Arrived in Jordan yesterday to the new airport in Amman. It is big and beautiful, but so chaotic. No enough staff on the ground, not enough porters, not enough luggage carts and too many people not knowing where to go. Had to wait about 1 hour for the luggage to be unloaded from the plane and then I had to find help since I had 4 bags with medicines and clothes. I saw other members of the medical mission who were supposed to arrive at 5pm but they were still at the airport and it was 8:30pm – their flight was delayed.
We had planned to have two vans for picking up the people, and thought that would be enough for them and their luggage if the flights arrived like they were supposed to. But it didn’t happen that way. We had 10 people at the airport and over 40 bags and box full of medicines. We had to fill the vans with the luggage and then put people in taxis to get them to the hotel. Everyone got in. I got home and was exhausted, stayed up until 2am and then finally hit the bed and did not move until 6am when I had to get up and get ready for our first meeting.
Saturday: Drove to Amman from Madaba and made it to the hotel to meet the group of doctors. We took the 20th floor of the hotel for a meeting and once everyone laid out all their luggage with the medicine and supplies, it was unbelievable how much stuff people had brought with them. People introduced themselves and gave a brief intro about the work that they do. Then the different doctors went to some of the hospitals to start seeing patients. In the afternoon I went to the Spinal Cord Clinic and saw the patients and then went to the new clinic that is being prepared for patients. The new place is gorgeous and huge – it takes 90 patients, three stories, bright, airy and has a TV in each room, real hospital beds and a place for cooking and a rooftop , washer and dryers. This was all done within the month that I was gone. The place was rented for 30,000 Jordanian Dinars (JOD) for the year – a brand new building we figured out that with the nurses, doctors, cleaners, utilities, medicines, rehabilitation equipment, food, etc., the cost to run the place will be about $150,000 per year.
We will need to get some rehab equipment donated and brought to Amman. Everyone who has a treadmill, that they bought thinking they would be exercising and now are using it as a clothes hanger please give it to us and we will send a container full of this equipment to Jordan. If you live in Western Washington and can get these items to my garage in Seattle, we will get this started- I hope that I will have enough by the time I get back within a week to start the shipment.
I couldn’t believe the new space that was given to these young men. Makes you want to smile seeing the wide space and real hospital beds and the amount of light that comes in from the windows.
This is what becomes of your donated funds, my friends. Please see what the power of the people can do. We do not need to wait for the big NGOs and big governments to give, we can do it ourselves.
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