Beginnings...

As many of you know I will be leaving for Asia in a couple of days to work with communities who have HIV/AIDS and other various illnesses.  The patients that we will be working with do not have means to adequate health care and in some cases their parents or loved ones have died and left them alone with no way to take care of themselves.  I am very excited for this challenge and opportunity to grow in my professional field as well as personally.  

However, I would like to give a little background on why I made this decision to go on this trip.  During the last couple of months I have been asked numerous times,  "Why do you want to go there?" or "Do you really want to do this?"  Each time I answered with a strong "yes!"  

As a young child I was blessed to have parents that were able to take my brothers and I to many different places.  Their love for travel and thirst for knowledge about many different cultures radiated from them and was ingrained in me.  Everytime I was given an opportunity to travel and take on new adventures my parents were always very supportive in my journeys.  When I was a college student in my last semester of nursing, I went on a health brigade to Nicaragua and it changed my perception of healthcare.  It also ignited a passion in me for more knowledge and understanding about global health.  However, I came back from that trip and went to work in the hospital setting to get more nursing experience.  I started working in the adult oncology field and when I got bored I moved on to pediatric oncology.  During each change, I never forgot the enthusiasm I felt for global health and talked about it often with my family and friends.  About two years ago, I was stuck in a rut at work and trying to decide my next career step.  I started to research graduate schools and the different programs offered to nurses, trying to find the best fit for me.  During this process my eagerness for learning about international health care came flooding back.  I started looking for programs that would help me gain more knowledge in this growing field.  As I narrowed the universities down, I also revisited the thought about going on another missions trip.  One night, as I was complaining about my job to my husband, he looked at me and said, "Mary, I think you just need to go and do this volunteer experience. If you don't, you will regret it and there is no reason to regret something that is easily attainable."  I looked at him, smiled and started researching what organization I wanted to go with.   

After that everything fell into place.  I got accepted to the University of Michigan for their program in Nursing Business/Health Systems with Global Health Certificate and found two great organizations to work with while in Asia.  As I begin this journey I am extremely thankful to my family for understanding me and helping me reach this goal.  I would also like to say thank you to my husband who has always supported me and helped me find my path in this next phase of life.  Plus, he is letting me go, while he stays in the States!!  

I understand that this journey is going to be very emotional, with highs and lows.  I hope that everyone will be able to enjoy my experiences through this blog and feel free to post comments. First stop Vietnam!