tanzania... Linda, our esteemed division head, told us about her trip to Liberia when she was in her medical training.  She told us about an encounter with a cobra and her fear of Lassa Fever.  I don't want to encounter either of those things in Tanzania.
3)  apparently, i need to create a will before i leave and put it somewhere safe.  Linda said that before she went to Liberia, she was afraid she would die of Lassa Fever and created a will for her family to find in case she died...
4)  i'm worried about what it's going to be like when we get back - i know, that this is classic kristina - worrying about something that won't even happen until after the real thing that i should be worried about happens... but, it seems better than worrying about cobras.

so, i was thinking i needed to make a will.  and, then i realized that the thing that i have the most of is...debt!  i'm pretty sure that sallie mae forgives your loans if you die before you can repay them all (i hope so, anyway.  if not, and i die in Tanzania, then mom and dad, think of me each month when you write a check to sallie for the rest of your lives...).  i kind of nearly almost own my car...so, mom and dad do with that what you will.  my sisters can have my clothes, especially my sweat pants- i have a really good collection.  and, then my other prized possession is my green couch - and that can go to my friend Sarah so as to complete her square of hand-me-down couches... that's about it.

the other thing that made me a little worried was my research mentor telling me not to go to Africa and end up on the NBC nightly news.  He says that he always tells his friends not to do something that will get you on the NBC nightly news.  And, apparently going to Africa to take care of kids with cancer and then dying while you are there is something he considers worthy of the nightly news.  i don't think he truly appreciates the extent of my anxiety...

i also bought my emergency evacuation insurance today - kind of a morbid day apparently.  it says that it does not cover the transport of mortal material...

and, finally, i took my first of 4 typhoid doses today.  Nameeta started hers, too.  And, i'm pretty sure that Sue started hers.  We're getting closer... and, it's all seeming scarily soon!

but, i'm still really excited and can't believe how lucky i am to get to go to Tanzania.  it's going to be great.  and, don't worry, the blogs will get more exciting once we get there... nameeta and i leave on may 4 and sue leaves april 27... watch out Tanzania, here we come!!

approved!

While we have been eagerly anticipating our trip and theoretically preparing, our trip wasn't officially approved by the university until today.  Coinciding with this approval was the receipt of a letter from the hospital to carry with us through customs.  This made it all seem a little more real.  Yet, I still didn't go to Target and get the items on my list.  I didn't make it to REI to get all my bug spray and mosquito bite preventing tools.  And, I certainly didn't take my typhoid vaccine.

Preparations...

To prepare for the trip, we had to get some vaccinations.  Sue, who has already been to Tanzania, was the first to go to the travel clinic.  She had just a few vaccines to get caught up on.  Nameeta and I went to the travel clinic together (separate rooms - we aren't actually joined at the hip).  The shots weren't so bad, and we handled them like champs (well, if champs almost pass out...Nameeta did fine, I was the one who had to lay flat for 10 minutes).  We got our malaria prophylaxis.  And, we were prescribed the oral typhoid vaccine.  The oral typhoid vaccine has to be taken on an empty stomach.  And, it has to be refrigerated.  For the last week and a half, it has been the only thing in my refrigerator.  It is just a little intimidating sitting in there.  You are supposed to take it at least one week before traveling.  And, for some reason, I just haven't been able to do it.  Part of me is a little scared for some reason.  The other part of me is having a hard time finding a time when my stomach is empty!  I didn't realize until now that I apparently eat all day.  So, it is just sitting in my fridge waiting for me.  Staring at me every time I open the door.  I did manage to get to the grocery store, so at least there are some items surrounding it now.  I think I'll start taking it next week.  Definitely by Wednesday.

The first post...

This is my first post on a blog (aside from class assignments through the Human Investigations Program), and I am having a bit of a "dear diary" moment...

I am setting up this blog to follow the adventures that are sure to come during a trip to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.  I am guessing that the majority of people who read this know me or my travel companions, so it feels a bit formal to create introductions.  Formal, yet necessary.

So, my name is Kristina.  I am in the final few months of my Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship training in Portland, Oregon.  My travel companions are:  Nameeta - my co-fellow (we have become Kristeetha - a name reflective of the assumption that we are actually literally joined at the hip) and Sue - our wonderful and brave (she's leaving before us and making sure everything's as ready to go as possible for us) attending.  We are going to Tanzania to work at the National Hospital to care for children with cancer and work with the local doctors and nurses to improve care for children with cancer in this area.  I think, then, that this blog should come with a bit of a warning.  It could be sad at times - as working with children with cancer can sometimes be.  But, it is, I think, more likely to be filled with hope, laughter, unexpected adventures, and moments of innovation- what working with children with cancer more often is.

As I said, Sue will be leaving one week before me and Nameeta.  Sue has been to Tanzania before and has worked with many of the people that we will meet during our time there.  So, likely many of the first few posts will be from Sue (if I successfully invited her to be an author).

In the mean time, I will document some of our preparations.  Thus far, the only thing I've really done to prepare is to create this blog.  Perhaps not the most efficient use of my time?  I should be at Target buying underwear, granola bars, and new earphones (the only three things I've managed to put on my packing list) or going to REI to get my bug spray and mosquito net...

k