We all met for breakfast at 7am. Our organizational meeting at 8 got us all introduced to one another both old and new. One of the nicest parts of this group is that there are many people who come year after year. We enjoy the work and camaraderie. I didn’t come last year. Several people told me they were glad to see me back. Me too!
We had a short organizational meeting at the hospital. The OR nurses and anesthesia nurses then went to work emptying the hockey bags that had been brought from Rochester, NY where HUGS is based. They arrange equipment along a hallway lined with wire shelves. Then the anesthesia group sets up the room we use for cases. There are 2 rooms that take care of babies with cleft deformities and 3 rooms for microtia (an ear deformity that can manifest in a variety of ways). Stay tuned for photos in the coming days. I don’t get involved with babies because there are 2 pediatric anesthesia doctors who specialize in babies. They are very different from the 9+ year olds that we see for ear surgery.
The surgeons and anesthesiologists went to clinic to see the 85 patients, both cleft and microtia, scheduled for surgery this week. I was assigned a translator who works in nursing administration in Rochester but will work in the OR for this trip. Her name is Ivelisse and she is originally from Puerto Rico. We were a very organized team. We discussed our plan before the first patient arrived. Ive (pronounced Evie) has lots of experience so she knew what questions I needed answered. We both filled out forms as we interviewed patients. We saw 30 patients by noon. After a short lunch break, we finished up by 2 pm. We both saw patients we recognized and they recognized us too. Some of them are pictured. They were happy to join us in a photo.
Ive and I then embarked on a little shopping trip. It is probably the only free shopping time I will have this week. Ive wanted to buy some guava jam. One of waiters staff at the hotel told her a place to go. We stopped a policewoman asking for directions. She said it was 15 minutes by car but then she directed us to a supermarket that was 5 blocks away. They had everything. I also bought hot sauce which I share by placing it on the lunch table for the week. It is very popular! I went with Ive to a bead store and she bought a down pillow. As we turned back towards the hotel, the thunder we had been hearing brought a light rain storm. We were both prepared. It rains here every afternoon with occasional torrential downpours.
We all got together later going to various places for dinner. My group first went to a speakeasy bar where you tell the bartender what liquor and flavors you like and they craft a unique drink for you. First they give you a glass of water which I correctly guessed was flavored with cardamom. What a nice drink. Then we each got trays as bases for our drinks. Very creative stuff as you can see. We will definitely return.
Dinner was at a steakhouse. It was $36 per person since we split the bill amongst 13 people. A few people ate steak. Not bad for all we ate.
We stopped for gelato on the way back to the hotel. We walk to the hospital at 7 am tomorrow for what will be a very long day. We are ready!
The Adventures of Anne 
Your willingness to share details makes this tremendously interesting., Most “good works” are reported by headlines with no precision about who does what or how it’s done, which means the actual challenge is incomprehensible. Thank you for taking the time..
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