Cebu City, Here We Come!!!!

After a moment of panic as the bus doors where closing in front of our hotel in Manila when i realized I left my passport and US dollars in the hotel safe(that would have been AWFUL!!!) we were on our way to the airport to fly to our mission site in Cebu City.

I was fortunate enough to sit next to Marilyn Moonan on the plane.  Marilyn is a pediatric nurse from Boston who has been on over 20 missions and would be acting as the pre/post op charge nurse.  She has a wealth of knowledge, I was able to pick her brain about the experience and it was nice to chat with another nurse from the Northeast.  The time flew by chatting with Marilyn and in a blink of an eye we were in Cebu City being greeted by a huge welcome committee of Local Volunteers.  We came down the escalator from our gate to clapping, cheering, a huge banner and people draping beaded Cebu necklaces around our necks like Hawaiian Leis.

Well...at least it was phonetically correct, last mission my badge said Merlissa Merliss. ;)

Waiting for our bus outside the Cebu Airport on Mactan Island.

 The bus took us straight from the airport to the hospital to take a tour.  As I stared out the window on the ride over, I was in awe of the stark contrast between wealth and poverty. There were countless tin roof shacks right next to multi-million dollar malls and high rise buildings.  I didn't sense that there were any traffic laws or if there were people weren't following them. Bicycles, Jeepneys, cars, vans looked like a sea of ants crawling across the road whichever way they could, with kids running through the streets often times weaving around the cars.

One of the local doctors welcoming the international volunteers.

We were working out of a public government hospital.  It was like nothing I'd ever seen before.  On the way to the unit reserved for Op Smile, we passed by an adult ward that had at least 50 patients lines up in beds approx. 1-2 feet apart, no curtains separating them, everyone talking amongst themselves in the 80 degree heat. A far cry from the inpatient units in the US where patients/parents often complain when they have to share a room with one other patient.

The hospital was open air and the set up kind of reminded me of the high schools I used to see on TV shows set in LA or Florida when I was a kid.  This was the view looking out the back of the unit designated for Op Smile. There was tons of wreckage and several roosters crowing around the clock, they clearly didn't get the memo that they are "God's alarm clock", not "God's snooze button".  I wish they weren't such overachievers. ;)

 This was the long corridor/room that served as the pre/post op area and also where the screening day would take place.  We divided it in 4 sections, the pre-op area was in the far corner, post-op area in the long hall on the right, lunch/break area for the staff on the other side of the wall on the left and the nurse's station inside the wood walls in the center.  There would be over 100 narrow stretchers filled with little patients and their families, lining this corridor in just a few days. It was hard to imagine.

This was the OR. There would be 8 OR tables running simultaneously, with a recovery area in a hallway just outside this room. 

After the tour the buses took us to our hotel to check.  We stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel which is owned by one of the major sponsors of our mission here in Cebu so we had the luxury of staying in the gorgeous 5 star hotel that was decorated like a Wintery Christmas Wonderland. 

Another stark contrast to the poverty we had just witnessed at the hospital and hard to wrap my brain around.  We were all grateful to have a place so refreshing to rest between our long hours ahead on the mission.  The local team treated us to a welcome party of hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and desserts from all over Asia.  I sampled every dessert and they were all divine! There was a live band and the medical directors even got up on stage and sang for us.  We soon discovered this display of live music and officials getting up on stage to sing was not out of the ordinary. ;)

This was my favorite, red velvet :)! Mmm!

Our rooms were gorgeous and I lucked out in the roommate department! I was placed with Jamie Gibson, a child life specialist from South Carolina, who is the biggest Clemson football fan I've ever met.  Everyone who knows me well knows I'm not from the south but I kinda wish I was, Jamie was like a kindred spirit. So funny, sweet, considerate and easy to live with.  Hallelujah!