The Final Voyage

OK- better late than never! After getting back to the states and getting in to the next rotation (which was not NEARLY as cool as being in the Pacific) it kind of got away from me to put up my final blog (plus I was having a tough time admitting it was really over). So here it is- the last stop of my amazing trip, FSM, and my final farewell:

We celebrated the 4^th of July by attending the opening ceremony

for the start of the FSM mission, and continued on with a softball game of the SeaBee’s (the Navy construction crew that was based on the island) versus the softball leagues in FSM. We lost terribly but got to enjoy

some sunshine, some rain, and some good company. We walked the island a little and explored, finding some restaurants and beautiful views. The next night Andy and I got to attend the opening reception which was on the LCU (the smaller boat inside the ship that takes us to and from the island). We had the band playing, good food to fill us up, and we got to rub elbows with everyone including the ambassador to the United States in FSM.

Some of the worksites in FSM were nicer than we had experienced before. At our first site we were in a classroom that had lights and a running fan that would turn on after noon which was a pleasant surprise.

The next site I was at I got to set up the camp (manual labor time!) and organize the workflow in our area. These were all outside tents, but we made the best with what we had.

A lot of the patients had skin and fungal infections due to the VERY high humidity (most days it felt like you were in a

swimming pool), so we quickly ran out of some of the creams and solutions and had to compound some of our own medications. It was a great experience to learn to work with what you have and use whatever resources possible.

Andy and I, along with the other girls from Project HOPE got to attend the closing reception at the ambassador’s house. This was a good time for us to say our tearful goodbyes to everyone as we had to leave the ship the next morning, a day earlier than originally expected (with the military

you learn to expect the unexpected). We got to enjoy a dance show put on by the locals, some great food, and listened to speeches from the Vice-President of FSM, the Governor, and various officers from our ship. At the end of the night we all reluctantly loaded back on the LCU and headed back to the ship. We spent a few hours late into the night saying more goodbyes and headed to our racks for our last night on the ship.

0630 muster came way too soon. Lugging the past 6 weeks worth of luggage down ladders to the LCU and boarding it for the last time suddenly made me realize this really was goodbye. We had some of the crew who weren’t leaving with us come down to the well deck to say goodbye, so with the last of the hugs and exchange of emails, we boarded the LCU to leave the Cleve forever.

After the well deck filled up and we pushed out the back for the last time we were greeted by our friends lining the top of the flight deck waving and yelling their goodbyes- that’s an image I’ll never

forget. They woke up early to to give us the official “goodbye” they said we deserved. With tears in my eyes I waved until they were out of site.

This is an experience I will never forget, something I am so unbelievably thankful to have experienced. I think everyone should take time from their lives to reach out and help other people, spend some time out of their comfort zone, and work through situations they never thought possible to complete. To everyone I worked with ‘thank you’ for being part of my team, to everyone that made this possible you will forever have a place in my heart for allowing me this opportunity, and to everyone that has followed or read this blog I challenge you to go out and make a difference no matter how big or small.

Thank you Shenandoah University, thank you Project HOPE, and thank you to everyone aboard the final voyage of the USS Cleveland- we did her well.