How did I get here? Well, it all started on a cold April day in 1971. 6 inches of snow covered the Northern Maine soil. It was opening day of baseball season. The Tigers won. What? OK, that's starting at the VERY beginning of how I got here. Perhaps a more abridged version is in order. So let's try this:
How 'bout we start in 1999? There I was awash with the ever increasing realization that the folk music might not ever pay the bills. I was 28 years old and painfully aware that I didn't still want to be waiting tables and/or bartending when I was 40. So a search was mounted for a more suitable back up plan, just in case my quest for country music stardom somehow didn't work out (though that still remains to be seen!) My, ain't it funny where back up plans can take you?
After a few years of the afore mentioned search I stumbled upon nursing. Sort of a long story, the details there of, but suffice to say: an ex old lady of mine suggested I become a phlebotomist (one licensed to draw blood) so she could write me into her grants to study epidemiology. This got the ol' wheels turning and sent me down a path leading to a nursing school in Upstate New York (TC3! holler ya'll!). Nursing made a whole lot of sense to me on a whole lot of levels, including but not limited to: it's a good middle class job in high demand, is intellectually stimulating (in spite of all it's stress), can be immensely emotionally rewarding (again, in spite of all it's stress), and it provides a service needed the world over.
I have always been of the sort who wants to see as much of this World as I can while I pitter away upon it. Truthfully, though I've certainly seen my share, I always thought that by this age (39, and counting) I'd have seen much more of it than I have. From the start, it wasn't lost on me that a nursing career could provide opportunities to travel abroad, and to places where large numbers of folks are in serious need of medical services, i.e. I could see some more of this pebble while just maybe actually doing a bit of good.
Why Afghanistan? I'm guessing this question is tickling the corners of some of ya'll's mind, yes? Well, first of all, there aren't many places 'round these parts of the Universe in greater need of medical assistance. Second, I've long had a once-removed relationship with that land. Many a year ago, more or less around the time my little head popped out of my dear mother, two brothers from Afghanistan moved to Jacksonville, FL, the land of my formation. I had the fortune of being raised in the company of said brothers' children, and am proud to say I maintain at least some level of friendship with all seven of them today. Both patriarchs are physicians (As was one of their wives, who sadly is no longer with us. May peace be with her), and both have long been doing work providing care to their native countrymen. For many years they worked with Afghan refugees in other countries who had been displaced by the devastation of war. Since the current Afghan government has been in power, they have been back in their homeland continuing their work. One brother, Asad Mojadidi, has been running an urgent and primary care clinic in Kabul. This is where I will be volunteering for the next 6 weeks. The other brother, Quadrat Mojadidi, is an OB/Gyn. His daughter, Sedika Mojadidi, made a tremendous documentary film about returning to Afghanistan with her father, and the work he's been doing there, entitled “Motherland Afghanistan”. I HIGHLY recommend seeing it (you can do so via Netflix). It's a powerful and well told tale of a land's native sons and daughters returning, and of the desperate need for improved medical care in Afghanistan.
Another of the afore mentioned physicians' children is my dear friend Aman. He is living in Kabul, and has been for several years now doing a variety of development work (He is also an immensely talented artist working in a variety of mediums, and you should do yourself a favor by checking him out at wearyourrespirator.com). His will be the face meeting me at the Kabul airport. Not only will it be great to see my friend, but there also is likely no way to overstate how much of a help it will be on this journey to have someone close to me who knows the lay of the land.
In summary, adventurous lad + nurse + close childhood friends = me going to Afghanistan. And so, I find myself here, at approximately 35,000 feet zooming towards Delhi en route to Kabul. Hopefully I'm going to be able to help some folks while there. That is indeed my sincerest hope. If only one thing is for certain: this is going to be an adventure, and a learning and growing experience I will never forget. My world is about to simultaneously get both a whole lot smaller and a whole lot bigger. Here we go...
Very cool, Ward! You are super inspirational! xoxo
ReplyDelete