So hard to ask for help!

Greetings all:

I said I would try to be a more faithful blogger, so here I am with my daily post. We had another incredible day in the field, and the students have left for an evening of revelry in New Orleans to catch their breath, regroup, and get ready for the big fair this weekend. I am finishing up work from the day and then taking a small group from Wake Forest University out to dinner, accompanied by our fearless leader Connie Hoe and Ken our Penn engineering faculty member to thank them for their heroic work in setting up our tent for the Health Fair on Saturday -- we would have been toast without them! It was a much much bigger job than us 23 women -- nursing and SP2 -- ever could have managed, and these guys just pitched in and made the whole thing happen. One thing this trip has taught me is that with pluck, fortitude, and a good attitude it's amazing what you can accomplish.

At lunch today we had a "debriefing session" with the entire group from Penn, and a few other volunteers who were in the "mess hall" joined us. Lots of poignant and moving stories. The 2 take-away messages for me? One was summed up perfectly by Sofia -- why has it taken this long for nursing and social work students to work together. And she is so right! We are trail blazing interdisciplinary education in exciting and fulfilling ways for all concerned, and we definitely need to look at ways to foster this when we get back. The second take-away came from our volunteers -- they have been touched and thrilled to have our students share their experiences in the homes with them. While they perform incredibly needy construction and repair services in the homes in which they are working, we have helped them see these people up-close-and-personal in ways that they would not otherwise see, and let's them recommit their efforts in personally meaningful ways. And at the same time we noted how critical their efforts were to ours -- people cannot think about their health and welfare when they are still living in a cramped trailer and they don't have a true roof over their heads.

I was in a home this afternoon that was being rebuilt by a local contractor (the owner died after the storm and his 4 children decided to rebuild it as a place for them to share holidays, etc to gether in his loving memory). It was amazing -- there were scores of Life Magazines from the 1940s (when it cost 10 cents!) and a treasure trove of old books. Miraculously these items were on shelves just above the water line.

I also met an 89 year old woman whose home had been destroyed and she was now living in a FEMA cottage with her son. She had lost everything, and several months after the storm she was hospitalized for gastric surgery and an ileostomy. Was she defeated? Hell no! She not only withstood the surgery (and yes, a successful reanastomosis!) but she is rebuilding her previously very successful sewing business! At freaking 89!

Well, the library is shutting down (the only place I can blog!) so I gotta sign off now. A few more quick meetings then taking the WF crew and others out to the local buffet in Waveland for dinner. Hope to drop y'all a note tomorrow.

Please send your comments-- would love to hear from you. Cheers!

Julie