Ukraine: Final Preparations
My final preparations are underway…
Working pen light? Check
The nifty portable otoscope and opthalmoscope George bought for me a few years back? Check (I anticipate looking into lots of eyes and ears!)
Stethoscope? Check
Head lamp? Yep
Is there a word for Nurse Practitioner in Ukraine? When speaking Spanish, we NPs sometimes call ourselves enefermeras especialistas, or nurse specialists. I wonder if that is what I’ll call myself there…
Nurse specialist - Медсестра-спеціаліст (I’ll definitely have to look up pronunciations of these letters!)
Physician - лікар
Nurse - медсестра
Ukrainian alphabet - a Cyrillic variation with 33 letters: 10 vowels, 22 consonants and the soft sign “ь”.
Electrical wall adapter? Check. I’ve learned Ukraine and Moldova have the Type C outlets typical of most of Europe.
Wedding ring off? Check. Necklace, too. They’ve asked us to leave any jewelry at home. It’s strange to take that ring off…even though George has been gone almost 5 years now…
And, there's SO many more supplies collected and packed up. I bought a big suitcase yesterday and have it almost completely filled with supplies: needles, syringes, suture material, wound care supplies, some of George’s size 8 1/2 sterile gloves - his hands were HUGE, lots of knee braces we had on hand, a big knee immobilizer, an arm sling, ACE wraps, children’s multivitamins...When I saw the multivitamins, my stomach lurched. There are children in Ukraine as we speak who are malnourished.
No. This does not compute.
I even brought the yellow gowns we used in New York City as part of our Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE. They were made of cloth and perfectly reusable once washed. My thought was that the Ukrainian providers could wear them for particularly messy procedures, but I was told there are some people who do not have a change of clothes, so they can wear these while their clothes are being washed. When I learned this, I added one of George’s flannel robes.
CERT, or Christian Emergency Relief Teams International, hires a travel agent with whom the organization has been working for 25yr. She booked the trip for the whole team, all of us coming from different areas of the country, the Pacific Northwest, California of course, the South and Eastern regions. I called United on my own to check fare prices before calling CERT’s travel agent. Because I was flying on a humanitarian fare ticket, through CERT, I was saved $3000!!! The amount saved was shocking!
Scrubs are packed, forms are signed, customs documents for Moldova and Ukraine have been placed with each suitcase. (With the humanitarian fare, two checked bags are included.) We’ve been warned against drinking tap water, using ice cubes, drinking unpasteurized milk.
A travel advisory has been given to us stating Ukraine security is at a Level 4: Do Not Travel due to active armed conflict. Odessa, where we will be conducting our medical clinics, is not actively involved at present. We’ve been warned this could change at any time.
If this does occur, the plan is to head back over the border to Moldova and care for the Ukrainians in the refugee camps there.
We have been made aware of the risks.
It’s just about time to go. I’ve not slept due to packing and preparations. But, I’ll sleep on the plane. In total, with connections, it will be an 18hr flight. I’m ready. There is no other place I’d rather be right now than in Ukraine.
Have you seen “The Chosen”? Jacque and I watched Season 2 this week and it was such a gift to have that time with my busy daughter before I leave on this trip. In the last episode of Season 2, Jesus has asked Matthew to assist him in writing his Sermon on the Mount. Jesus asks Matthew’s opinion regarding the sermon and Matthew, being Matthew, states the opening statements are basically hard-hitting. So Jesus changes the beginning of his sermon and this is what He says, as He thinks about His disciples whom He loves, and about their lives and their natures:
I have watched this scene a number of times and I weep every time.
“But how is it a map?” Matthew asks.
“If someone wishes to find Me,” Jesus responds, “Those are the groups to look for.”
Perhaps that’s simply what I’m doing by going to Ukraine; looking for those groups…and knowing Who I will find.
talkukrainian.com/ukrainian-alphabet/
And I am sure you will find them there and you will the the salt of the earth for them. (I cried watching the clip!). As God has directed you there, so will He provide all you need there.