Saturday, Sept 22, 2007 9:30am
My office


I've had a few questions of late regarding the trip, so I'll try to give a few answers here:

Who is Going?
Me and four people in the medical profession (specifically in eye care).
Dr. Paul Froula is the ophthalmologist. He and I have been good friends since college. He has done this trip one time before.
Dana Froula is his wife and former assistant.
Tiffany Glandon is Paul’s current assistant. By the way, I’m sure there is more professional title than “his assistant” but I don’t know what it is.
Seth Miller is a manufacturer’s rep for medical supply company. He provides equipment and supplies to Paul’s clinics.

What organization is in charge?
Actually, I was surprised to find out that I don’t think it is fair to say that any particular organization is in charge. Paul decided he wanted to do this trip. He knows others who do similar trips, and there is some good trading of information and medical equipment for such trips. But, this is pretty much a Paul Froula endeavor. This is not to say that others are not helping. A ministry that Paul supports in Knoxville, Hands and Feet Ministry, is, I think, the social outreach component of a church where Paul sometimes worships. I’m not sure really that Hands and Feet is tied to this one church though. Paul has told me of many of the efforts of this ministry, including things like car clinics for single mothers. Hands and Feet is supporting this trip, but I suspect Paul is a significant benefactor of Hands and Feet, and likely he expects to make sure that Hands and Feet does not loose money on this particular endeavor.

The organization in Suriname that is helping significantly with logistics is a missionary component of the southern Baptist church http://www.n2allnations.org/. This website tells a lot more about their mission and the region than I will be able to tell. If any organization could be said to be sponsoring this trip, it would be this one. Charles Shirey (the lead missionary) is helping significantly with logistics and arrangements, and has put together a schedule of events. I expect he is also doing all the communication to people who will be receiving medical treatment.

How is the trip funded?
I don’t know about the others, but I agreed to pay for my own trip (travel, food and lodging). I don’t yet know the amount of this commitment….maybe about $2,000. But this will be somewhat offset by contributions that I have raised (to date, about $2,000). So, I get a free trip, right? Not exactly. There are many costs for which I will not be reimbursed. I hope to raise more money than what I have already raised. I am not sure if the others are similarly trying to find individual “sponsors” or if Paul recruited them with the understanding that he would pay for their expenses, or if they are paying their own expenses. I suspect a combination of all the above. Of course there are significant costs that are not attributed to any individual….the medical supplies for example. Some is donated by Seth’s company, some by Paul’s practice, some is purchased. I hope that my fund raising efforts will go towards offsetting the total cost of the trip.

Today’s Info
Getting ready to depart for Knoxville.....sometime today, sort of depends on how quickly I can get things together. We depart in the morning from Knoxville. I don't know if and when I will be able to connect and update this blog. My brother is letting me use a handy little tablet computer, and I will use it to keep my journal and collect photos. I’m sure I will have time to write while in flight tomorrow, but I don’t know if I will have access to internet in order to post. On Continental, we go from Knoxville to Houston to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Then we switch to Caribbean Airlines and fly to Paramaribo, Suriname. I think we spend the night there (what’s left of it) and then catch a local aircraft to the interior. If I can connect to the internet, I will download more.

Monday, 9/19/07, 8:35am

Knox County Health Department
One week from now, if all goes as planned, we will be in Paramaribo, the Capital city of Suriname, having arrived at 1:00am on Monday. I don’t recall where we are staying that first early morning of arrival…..I need to check on that in the next couple of days. I’ve just received the second series of vaccination shots for the trip, and I have to wait in the clinic waiting room for 15 minutes before they will release me. Good opportunity to start this journal.

A tip to international travelers: Davidson Count Health Department does not do travel vaccinations. I will be spending about $300 by the time I’m done with all the vaccines (not including anti-malarial prescription) at Knox County. The only options in Nashville are private clinics or Vanderbilt, and total cost would be more than $600. Most of the shots are in one visit, but Hepatitis A&B are a series of three shots: $50 in Knoxville, $125 in Nashville. So with a daughter at UT, and my good friend and travel companion, Paul Froula in Knoxville, it is pretty convenient to make a trip to Knoxville, take Ellen out for dinner, meet with Paul and do some more trip planning, and sneak into the clinic for my AB fix, then I’m in Nashville and back at work before lunch time.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:15pm

Water Purification
While backpacking in the Sierra Nevada’s this summer, we came upon a couple at lunch time sitting near a mountain lake where we all were stopping to pump water. Pumping water is just one of those chores that comes with backpacking, and I can’t remember ever pumping water while not being simultaneously attacked by mosquitoes. While a few in my group were at water edge pumping water through the filter system as quickly as possible so they could get away from the bugs, I stopped to take a look at the lake. The guy sitting with his wife asked if I wanted water…..sort of an odd question that left me with my mouth open and clearly confused. He told me that there was water in the bag hanging on the bridge handrail next to where I had just set my pack, and I could have all I wanted; he was just going to dump it out in a few minutes. Turns out, he had a fairly innovative purification system made by the same company and utilizing the same filter as my pump system. It is a bag that holds 2 ½ gallons of water, you hang the bag, and at the bottom of the bag is a filter. Water gravity feeds through the filter into a tube. Just open the valve at the bottom of the tube and put it in your water bottle and watch the purified water gradually fill your bottle. It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed such a filter, so it didn’t completely disappoint me when my pump system broke at the end of that trip. An excuse to upgrade!

That was a long story…..which is my nature. I spent an hour or two calling around and surfing for the bag filter system. I found only one in town, so I asked the guy at Bass Pro Shop to put it on hold for me, and last night I ran out to Shopryland and bought the Katadyn Base Camp water filter system along with a couple of collapsible water jugs. I cleaned and tested the filter system last night and now it is drying and waiting to be packed. I think this system is going to be perfect. Obviously, water filtration is a major concern. Though we have been assured that the water quality is good, I prefer a little less risk. I plan to find a spot to simply set up the water bag and keep a pretty constant supply of filtered water available. Of course, this is not fail safe. This filter does not remove viruses that might be in the water, and there are plenty of other ways than from drinking water to get nasty bacteria and parasites. Careful and hopeful is the best I can do.