Mission Accomplished!

May 23, 2008

Today was the last day of work. The main project was to complete the screening of all windows in the bunkhouse. The screens were mounted with a staple gun and then some were secured with strips of wood. During the process, we ran out of staples and went looking for some in town. No stores had staples to sell. In the end, I was at an appliance store and the owner offered to give me half a box of staple and refused payment. He knew we were working in Manari and he wanted to donate the supplies.

Ricki Sheldon continues to have problems with the angio-edema. When she woke up this morning her face, eyes and lips were seriously swollen. I offered her a shot of epinephrine and she accepted. In 15 minutes she was in great shape. In an hour, she was starting to swell again.

Ricki also needed to go home today. So as I drove her to the Brazilian border, I stopped off at the hospital and had the medics take a look at her. She was given a prescription of prednisone, aspirin and anti-histamine. She was also given an anti-histamine shot and sent on her way. I suspect she will be in good shape soon and I look forward to getting e-mail from her that she has made it home safely.

As of today, our project is complete. It has been successful. I am still able to drink water out of the tap without getting sick. This site is now fully capable of supporting RAM medical teams and the volunteers that are part of such teams.

The men and women who have accomplished this task have done a phenomenal job. I look forward to working with each of them again soon.