A Little Down Time.....

Steve and I spent the weekend at the lake enjoying the boat for one last time before we have it winterized for the season. It's been nice having the boat and my parents' condo to get away to this year. Even though we both have time off work, it seems we always find something else to do instead of relax when we are home. This summer we were able to get away for a few days to enjoy just being lazy at the lake. I highly recommend it!

A couple of times we were able to take a few days off during the week as well and head to the lake when the crowds weren't so great. My favorite times have been in late summer and early fall when the summer crowds are gone due to school starting and people getting back into their usual routines. The lake is so calm at these times, and we enjoy taking a lunch and the dog and just spending the day on the lake.

Having worked the night shift for most of my career, I often have trouble sleeping......day or night! I found this year, though, that I can sleep quite well on our boat out in the middle of the lake! There's nothing quite so sleep inducing as the warm sun and an anchored boat that is rocking slightly in the breeze. Even the dog napped her days away on these occasions!

This weekend is our last on the boat for the year. We took it out one last time today--even though it was a little cool. I have to say that although I tend to be a "sun worshiper" at heart, I loved being out on the lake with a panoramic view of the fall colors. Here are a few of our pictures from the weekend that I'll share for you to enjoy, too. Tomorrow it's back to work, both at my staff nurse job and also at One Good Deed. Michael reminded me via email this weekend that we have a lot to do before the next delegation to Rwanda in March!

The cool weather produced the beautiful fog each morning! We had to be up early to enjoy it, though, because once the sun came up it burned off quickly. I'll leave you tonight with a picture of Bailey the boat dog.....she is the queen of the lake and LOVES her boat rides!

Some Folks I Know.......

It's time for me to introduce you to some of the people in my life who have been very instrumental in making my extraordinary dream a reality. I'm not sure really where to begin because I'm not sure where the true beginning is. I guess first would be with my own children, now adults themselves, who first got me involved in volunteerism through their own volunteering. They are, and always will be, my heroes.

Both of my kids had requirements in high school that started them on their paths to volunteerism. My son, Matt, continued his path in college where he worked as a volunteer fireman. During hurricane Katrina he went with the Rolla Rural Volunteer Fire Department to Louisiana where they helped with recovery and clean up. He pursued this path further by becoming a paramedic.

My daughter, Cait, was active throughout high school and college with Habitat for Humanity. She also traveled with People to People Student Ambassador Programs which sparked her interest in international activities. She has joined me on two trips to Rwanda and continues to remain actively involved in One Good Deed's activities.

My husband, Steve, has become my biggest supporter and champion. He has been to Rwanda with me and also shares my love for this country and the people. He's the one who has taken on the worrying over my rather impressive credit card balance so I can simply think about it!

Of course I have to include Michael. He, too, is my champion and also my mentor. He came to Rwanda for very different reasons than I, but we both share the same love for the people and the country. Without him, I would have no direction and would probably have given up long ago.

Along with Michael is Cecile. I first met Cecile in 2008 on that first trip to Rwanda. She was an intern in Michael's company and our group was her first delegation. She has been my friend and supporter ever since. This young woman has a passion for her country and her people that is unmatched, and she has given me so much insight into Rwanda's past and she has so much hope for Rwanda's future. I was having a hard time choosing a photo of Cecile, in part because she is so beautiful it's hard to narrow down the great photos of her, but I decided this one of her with Rwanda's  President Kigame was fitting.

There are so many more people I could share with you....and I will in good time, but these are the ones who have been key to making my dream a reality. Without them, there would be no One Good Deed and though I would still be an ordinary gal, I wouldn't be realizing my extraordinary dream!

Hospitals and Clinics and Schools, Oh My!

July 2011 came quickly. Michael was, as I expected, very excited about the HBB program and its implications for Rwanda. As I've said before, Michael is my mentor but he lets me find my way. This is not to say that he leaves me to blunder along on my own until I finally hit on something worthwhile. He does provide some gentle guidance in the form of open-ended questions and in sharing his experience with other professionals' projects that he's been involved in. I value his advice because he did, after all, do a pretty comprehensive study of developing countries and their particular issues and of Rwanda in particular, so he is somewhat of an expert in this area.

It isn't often that I get really strong endorsements out of Michael. He's pretty non-invasive--more like a quiet listener who occasionally will say something like, "really? Perhaps we could look at trying to turn this into an opportunity...." After I told him about HBB I got an email almost immediately and the first sentence was "This is fantastic!!" I'm learning. It's interesting to me as I plod along on this course that I feel has been waiting for me for a long time, how gratified I am with small victories. You can imagine how I felt when I received a "fantastic" from my mentor and friend--the one I consider the expert in this field I am pursuing. His excitement confirmed what I suspected when I first heard about the HBB program, and now we were frantically putting together an itinerary for Rwanda that would be based on introducing this program to the places in the country that could be trained to implement it. Finally my path had led to sustainability!

Michael's next suggestion caught me off guard. He said it was now time for me to meet with the Minister of Health of Rwanda to let her know what I was doing in this country. Really? Couldn't I just continue to fly along under the radar, not drawing too much attention to myself but just making little differences in my little area of the country? I have a confession to make here. I am always a little uncomfortable when people tell me what a great thing I am doing and what wonderful work it is. Quite honestly, I feel like a pretender. Don't get me wrong, I am very dedicated and passionate about the work I do in Rwanda, but I tend to downplay it in my own mind because it doesn't seem like it should really count because I AM HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE!!!! I love what I am doing and I love this country and the people and I love feeling like I have something to offer them that will make their lives and the lives of their children better. I guess it is time for me to get over this idea of "what I did on my summer vacay" and realize that this really is vital work and I really have been studying this country and its people and its history and the needs I see are overwhelmingly huge, but I really do have information that I can share that just might make a difference in a big way. What we are trying to do here really is a big deal and it is important, and of course the Minister of Health would want to hear about it!

So.....in mid-July another colleague of mine, Lindsay, and I set off for Rwanda prepared to introduce the HBB program to some hospitals, clinics, and the Kigali Health Institute--oh yeah, and to Dr. Bingawaho, the Rwandan Minister of Health!

I wanted to introduce you to Lindsay with these photos first because they kind of sum up the Lindsay I have come to know on this trip. Lindsay is one of my co-workers and she is often someone that others overlook or dismiss as kooky, hyper, or silly. They are SOOOOOOO wrong! Well, she can be all of those things at times, but she is also warm, and fun and childlike. I do not mean "childish." Childlike to me is an amazing quality that most of us lost somewhere along the way. These photos of her are my favorites because they show Lindsay as I have come to see her....warm and loving and completely giving of herself. She loved the people of Rwanda, as I do, which of course totally endeared her to me all the more. She also immersed herself in the activity of the children. They accepted her and were drawn to her, in part, I'm sure due to her blonde hair, but also because I think they recognized her childlikeness--her ability to meet them at their level with an open heart and mind. She saw them. They were no longer the forgotten ones of Rwanda in her eyes.
I will forever love her for this.

Several months before we left on this trip, Lindsay had suffered a terrible hurt. She had been wounded deeply by an incident that is not mine to tell, so suffice it to say she was recovering (if we ever truly do) from a broken heart. I think I related to this piece of Lindsay because I, too, came on my first international nursing mission after a broken heart. I had left my job as a clinical educator, in part for the "tongue in cheek" way I described earlier in this blog, but also after what I perceived to be an enormous betrayal by people I had trusted and looked up to. Maybe that is how we come to really important places in our lives.....broken and hurting, so that we can truly understand the brokenness and hurt in others and touch it in a special way that comes only from having traveled a similar path.

Lindsay and I hit the ground running once in Rwanda. We were scheduled to visit three hospitals and the Kigali Health Institute, but that somehow turned into five hospitals, the Kigali Health Institute, the Minister of Health, a couple of childrens' homes, and an add on trip to the Akagera National Park for a day of fun. Because I was pretty new to this whole HBB thing myself, Lindsay kind of hung back and acted more as a helper where needed while we were introducing the program in Rwanda. Most of the pictures around this introduction are of me.....but she did occasionally step in and do some teaching of her own, which made me proud of her! It can be an intimidating thing to teach people who don't have a firm grasp on your language, but Lindsay was up for the challenge and she handled it with equal measures of grace and humor.

Here are some pictures of our efforts:

It was a lot to cover in the short time we were in Rwanda. Most days we came back to our hotel and had to force ourselves to stay up long enough to eat dinner before collapsing into bed for some much needed sleep. I was encouraged by the reception we got everywhere we went, though. This program touched a cord with the healthcare workers in Rwanda, and I think they see it as a means to help reduce infant mortality in their country. At last, we have found a way to implement something sustainable, replicable, and measurable in this country. Now the work really begins!

Coincidences (I think not!), Collaborations and Innovations

So.... July 2011 brings me to another trip to Rwanda. This time to do something a little different. But first, let me tell you about the pure genius in that suggestion given to me by my friends Karen and Sara. The advance practice forum in Washington D.C. had an add on session at the end that was a master trainer program for the "Helping Babies Breathe" program. This program is designed specifically for developing countries and it was open to people who work in them--all I had to do was apply for a spot. Sounded easy enough....if I was accepted. In the meantime, Someone was busy again leading me along the path of amazing coincidence (or not).

In February I went to the Pediatrix Neo Conference in Orlando. I had attended this conference a couple of years before and found it to be quite educational and interesting--also really great food because it was really geared to doctors and they don't settle for mediocre food like us nurses do! Anyway, I really went to this conference in February because one of the speakers was a neonatologist that I had worked for at my very first nursing job out of college (yes, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth!). Anyway, I was headed to Orlando to a conference I really couldn't afford given my already overextended credit card bill filled with trips to Rwanda.......I was going to see Dr. William Keenan speak--or so I thought!

I DID see Dr. Keenan, but Someone (I believe this, you think what you want) had sent me there so I could talk to him about Rwanda. I'm sure of this in my heart, laugh or roll your eyes if you must, but I believe! Anyway, I reintroduced myself to Dr. Keenan and told him about what I was up to in Rwanda. Coincidentally (or not), he just happens to be one of the authors of the Helping Babies Breathe program (HBB)! When he heard about my trips to Rwanda he told me I should check out the program. I said that actually I had just applied to the master trainer program that was going on in D.C. in June, and was just waiting to hear if I had been accepted or not. He wished me well and we parted ways.

The next week I received my acceptance to the program. This possibly was a coincidence--I don't see rainbows and butterflies in everything......but still, made me go "hmmmmm." So in June I was off to the HBB training program in D.C. Armed with my Neo Natalie kit (a basic simulator kit for teaching the program) and the flip chart training package, I found myself in my nation's capitol. The training was very intriguing. This program, I realized based on the homework I had been doing for the past three years in Rwanda, was sheer genius! Check out their website at http://www.helpingbabiesbreathe.org/. It's amazingly simple, but profoundly vital to the survival of infants in the developing world. I was terribly excited because I knew I had found my missing piece. I couldn't wait to tell Michael!

The program lasted two days, and I met some great people and made some new friends--bonus! Over the past three years I have come to expect weirdness in my life where Rwanda is concerned. By that I mean I have these "Twilight Zone" moments about Rwanda ALL THE TIME. It used to scare me a little--well, at least I thought it was creepy. Anyway, I had one of those moments at this training program. I was waiting for the registration for the program to start and a woman came up to me and asked if I knew where the registration was. My radar started dinging and I looked her over a bit as I talked to her. I told her I was taking the training as well and that registration wasn't opening for about an hour. She finally looked at me and said, "You look familiar." Here it comes.......insert Twilight Zone music.......She asked where I was from. I told her Kansas City and she shook her head. She was from St. Louis. More music. I used to live in St. Louis (in my previous Mrs. life--my hometown and current Mrs. life is in Kansas City). She asked where I worked in St. Louis. I was having  a hard time concentrating at this point--the Twilight Zone music was blaring now. I told her I had worked in the NICU at Cardinal Glennon, but that it was a really long time ago. DING! She worked there, too......a long time ago. She asked my name, I told her and then corrected it to my former Mrs. name. Ding, ding, ding--we had a winner. We worked together in the same unit at the same time and we finally remembered each other from those other lives. She then asked what I was doing now and why I was taking this training class. No surprises now.....after all, Someone was whispering (NO, I am not psycho--this is just a figure of speech, you skeptics!) in my ear that this was who I really came to meet.....again.

Sue, it turns out, is also working in Rwanda and has lived there for two years. She and her husband are there with their church doing mission work. She is a nurse practitioner and works in a clinic assisting with deliveries and neonatal care. We went to have dinner together before our class started. Coincidence......only for the die hard non-believers that there is Someone out there who, maybe not directs our lives, but at least makes strong suggestions sometimes. I'm throwing in a couple of pictures from our class for your viewing pleasure:

I was formulating an idea and I couldn't wait to get home and discuss this with Michael.

Turning an Extraordinary Dream into an Extraordinary Reality

It's been three and a half years since my first trip to Rwanda. I've been back four times since then and am in the process of planning another trip in March 2012. Along the way I've met some interesting people and made some wonderful friends. What started as a desire to make a difference has transformed into an actual plan for doing just that. I'm happy to say I haven't had any more malarial drug induced hallucinations since that first trip--in part because I don't take antimalarials anymore. I just pack the treatment for malaria and figure I'll take it if I get bit by a mosquito! It's been an exciting three and a half years.....Here are a few of the pictures from my first trip:

This is Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills. See why I am so drawn to this beautiful place?!?



A little over a year later, in May 2009, I returned to Rwanda with my husband and daughter. In the time between that first trip until now, I had been busy starting a 501(c)(3) corporation--a non-profit organization called One Good Deed. Check out our website: http://www.onegooddeedkc.org/.

On this second trip I was learning about the people, their environment, their history, and their needs. Basically I was doing my homework for furture projects in this country I had fallen in love with. Here are some pictures from that trip:

That fall, in October, I returned to Rwanda again. This time I went as teacher/trainer. After meeting with doctors and nurses from some of the hospitals and clinics on my last visit, I decided what I had to offer the Rwandan people was my experience in nursing. I returned to teach the S.T.A.B.L.E. program, a neonatal pre-transport stabilization program that has valuable, basic neonatal principles that can be applied anywhere--with a little modification, of course. Thanks to Kris Karlsen who wrote the program, I received permission to teach "the STA and leave out the BLE (pronounced bull by Kris!). Below are photos from that solo trip:

After my solo trip, my dream was taking shape. In July 2010 I returned again to teach the S.T.A.B.L.E. class, this time with two of my colleagues. We had the opportunity to gather more information as well which continued to shape this dream of mine.

 On the July 2010 trip I continued to gather information as we visited hospitals and continued to teach S.T.A.B.L.E. I felt like I was getting closer to what I needed to be doing in this country, but there was still a sense of something missing.  Throughout all of this time I had been in contact with Michael Grosspietsch. I met Michael on my first trip to Rwanda in 2008. He was in Rwanda working on his doctoral dissertation about how tourism can reduce poverty in developing countries. Michael started an educational travel company in Rwanda called Eos Visions. He arranges educational travel experiences in Rwanda and some of the other countries surrounding Rwanda that are aimed at bringing professionals from various disciplines to Rwanda to meet with Rwandans with the goal of creating sustainable, replicable projects. Michael has trained Rwandans to run the company, creating his own sustainable project.

Anyway, Michael has become my mentor, my supporter, my sounding board, and my friend, and together we are formulating my purpose. He never directs me, but has let me find my way because I think he knows that the discovery is an important part of the process. I think we learn best when we realize things on our own by getting down to the business of hard work and exploration. At least that's my philosophy.

After the trip in 2011 with Sara and Ali, I decided my role was to be that of an educator in this country. There was still a missing piece to this puzzle, though, that left me unsatisfied. I am happy to return to teach, but that is still not creating something sustainable for the Rwandans--it still leaves them dependent on me. My goal is basically to work myself out of a job here! So....I continue to search and Michael continues to listen and brainstorm with me.

Along the way I find that many well meaning people offer all kinds of advice. I'm not complaining--not at all because occasionally from that advice comes pure genius and incredible opportunity. You just have to take the time to sift through it all. That's something Michael is really good at and I'm afraid I probably take up way too much of his time running all of these ideas and suggestions by him, but as I said, occasionally.....genius!

Two of my nurse practioner friends gave me the same information within days of each other. When I hear the same thing more than once, I've learned to take notice because Someone might be trying to tell me something! Yes, that Someone is my version of God. I say my version because I don't consider myself a traditional religious person. I look at the concept of "God" as more of a presence or that small voice that keeps whispering until you finally listen. So, Someone was telling me to pay attention. Karen and Sara both gave me information on an advance practice forum that was taking place in Washington, D.C. in June 2011--right before my next planned trip to Rwanda......