Thank you!

Student nurses from both Addison & Chicago Campuses

With less than 24 hours until we take off, reality has started to creep in. Both the Chicago Campus and Addison Campus students got together yesterday to participate in "Packing Day". From 10am until past 1pm, we took stuff out of boxes, bagged meds like pharmacy techs, sorted clothes, filled our suitcases, and weighed our bags (over and over and over). 50 pound maximums are so restricting!!!

Looking around the room, it was amazing to see the sheer amount of donations we each brought in -- from clothes, shoes, and toys to much needed medications for cough, flu, vitamins, and allergies. The room was PACKED with these important items because of great friends and family who supported us each. Gigi, our professor for Community Nursing and leader of our trip, even mentioned how incredible the amount and quality of our donations were.

16+ foot long table completely full of medications waiting to be bagged

I do want to personally thank everybody who donated to both Danielle and myself, as well as to my fellow teammates. My MVP's: Kevin Evangelista for the best Secret Santa gifts, Diane for her generosity, and to my niece Ava who donated a good portion of her savings (not really, but it was alot!). Because of each of you, we are arriving in Manila very well-equipped.

Now that the packing is done and over with, our suitcases sit quietly in the corner of the room and I sit here eagerly awaiting 2pm tomorrow...I quickly remember that I'm going to be gone for 16 days. Days that I'll miss sleeping in my own bed, miss ordering a pizza on Football Sunday, miss my dog, miss seeing my friends, miss tutoring, miss my family especially my beautiful niece (Hi, Ava!), and miss my husband. While I can't forecast what the next 2 and a half weeks will consist of, these next 16 days are going to count for something...something amazing for the 18 of us going on this trip.

Stay tuned for blog updates, photos, and who knows what! Both Danielle and I can't wait to share our experiences with you all.

Danielle

Aileen