first clinic in A Luoi

So, maybe the hotel isn't quite as nice, maybe there is no A/C, the TP is microsized, the shower sprays directly onto the toilet and the bath towels are the size of American hand-towels, but I tell you the team worked long and hard today with a fantastic attitude!

here is our delightful pharmacy crew for example






We saw many more elderly patients today, many in traditional dress


by lunchtime the clinic was so popular we had to part the "seas" to get back in!


This 49-year-old lady is nearly blinded by cataracts, but thanks to VWAM and you our sponsors, her surgery is covered, and she should have her vision restored this week!


Here is a poor little baby covered in scabies



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this was our traditional breakfast this a.m.


I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings - stay tuned!
remember you can click on any photo to see it larger, and if you want to save a copy on your computer, right click and choose "Save Image As"

welcome to A Luoi!

Before we left Hue we went to the BottleCap cafe, where a hilarious man entertained us with his bottlecap removing skills (including making the bottle opener out of a stick, a nut and a bolt)- see photo above - he is in back, the opener in front COULD BE YOURS if you are the first to guess the meaning of the gang signs below. Post your guesses in the comment section, and first correct guess wins. Team members and immediate family are not eligible.



We arrived safely in "A Loui", about 10-20 miles from the border with Laos, the poorest area of Vietnam we've ever been to.

So here's how we got there:





a brief pit stop for a, um, waterfall?




A Luoi people are wonderful...









After dinner some of us stayed up late doing, yes, you guessed it - KARAOKE ! ! !

from Joyce and Jess Mayfield

from Joyce and Jess Mayfield: (click on images to view larger size)

Gary Jacobson's photos

Here are a few of Gary Jacobson's photos fresh off his camera - these are people at our clinic:

"Hue Cool" (way cool)

This morning brought monsoon rains and a bittersweet final clinic day in Hong Ha - we again saw over 200 patients.


Steve started us with the daily briefing, military style.



dozens of people received the gift of sight today thanks to the "J" Crew: "Dr. Jack Jeffords", Jordon, and Joyce Mayfield...

This boy at age 10 weighed only 44 pounds, due to malnutrition.
We treated him for intestinal parasites, gave him an ample supply of vitamins, and dietary counseling especially concerning protein the boy wasn't receiving.




This is a Betel nut, which the eldely chew partly as a status symbol and mostly due to its highly addictive properties.

as you see on this grill the betel nut turns the teeth black over time.




We saw countless children today with fungal skin infections, often with severe scalp disease such as this boy.


Tomorrow we will make the westward trek over the mountains to A Luoi, the poorest area in which we will work all week. Please pray for safety and good team spirits as our accomodations will be reportedly bleak those days.

WOW what an amazing wonderful day! The patients are SO precious, kind, and grateful for what VWAM is doing here. They work days are long and hot, and everyone is working hard, but the Vietnamese are a delight to love and serve. We saw well over 200 patients, Dr. Love pulled 50+ teeth, and dozens saw clearly for the first time in years.


[if you click on photos you will see them normal size]


this baby had horrible abscesses under his scalp, which I had to open and drain today (poor sweet baby!)


sometimes interpreters double as a support to hold on to!



our wonderful nurses Debbie (above) and Clay&Jackie (below)









To get to clinic today we had to play chicken with massive Russian trucks - this one beat us but we took the second!

First Day of Clinic!

We travelled 1-2 hours out of Hue (pronounced "way") to a mountain village of very simple, very poor people, to set up in a clinic built by Veterans in honor of Floyd Olsen (helicopter pilot, MIA after crash in war).

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we set up pharmacy in this traditional frond-made stilt-building



patients began at registration/triage... ("nurse Clay" is one hard worker! - and you should see Steve go!)



one of "Dr. Jack's" optometry patients



One of Dr. Tom Love's patients after a dental extraction



Overall today there were 186+ medical consults, plus glasses and dental care. They were really in serious need, with a wide variety of ailments. It is easy to love these beautiful, kind, sincere people; that's what we will do again today!