Vietnam

After seeing all the pictures I uploaded yesterday, I decided that some explanation is needed. I spent nine days in Vietnam in February of 2003. At that point I was pretty sure I wanted to become a physician having retaken two Cell Bio classes, being halfway through retaking the Organic Chem series and having some clinical volunteer time under my belt (Kaiser's ED and OHSU's Trauma/Neuro ICU). However, the Vietnam trip cemented my decision.

I had supported NW Medical Teams in the past and decided to give them a call to see if a non-trained civilian could participate in a mission. The Director said they don't normally utilize personnel without medical training, but a small team run by a plastic surgeon was returning to Vietnam. I got in touch with Dr. Dickason and he fortunately had a spot for me. After much planning and paying my way there, I managed to get 5 days in a Nha Trang OR where we performed on 3 cleft palates, 12 burns and a pair of webbed hands. It was amazing!

Suddenly high tech seemed so worthless. Here was something I do with my hands to drammatically and immediately improve people's lives. Being treated like royalty and living like a king due to the cost-of-living didn't hurt either. But even more important than the fresh lobster-sized prawns for pennies (Yummy!) was the people. They were incredible. I was impressed by the physicians, nurses and people I met in the street. I have over 250 photos so I'll try to post more in the future. In the meantime, I'll just say that I fell in love with the country and the people. They were friendly, courteous and happy in both Saigon where we flew into and Nha Trang, the resort town we operated in.

After seeing the Vietnam War museum and the pictures of Napalm kids and Agent Orange devastation, I thought Americans would be despised. Quite the opposite actually. The southern part of the country is embracing capitalism and the people generally love Americans. I never encountered any negative attitude or even jealousy. I can't wait to return, with my family next time.