I am pleased to announce that Nate Bucklin does NOT have dementia, which has been repeatedly publicly asserted by certain parties. I examined his medical records today in my capacity as his POA and can confirm that anyone who tells you differently is either an ignorant fool or a liar. This has been confirmed both with his primary care provider, his psychiatric provider, and his hospital.

Sun., March 21.-
We awoke bright and early 2 hours later to cheerfully greet our beloved TSA employees once more. We boarded and departed without incident. I’ve traveled over the ocean before, but never in the Caribbean, so I hadn’t quite realized that Caribbean Blue isn’t just a figure of speech or the name of a paint shade. This picture doesn't do the color itself justice- it really DOES look like the otherworldly blue in the tourism posters- that's not Photoshop!
( Pics & more beind the cut.Collapse )

Sat, March 20-
I woke up not feeling so well- my own fault for “staying out too late”. I managed to drag my sorry self out of bed by about 10 am,, and thrikreed drove me around to take care of some pre-departure errands, dropping me off with my purchases while Mark minded the home front. At about 2 p.m. Mark came into the room and interrupted the nap that I was taking to tell me that while he’d been injecting Mom’s insulin the needle had broken off in her abdomen. So added to our events of the afternoon was a stop at the ER. We drove up, I escorted Mom in while Mark circled the parking lot and I signed the paperwork needed for Mom to be seen, and let the ER staff know that Mark would return for her after he had dropped me off at the airport. Despite the delay, I met the doc I was going with at the gate and we boarded on time. We landed at DFW with enough time to get a light dinner at TGIFriday’s before we had to board at 8:30 for our 9 p.m. flight. Well, thanks to Mother Nature, that didn’t exactly go as planned. It was actually _colder_ in DFW (36 F) than it was in Des Moines (38 F) and snowing to boot, so our plane needed de-icing. That wouldn’t have been such a problem, but of course it wasn’t just _our_ plane that needed de-icing but every other plane in the entire airport. This being Dallas, not exactly in the snow belt, I think they only had one of the needed machines. Our 8:30 p.m. flight actually managed to leave at about 12:30 a.m.

Once again, that wouldn’t have been so bad, but when we arrived at Fort Lauderdale, we were kicked out of the secure area because they wanted to close it for cleaning, and of course this meant that we and our luggage had to go through security yet again. Yay. We ended up sleeping in the ticketing area with our various electrical appliances plugged in to charge.

"Naptime in Fort Lauderdale Airport", photo courtesy of Kyle ver Steeg.

Here is an article about the hospital I'm going to in Port au Prince.

but It's one of my favorites, so I'm turning it on early.

an appointment for Monday morning. To get shots. Typhoid, Hep A diphtheria, yellow fever, meningitis.

Anticipatory Ow. The people of Haiti had better appreciate this- I HATE getting shots.

Copied from my Chipin page

I will be accompanying Dr. Alan Koslow, a Des Moines, IA vascular surgeon on a medical mission to Haiti. The group he is working with is the Jewish Rennaissance Foundation. He has already gone on one mission, and when he returned asked me if I would like to go on the next one.

We will be leaving on the 20th of March, and returning on the 27th or 28th. I plan to use funds raised to purchase the personal medical equipment that I will use while there. I don't want to bring contaminated tools back with me, so I will leave them with a local practicioner or clinic. I will also use funds raised for food while traveling (it's a LONG trip because of the connections we have to catch- we sleep in the airport on the way there!) and for any associated expenses that I might have while there or in preparation (vaccinations, oral medications, et al). If there are funds remaining, I plan to donate them to the organization that I am going with so that they can assist other practitioners who might want to go and assist in the continuing relief effort.

So, it's a go. I talked to Dr. Koslow today, and we're set. Thanks to Erik, my ticket will be covered with airmiles that he is donating. I've not done this before, so there might be taxes and fees I have to pay- I'm not sure. For the other associated costs of the trip, I've created a Chipin page. Linky! I know that not everyone can contribute, and that not everyone will necessarily want to contribute, but if you can and do, I appreciate it, and if you want to but can't, I appreciate your prayers and well-wishes.

So, assuming I can pull off the day care for Mom while I'm gone, and get all my paperwork in order on Monday, I'm going to put up a donation button. Erik, my hero, (swoon) has already volunteered miles to cover my ticket, but there will still be other expenses- Mom's day care, food while on the way (it's a two day process to get there because of the connections), shots, medications, etc. I also plan to purchase all-new personal medical equipment (stethoscope, BP cuff, thermometer, shears, gait belt etc.) to bring with me because once I've had the stuff in use down there, I don't want to bring it back here because goodness only knows what it would be carrying. I'll donate it to a local medical professional or clinic when I leave. If I happen to raise more than needed for my own expenses, I'll see if it can be used to add more people to the team- I'm sure that there are people who are willing and able to go who couldn't afford their own ticket. If not, I'll pass it through to a relief agency working there- probably Red Cross. I wish I were a 501 c(3) so I could get people tax write offs.

Has anyone on my f-list traveled to Haiti during this time of year? I'm given to understand that it wil be the rainy season- that it will rain for about an hour and a half every day, about an inch of rain. I'm thinking that I might get my hair microbraided before I leave and pony it to keep it cleaner, cooler, and out of the way. I'm also wondering what appropriate footwear would be. I'm considering picking up a pair of Red Wing boots and lightweight wool socks (which breathe and dry out better than cotton). Can anyone offer advice in dealing with that sort of environment?

I was just asked to go to Haiti to help a medical team. I would have to pay my own airfare, which I can't afford right now. I am thinking of taking donations to a Paypal account to see if I can raise the money to go. I'd like opinions from my LJ friends on whether raising support like this is acceptable or in bad taste.