This day didn't see me getting a
shower. In fact, I woke up to the sound of the phone
ringing. (I answered it and got another volunteer.)
The project for the morning was to start calling people
to confirm their interest in going to Baton Rouge. We
sent ovrclokd's friend off by 1pm to evaluate the situation
from the perspective of a physician. We know she arrived
safely after an uneventful flight.
My friends Mike and Sarah drove up, and helped with
the calls. By the time the afternoon came, we had
24 people confirmed for our 10am flight to Baton Rouge.
We talked with some really great folks, and I'm really
upbeat about meeting them tomorrow morning at the
airport. I've been on the phone almost all day, though,
and that means it's a good thing I have free nights
and weekends! The reward was that we went down and
communed with the DC3 and the 206, pulling them both
from the hangar and fueling the DC3 (270 gallons pumped
through the same hose I use to top off the Cessna).
Tomorrow, Mike, Sarah, Sam, and I will ride from the
downtown airport to main airport here at Knoxville,
then we'll meet and greet the volunteers who will
be showing up. At least one television station will
be there.
After we launch the volunteers, we'll load the DC3
with the cargo it will be carrying, then they'll launch,
and I'll head back to HQ. The project then will be
to determine who if anyone will be flying down on
Monday.
This has been a great time already, and we're not
even seeing patients yet. It's nice to be actually
doing something rather than talking about it or faking
it in the hospital. I certainly was enjoying my surgery
rotation, but this is REAL, and I'm not just the medical
student. After a career, and then returning to the
student life, this is like I'm alive again after having
to be in a cocoon for the past 2 years.
I'd like to express my appreciation to ovrclokd,
thebroomecloset, jklgoduke, clubjuggler, 11ev11and
turnberryknkn for your kind words and spreading the
word, and to cherub7hvn for coming in yesterday to
help on the telephones. You guys are the greatest!
And now it's time for another short night's sleep!
