I have said goodbye to the clinic and it was a sad day. The medics took Damien and i out for a special all you can eat dinner on our last night in town. A combination of local delicacies including liver, entrails and fish bits were available - we were impressed to say the least! After wishing farewell to the staff and packing our bags we left and have spent the past week down south enjoying the sunshine and beaches. Here are some pics of our last days at the clinic, our farewell dinner and our island holiday.

More Clinic Pictures...

Here is some more clinic pics including Dr Damien and Dr David hard at work as well as some of my fav patients!

Mae Tao Clinic - 23 March '06

We have almost finished our second last week here at the clinic and to be honest I have mixed feelings about leaving. I have met some great people here and it will be sad to say goodbye to everyone. When Damien and I first arrived I remember wondering how I was going to fill my days but now its more a case of what i can fit in before I run out of time.

On Monday we visited Mae La migrant/refugee/displaced persons camp! Its one of the biggest in Thailand with about 45,000 residents. The camp has been running for about 20yrs however its still classified as 'temporary' by the Thai government. It was spectacular to see, and not what I had imagined. Things were suprisingly comfortable which was great. There was permanent schools, medical clinics and churches set up for everyone to access. From what we saw most people had their own bamboo homes with access to drinking water and toilets. I was pleased that whilst these people dont have freedom to travel in and out they at least had what looked like a safe and happy home life.

Visiting Mae La gave me better insight into the lives the medics lead and the families they have come from. A lot of the medics we work with go home to the camp to visit family members - its about 1 hour, 20mins from the clinic. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to take a few of the medics home with me for a holiday and show them what its like where I live. I think that the basic things in daily life here are the same, people eat sleep work play and have a social life. The biggest differences though are freedom and finances. These differences were hard to come to terms with because they are so limiting in this place.

Anyway before i get to heavy... I just thought it was high time I updated my blog spot and said hello to everyone. Just one week left before we head off and im getting sentimental!

Mae Tao Clinic - End of week two.

Its officially 4 weeks since I left Melbourne today, and I'm surprised at how quickly the time has passed. Its funny how when you are with people you like and doing something you enjoy time just flies! Damien and I have spent 12 of the last 14 days at the clinic. I think Damien is finding it hard to stop thinking about the clinic even in his spare time.
This week we have seen more sick people. Its been sad but we are getting used to the way things are here. We had a 5yr old girl at the clinic with an abscess behind her eye. She suffered an injury about 5months ago and her eye was getting progressively worse. She stopped eating and was sad all the time from the pain. Her eye was protruding out her face, she was weak and cried a lot, it was pretty hard to watch. She has been at the clinic since we first arrived. Anyway this week Damien finally convinced the staff to send her to Mae Sot hospital to have the eye out. We haven't seen her since her operation but the idea is that she will get a false glass eye and be able to live a normal life - if she didn't get the op she may have died. One of the hardest things we have faced here is making health decisions based on money. If tests are too expensive - they usually don't happen. We find ourselves saying things like 'if we do test and find cancer, we cant treat it anyway so don't bother spending the cash on the test in the first place'!
We have been working at the clinic with a humble man known as Dr David. He is a retired surgeon from the states who has been coming here for the past 6yrs. He told Damien to feel free to spend more money on the kids as their department has been neglected over recent years. Its nice to know we have a bit of space with ordering tests for the sick kids. Its not like at home though. Results of blood tests usually take 3days to come back unlike the 1hr at home that we would complain wasn't fast enough!
I have become quite fond of some of the kids. Especially those that have been with us for a while. My favourite patient whose name was Ja Ma Bi left during the week. She was discharged home. Its hard to say goodbye. Its not like they are going home to lay on the couch for a few days and watch TV while they recover. She is 13 but looks about 8. Her parents aren't around and she lives with her grandad. She only went to school until grade 2 and has spend most of her life in and out of the clinic. She has a chronic condition that requires blood transfusions monthly. I have noticed though that people here are very stoic. They seem to take things in their stride and don't complain much.
This morning a local guide took us to the Mae Sot tip. We went with an American photographer. There is a lot of Burmese migrants living there sorting through the trash. They sell the bottles they find for 40bhat per bag, Its about $1 Aussie. It was so sad to see families living in the rubbish. The kids seemed happy but they were covered in dirt and most of them had runny noses. Families were cooking breaky on little stoves surrounded by mounds of rotting rubbish. The smell was overwhelming and there was flies on everything. The saddest thing was when a dump truck was unloading and the families ran to the rubbish being offloaded. They were in a frenzy trying to sort through the fresh stuff - it was pretty upsetting.

Damien and I are taking the next 2 days off to have some much needed R & R. Miss you all and love you lots xxx.

More Thailand pictures

Posting photos on my first blog proved to be very difficult and time consuming so this is my second attempt and hopefully i will be more successful this time. Damien and i are still on Ko Phangan, an island off the south east coast of Thailand. The weather is warm with a beautiful sea breeze and crystal clear water. I recomend this place to anyone who wants an indulgeant holiday for a great price.

Thailand with Damien, week one.

This is week one for Damien and I in Thailand. Its been a hard week of sunbaking, Thai massages, pedicures and cocktails. However I managed to fit time in, in my busy schedule to post these photos ...