The summer of 2002, I met a young lady while square dancing at a festival in Missouri. For the next 4 months we talked on the phone and once a month I would drive to Colorado to visit her. In November of 2002, she told me that for the last two weeks of January and the beginning of February she would be on a medical mission trip to India. We talked about the trip and the fact that she had gone on two other mission trips, one of which was to India and that she was looking forward to going back to India. A couple of days later she asked, "Why don't you go with us?" I laughed because I have no medical experience except 1st aid. We talked about the prospect of my going and finally she said she would ask if there was room for a non medical person on the trip. To my surprise she called back and told me I was welcome to go along with the group, as they could always use help with set-up/take down and crowd control. Then she stated I would have to do a few things first.
The beginning of my odyssey: A passport. Vaccines-shots (Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B) and pills (Malaria and Typhoid). Getting time off work. What to pack to take on the trip and financial arrangements.
MISSIONS TRIPS
I started my quest about the second week of November and was told I had until the 1st week of December to confirm whether I was able to go or not. Everyone I talked to informed me that it took 6 to 8 weeks for a passport to be issued. I went to the Post Office and completed the application for the passport. I received my passport in 3 weeks. I then went to the County health department to ask about what precautions, shots or pills, I would need for the trip to India. I was given information on all the shots and oral treatments I would need. Yes, some of that info was scary. I found out that the Hepatitis A & B shots could be given to me at the health department. The H-A was one shot and the H-B was two shots. For the prevention of Malaria and Typhoid, I would have to get a prescription from a doctor, then go to a pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. Mefloquine (ME-floe-kwin) pills were to be taken 1 week before the trip and 4 weeks after, to prevent malaria. There were 4 Typhoid (VIVOTIF TYPHOID CP VAC) pills, to be taken over 8 days: pill #1 then skip a day, #2 then skip a day, etc... These pills were to be kept in the refrigerator, taken with cold water and not to linger in the mouth very long. Why, I asked myself and then I asked the pharmacist. He told me the pills were a live culture and if I let the pill get hot, I could get Typhoid. This was the 1st time I obeyed the direction on medication to the T. Meanwhile, I was learning what the temperature in India (seasons) would be and what to pack. Winter and freezing temperatures here in Missouri and summer in India.
As I was taking care of the medical needs and packing for the trip, there were also travel arrangements to be made from Missouri to India. While this part was by and large the responsibility of P.R.O. Missions, getting us from Denver, CO to India, I still had to get from Missouri to Denver. After talking with numerous people, it was decided that to drive to Denver by pickup was cheaper than flying from Joplin to Denver. So my long journey, halfway around the world, had begun.
My Odyssey to Go on a Medical Mission Trip MISSIONS TRIPS
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