Joette and I are in Ho Chi Minh City this Wednesday morning preparing to leave for Taipei later this afternoon. After three plus hours, we’ll arrive mid-evening and connect to our ten plus hour SFO bound flight just before midnight. We arrive in the US Wednesday evening, will overnight there, and have a four hour plus early morning flight to Atlanta. After a couple hours layover, it’s onto Columbia, SC on a one hour flight. We should walk into our door early Thursday evening.

The return journey home has not been easy.

I developed a head cold quickly followed by chest congestion around March 22-23. It steadily grew worse and on the weekend the team had a break, I was basically in my room, and feeling worse by the hour. On Monday, when the team went to work at Hoa Hai Clinic, I couldn’t go. And this was the last day I made a blog entry.

My conditioned worsened on Tuesday. Dr. Bill said I definitely had Bronchitis, and he was concerned about it being even more serious than that. Wednesday morning I scared even myself when I had some difficulty breathing, and since the previous two nights had been very stressful, he thought I should get a second opinion, maybe a chest x-ray. I agreed, and so I did.

I called Family Medical Practice in Da Nang, an Australian private medical practice, that I/VWAM has had a relationship with for about ten years. It’s where I take sick team members when in Da Nang, but this time I was taking myself in. Good thing I went because they discovered I had pneumonia!

The doctor thought about putting me in the hospital, but knew I had a medical team in town. If they could administered IV’s and watch over me, I could go back to the hotel instead of being admitted locally, she said. That sounded good to me. I learned a week later she had second thoughts about that decision because I was very sick.

So, I lived in my room another three days before venturing out for short periods of time. I had IV antibiotic for six days, oral antibiotic each day that continues now and for the next week, two types of inhalers, etc, and so on. I reported to the clinic daily for evaluation and whatever else they thought I needed like nebulizer treatments.

Chuck with "Tom the Choo Choo" Nebulizer

It was a difficult ten days with little sleep and no appetite for most of it. In twenty years of coming to Vietnam, I’ve never been this ill before. I actually thought one night that “This might be it,” and got a little scared one morning when I had trouble breathing.

Later the physician in charge of me said if I was a smoker, or not in such good health prior to, things could have very well been even much more serious with a medical evacuation most likely ordered.

I could go into more details and stories, but I think you get the picture. It’s been strongly suggested, once I get home, that I take another week-off before returning to the office. Now that may kill me, but I can tell you this. I never want to get pneumonia again.

Dr. Jocelyn Nava (L) & Clinic Nurse Supervisor Hang (R)

That’s my outstanding care team above. If you are ever in Da Nang and have a need for medical/health care, obviously I recommend Family Medical Practice!

Chuck & Joette in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

And this is why you never saw another Blog entry until now.

“Dear Leader” as I am affectionately called (Not really but it sounds good) has been given a light duty chit and confined to quarters. I’ve been holed up in my hotel room going on five days. I picked-up a nasty bug from one of the patients, and Dr. Bill says I have a bad case of Bronchitis. Throw in a virus that first went to my head on Thursday, as well as a little stomach trouble to boot on Saturday, and I can say it was certainly an enjoyable three days off this past weekend (Not). Oh well, enough complaining, it’s better to suffer at the Furama in Da Nang than the Nghia Nge in A Luoi.

At yesterday’s morning devotion/meeting, Joette informed the team that they would have to “Pick it up” because I wouldn’t be there. She told them they knew what to do after four days of clinic the previous week, so they should do it when they got to Hoa Hai. And that is exactly what security, van drivers, triage, pharmacy and the patient examiners did.

It All Begins In Triage

They were up and running in minutes, as each team member did their part. Joette reported the entire team was functioning and processing patients in less than fifteen minutes. That’s really amazing when you think about it, and a genuine compliment to everyone of them!

Nothing Like Checking Email While You're Waiting

The estimate is that they saw 169 patients. I knew it had to be over 150 because Joette didn’t walk into our room until 6:15 p.m. last night and they were at work by 8:00 a.m. While they gave medicines and personal hygiene items to the patients as well as canes, walkers, crutches and wheelchairs to the poor,

A Landmine Put This Man In One Of Our Wheelchairs

including one motorized and a self-propelled three wheeled cart, the most satisfying service focused on two children and a teenager.

Pharmacist Nathan With Patient: Will It Will Be A Cane or Walker?

On Wednesday two children will be in the hospital for heart surgery, and one of those can be considered life-saving. The Mother of the little girl was brought to tears when told VWAM would sponsor her procedure, an operation that has been put on hold for two years because of no money. The Father practically jumped for joy with the news!

Mom and Heart Patient Will Be In The Hospital Tomorrow

One of the Recepients of a Self-Propelled Three Wheel Cart

Then there was the 13 year-old girl who asked for “Eye vitamins” which was an odd request. After asking a few questions, it was learned she thought vitamins would help her to see better. When asked why, she said her glasses were broken. Embarrassingly she finally admitted her parents didn’t have the money for new ones, so vitamins would have to do. Here is how this works.

Chinh explained to the patient that VWAM would like to get her a new pair of glasses. What she had to do was go to an eye doctor, get a prescription, then pick out a pair to her liking, and pay for it. Yes, come up with the money somehow, someway. Usually they borrow from a friend or other family member, bring the receipt back to us, and we reimburse them. That’s one of the ways you can assure the funds are spent properly. Sometimes this is a subjective call, however, and I defer to Chinh’s advice. If he thinks they can’t come up with the money, we give it to them. Often we’ll have the clinic manager or director tell them they have to come back with the eyeglasses and the receipt. So, Joette gave her a “budget,” and off she went. In two hours she returned with a pair of stylish, cute eyeglasses, on one very happy teenage girl!

What Do You Think, Happy?

Ecclesiastes Chapter 4 was lived out yesterday by this team. In verse 9 it reads, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.” That’s what this team did yesterday; they got a good return for their work. The patients above are proof of that truth.

Then there is verse 12B same chapter, “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.”

I thank the Lord for my multiple three strands: Joette, Chinh and Quyen; Sue, Jakie and Nathan in Pharmacy; Ron, Jim and Earl upstairs Security; Larry, Duc and Tuan downstairs Security; Sue, Kevin and Cyndi in Triage; my team coordinators Steve in Triage, Clay in Security, and Duc in Transportation; patient examiners Dr. Bill, Marianna and Jessica; and, of course, our translators.

“If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (Verse 10, Chapter 4). No need to pity me, I’ve been picked up…

Chuck Ward iL (Alias “Dear Leader”), Da Nang, Vietnam

Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday are off days. Team members are going to Hue to tour the Citadel, Thien Mu Pagoda, and other world heritage sites. But most of the team will stay in Da Nang and enjoy the Furama, or shop for marble and other souvenirs. Two people will play golf at Greg Norman’s Da Nang Golf Club.

Yesterday 161 patients were seen. Several “Special patients” were identified, and one patient from Monday arrived in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon for eye replacement surgery. VWAM provided transportation, hotel and meal money, hospitalization and the procedure. Chinh’s wife, Minh Ha, is shadowing the family there while he is busy here.

Patient Today with a Serious case of Gout

Sixteen wheelchairs have been given away this week. Some of the recipients told us it was their first wheelchair, which is amazing in itself because they were in their 70’s and 80’s. VWAM is fortunate to have a partner in “Giving It Back To Kids,” the provider of the wheelchairs, a NGO charity based in Da Nang. Chuck (VWAM) and Robert (GIBTK) made a number of people happy this week!

Children are Precious in the Sight of the....

In addition to wheelchairs, two self-propelled carts were sponsored today, along with several walkers, canes, and crutches. Since this is the fourth consecutive day at clinic, many team members are quite tired this afternoon. The Patient Examiners tell me they’ve seen more patients this week then they do in a month at home!

An Invitation from the People's Committee was Needed to go to the VWAM team

The team was visited by two Doctors. One is the district hospital director and the other a local physician. They had “heard about the VWAM medical team” team, and wanted to see for themselves. They were duly impressed with both the quality of care and number of patients seen in just one hour. One doctor said VWAM teams have a reputation for working hard, long hours, and seeing every patient before leaving.

It’s almost time to pack-up the Pharmacy and return everything to storage at Chinh’s home. We’ll keep everything there under lock and key for the weekend. Dr. Bill, Jessica and Marianna are seeing the last few patients right now.

Before we left this afternoon, the Vice-Chairman of the People’s Committee came to thank the team and express their appreciation for all it did for the people of Hoa Quy Commune.

Team with Vice-Chairman & Clinic Staff

Next up is Hoa Hai Clinic, Monday-Wednesday, March 26-29…

Chuck in Hoa Quy

There are days you would like to forget, bad days, painful days. Memories filled with guilt, anger or heartache. But no matter how hard you try you can’t forget, and in a way you don’t want to forget. That’s because you think you at least owe them that, not to be forgotten, even if it’s not a pleasant memory. A lot of us have been there, done that.

For Earl, it was one day when an Amtrac (Amphibious vehicle that carried Marines) was crossing a river, sunk to the bottom, and got stuck. They couldn’t get it off the muddy bottom, and soon it began to fill with water. When the Marines inside tried to blow the hatches it didn’t work. Can you imagine the fear on the inside and panic on the outside as those Marines desperately tried to get the hatches to open.

If you saw the movie “Pearl Harbor,” think of the scene on the capsized battleship Oklahoma. With sailors trying to get out, there would be rescuers on the hull and water filling up their compartment that pushed the oxygen out, you can picture what happened next. Soon those on the bank of the river realized there was nothing else to do. How do you forget that?

Meet Earl, Tuat, her daughter Thuy and two grandchildren, Duyen and Tuyan.

Forty-six Years later at Hoa Quy Clinic in Da Nang

Tuat was a 17 year-old “Manager” of the only “Store” in the village. This is 1965, and Earl and his Marines are living in an old French Fort. Tuat supplied the Marines in his unit with two valuable commodities, kerosene for lamps, the only source of light in the fort, and Coca-Cola! She also helped Earl with his laundry, supplied him and his buddies snacks, etc., and so on. Often he would go down to the store to deliver clothes and other goodies to Tuat and her friends. Then in 1966 Earl rotated out of Vietnam, and said goodbye to his friend. Never would he see her again. Earl had already decided that he’d never come back to this place.

But in 2007 Earl returned to Vietnam for the first time since the war with Vets With A Mission. After forty-plus years, he wondered if he could find Tuat. Was she even alive, did she survive the war? So many questions, but was it possible?

On a free day VWAM arranged for its number one volunteer from Da Nang, Quyen, who hired a van with driver Hai, to take Earl back out to the Que Son Valley. He was going to try to find Tuat, even though it was an incredible long-shot. So off they went. The first try came up empty; however, the next venture was successful. The incredible did indeed happen. Former Captain Earl Gorman, USMC, and village store manager Tuat, were reunited!

Since that day Earl has renewed this friendship with a second and now third trip back to Vietnam to see Tuat and her extended family. He and his wife, Bette Jo, have provided all kinds of help and assistance to them. Today, Earl smiles a lot when he’s in Vietnam.

And in the still of night or on weekends like Memorial Day, Earl hasn’t forgotten those Marines on that fateful day, but the melancholy that used to overwhelm him is supplanted now by wonderful memories, happy thoughts of Vietnam – and Tuat.

If you haven’t read Romans 8:28, you ought to do it now.

Chuck in Da Nang

Wheel-Chair Assemblers at Work

One Hundred and Fifty-Nine (159) patients were seen today. The team arrived at eight this morning and the Patient Examiners and Pharmacy left at 6:30 this evening. Triage and Security/Patient Movers were finished with their duties about an hour and a half earlier. In addition to wheel-chairs, three walkers, four canes and one crutch were given away during the day. Also, many children were given a stuff animal along with toothbrushes, toothpaste and vitamins. Adult’s received creams, lotions, shampoos and other personal hygiene items including toothbrush/paste, and vitamins.

Pharmacist Nathan and interpreter Chung (A volunteer from Da Nang)

Those of you following the Blog have asked me about our patients, and their stories. During the course of the day, VWAM saw former ARVN (Army of the Republic of South Vietnam) as well as former VC (Viet Cong) and NVA (North Vietnamese Army) who were actually called PAVN (People’s Army of Vietnam). These veterans relate well to the vets on the team. It’s kind of an unspoken Brotherhood.

Marine Vets Earl Gorman & Clay Atkins Maintaining Order with Patients

Then you have civilians who suffered loss of limbs due to mines either theirs or ours, but it doesn’t matter. We had one family today who were not allowed to participate in the healthcare offered at their local clinic because they are “Believer’s in a Foreign Religion.” The women we mentioned in the previous Blog post, the victim of spousal abuse, returned this morning with one of her children. Many poor people came today, and the majority of them were elderly. But I noticed something quite interesting about some of these Papa and Mama Sans. Many still had a twinkle in their eyes.

This Old Vet Wouldn't Say if he was ARVN, VC, or NVA!

Yes, we saw the older generation today and believe me, what stories they can tell about the war! Several of them spoke to us as they were leaving. The most common phrase was, “You numba’ 1’” a very common remark some four to five decades ago. They went out of their way to thank us, and express their appreciation. And it was nice to see them taking care of each other, and getting on the back of a motorbike driven by a young granddaughter or grandson to take them home after seeing our team. Here hth younger generation and adult children take care of their parents. No nursing homes here.

Triage at Work

Chuck in Hoa Quy

Larry Gregory of North Garden VA, Army vet, is Security/Patient Movers "Keeper of the Gate." No one gets upstairs except through him!

This morning 85 patients were triaged, and another 71 in the afternoon (156 total). That means the teams’ three patient examiners, Dr. Bill Jenkins of Millinocket ME, and Physician Assistant’s Marianna Mardeusz of Gainesville FL, and Hong Cong Vu (Jessica) of Greenville SC, each saw about 52 patients!

Dr. Bill's, VWAM's Team Physician, with a Patient

In fact the entire team put forth an outstanding first-day effort, even though some of them put in an eleven hour day. They began with breakfast at 6:30 and a team meeting/devotion at 7:30. Everyone was at the clinic by 8:30, with triage and pharmacy up and running in 15 minutes. Within the first 30 minutes patients were being checked, and all of it was made possible by the team security & patient movers who got control of the clinic right away. It is warm here, slightly humid, and cloudy with temps in the high 80′s.

PA Marianna with Translator Phuong and Patient

Some of today’s special patients were candidates for cardiac evaluations (One child’s heart surgery is confirmed), several minor surgical procedures and a couple of major operations are being considered, there is a possible brain tumor that will be evaluated in Hue, and numerous tests, lab work, x-rays, CT and/or MRI’s, and ultrasounds being done right here in Da Nang.

PA Hong Cong Vu - Jessica - with one of her Patients

One of the saddest cases today involved a Mother and child facing not only an abusive Father/Husband at home, but the child is in need of heart surgery. The Mother was afraid to go home at the end of clinic this evening, while the daughter was going to spend the next few days with her Grandmother. The Mother/Wife doesn’t have any money and hardly a drop of food in the home. We were able to get her food, and counsel her on what to do with the police, etc. Finally, two of VWAM’s Vietnamese team members counseled and then prayed with her before she left. She cried a lot.

The Woman being prayed for by her Sister and Brother in Christ!

The team will actually arrive at the clinic by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, so as to be able to complete its work a little earlier and return to the hotel sooner than the 6:45 p.m. it experienced today.

Please come back tomorrow to read more…

Chuck in Da Nang

When you look toward the horizon from the 21^st floor of our hotel, taking in a 360 degree scan, you can hardly believe your eyes? What used to be lush, green and tropical are now office buildings, shopping centers, foreign housing after new domestic housing, and five star hotels everywhere. The likes of Sheraton, Hyatt, Marriott (Renaissance) in Ho Chi Minh City with Holiday Inn and others on the way.

Roads are being built or widened. There is a new tunnel under the Saigon River. It has two motorbike lanes and two automobile lanes. There are new sewer lines, more water treatment, and many old former haunts are disappearing. Places known to past team members like the Underground, Liberty, and Broddard restaurants are gone. You can barely recognize the historic Rex Hotel. Lucky Plaza shopping Center is gone. The three star Grand Hotel, one of the original hotels used by VWAM is now a four star hotel that has expanded to an entire block. And what about the first true skyscraper in Saigon’s District 1, at 75 stories, they charge you 200,000 VND ($10 US) to go up to the observation deck!

In Da Nang there is a new Best Western, the Hyatt and many others. Marriott has a resort planned, and golf courses are less than a mile from the ocean – Montgomerie Links (Colin Montgomerie) and Da Nang Golf Club (Greg Norman). The beach hotels stretch from Da Nang all the way to Hoi An, and many new ones are under construction. Some even start at $400 a night up to $3,200 a night. Really! The new International Terminal is open, with a Burger King in it. And no less than three new bridges are being built in Da Nang. Son Tra Mountain peninsula, known as Monkey Mountain, is being extensively developed as a resort area. And Marble Mountain, well, it just seems that the planned amusement park just doesn’t fit, if you ask me.

Yes, everything is changing, including the young people. Everyone has a mobile or smart phone. Tablets, I pad’s are seen in every coffee shop and park you pass. Motorbikes being driven by one hand as the other holds a cell-phone to their ear. You can buy anything you need in Vietnam. No need to haul it over or pack it in your suitcase anymore.

Tattoo’s, piercings, rings and studs are showing up in every imaginable place on bodies in places that never were exposed just five years ago. While social norms are changing, and presently education and hard work is still valued, I have to wonder how long it will last before I see the negative effects of western culture begin to take a toll on the Vietnamese way of life.

This is a country exploding in population, development, resources, foreign investment, and without question on its way to becoming an economic and financial force in Southeast Asia.

This is no longer your Father’s Vietnam. The American War is over and nearly forgotten. The future is now.

Chuck in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

Ron is an Army Special Forces Green Beret Vietnam veteran, and this is his second trip back with Vets With A Mission. Also, he is on the Board of Advisor’s at VWAM. Weather issues delayed his departure from Chicago, and he arrived in San Francisco only 45 minutes before departure. By the time he got his luggage and rushed over to the EVA ticket counter, the flight has already “Closed” 30 minutes before departure. He was left behind! Compounding his misery was a three-hour time difference (His body said it was 4:00 a.m. not 1:00 a.m.) and his daughter Cyndi, Son-in-Law Kevin and Father-in-law Jim were on the plane along with every other member of the team.

Right now Ron is finally on his way somewhere over the Pacific Ocean flying to Taipei. There he will change planes and arrive in Ho Chi Minh City Saturday morning, March 17. I’ll meet him as he comes out of baggage claim.

While the first team meeting won’t be until 11:30 tomorrow morning (We’re waiting on MIA Ron), our lead physician Dr. Bill Jenkins of Millinocket, ME and PA Marianna Mardeusz of Gainseville, Fl will go to work early. We have two “Special patients” coming to the hotel to see them. Nguyen Van Chinh, VWAM’s Vietnam Representative, will serve as their interpreter and Nurse Cyndi Jerde of Portland, OR graciously volunteered to assist. Afterwards we’ll have that first team meeting and begin the process of preparing for work that begins on Monday.

Tomorrow is another R&R day to help team members adjust to jet-lag and get on track in this time zone. It doesn’t do anyone any good if team members are not sufficiently recovered from their journey before “going to work.” It’s a long way, and the older you are the more difficult the adjustment seems to be. We need everyone healthy and ready to work because seventy-five  Vietnamese are coming each morning and afternoon to the clinics, and they are very excited about seeing the VWAM medical team.

One of those Excited Patients from the First Team!

Back in Da Nang Traige Coordinator Nurse Steve Scott of Punta Gorda, FL, also a member of the Board of Advisor’s, and VWAM’s Joette Ward of Newberry, SC are preparing meds and other supplies for the team meeting late Sunday afternoon.

Team volunteers are from OR, SC, FL, MI, IL, ME, ID, MD and VA in the U.S. as well as Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, Vietnam. They all paid their own way and several took vacation time to be able to do this. Where do we find people such as these?

An American General said the same thing about the young men who served here four to five decades ago…

Chuck in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

No, it's not the peace sign. It means "Hi" in Vietnam!

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I __ I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference,” Robert Frost.

Back in the US, members of the Da Nang Hoa Hai and Hoa Quy medical team are pulling out of driveways, checking in at airline ticket counters, and flying across country to San Francisco International Airport. Later tonight, shortly after midnight to be precise, they will board their flight for Vietnam. Other passengers will notice they have VWAM t-shirts on and wonder who they are?

This is a diverse group. Some are Vietnam veterans, most are not. Other adults are from that era but didn’t serve, while some of those vets’ adult children are on the team. We have Vietnamese-Americans from South Carolina and folks from Oregon. Coast to coast and shining sea. Every age you can imagine, too. Male and female, health professionals and non-medical people, Believers and non-believers, if you can believe that?

When Chinh and I greet them, they will think we’re a bit to chipper. That’s because most will have flown at least eighteen hours on a plane and that’s not counting airport time. Why do people do this sort of thing?

Well, that quote above from one of Robert Frost’s poems says it all. For whatever reason albeit humanitarian, because of their faith, or simply they’re curious about this place called Vietnam, they come because they’ve arrived at a fork in their road of life. At some point they made a decision to go this way – Vietnam – a place less traveled by most Americans.

And at the end of this mission team experience, they will discover, that has made all the difference.

Chuck in Da Nang

Communal Hut in Hong Ha site of Team Meetings/Devotions

First, there was International Women’s Day on March 8. This is like rolling Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Secretary’s Day all into one! Flowers are the predominant gift, and this is the right place to get the freshest most beautiful bouquets and arrangements you’ve ever seen.

The days running up to International Women’s Day are somewhat like a big shopping holiday back home. Flower vendors spring up on every street, and for some of them, these seasonal entrepreneurs make their living for the entire year on this one major event. It’s truly a big deal, and if you don’t think so just forget your wife, co-worker, secretary, or the professional woman in your office and see how that works out for you.

This past week Chinh and I went over to Hue Central Hospital to settle-up an account for a patient, and found only men working behind the counter. They had sent the women home early, so they could actually begin celebrating their holiday the afternoon before it officially began. That was nice of them, but when we tried to pay our bill the men couldn’t figure out to do it. They asked us to come back Friday when the regular staff was there (i.e.; the women). How does that expression go? “When you want a man’s job done right, call a woman!” And having the Women’s Friendship Union on your side in this country is a way to get anything done.

Then there is the second thing, March 12, 2012. A seemingly unimportant date until you know it’s the “Queen’s” Birthday! Last night she received a bouquet of flowers and a nice little bracelet from one of her favorite bellmen, today the Furama gave her nice flower arrangement, and this evening I’m taking her to Don Cipriani’s an outstanding 5 Star restaurant right here at the hotel. The hotel gave her a little gift…

There's a nice little Decorative Lantern in that bag!

And Housekeeping gave her a puppy…

The best kind of Puppy, if you ask me!

Then her two best friends here, Tram and Quyen, gave her a birthday cake and a dozen yellow roses! Joette shopped in Hoi An today, and I told her, “Honey, get yourself something nice!”

Joette's Birthday Flower's (Like those given on International Women's Day)

Yes, I’m treating her to a classy meal tonight, but the best Birthday gift I can give her is Proverbs 31. You ought to read it.

I don’t know what I would do without her in this ministry, she’s a terrific partner in Vietnam. And the women here, they love her and she loves them. It’s a special connection. Officially she is a part-time employee who gives more than a full-time employee, and most team members have no idea of all she does behind the scenes because they only observe her day-to-day work.

"The Queen" (And how she got that nickname here is another story)

But Proverbs 31 pretty much describes Joette. On this day I feel like I’m the recipient of a Birthday gift.  ”Happy Birthday, Queen!”

Chuck in Da Nang

PS: No, I’m not going to say how young she is. You’ll have to ask her that herself.