Preparations for departure 9/1/10

Earlier this week I asked one of the nurse managers in the Waterbury Hospital OR if perhaps there were some old, ready to be retired surgical instruments in Central Supply which I might bring to Liberia. She said that she would ask, and then came back to say that Charles Walker, Manager of Central Supply and his assistant Jeff would be coming up to talk with me. Charles has been at Waterbury Hospital for just a few months, and I had never met him. So they came up to the OR, and I started to explain that I was going to Liberia and wondered if there were any old instruments I could take. Charles cracked this funny smile...when I stopped speaking and looked at him, he said :" You know that I am from Liberia, don't you?" Of course I had no idea, so we had a great conversation about JFK Hospital, and I told him about our experience last March. He said that he was last there a year and a half ago when he visited his family. He and Jeff said that they could find plenty of instruments for me, so yesterday I went down and picked up a heavy box filled with all sorts of good tools which will be so appreciated in Monrovia! And today they gave me more ! Charles said that I should make a list of what they need when I am there, and when I return they will set to work finding those instruments so we can bring them back next March. Once again, I am surprised and pleased by how small the world really is !