Tim Sproule, plastic surgeon- The amazing Hien - dedicated and skilled anesthesiologist in a child’s body – met us at the airport to help us through customs…
We have arrived. The famous jumbled train of airport carts piled high with Interplast supply boxes combined with our own luggage proceeds towards customs. But we hit a snag. Some part of the paperwork is screwed up, or maybe the official is just corrupt or obstructive. Lian asks me to get on my cellphone because hers is “out of money”- amazingly it works just fine- and I call Hien, who is supposed to be there waiting for us. (Not for the first time I think of our incredible shrinking world thanks to technology. The phone signal presumably goes from my phone through the Vietnam exchange to an international exchange then to Toronto, then back to international, and back to Vietnam to find Hien’s cell phone. Truly incredible) Hien answers her phone. She is allowed in, and is soon able to sort out whatever was a problem. We are on our way.
Most Interplast teams that come to Vietnam meet up with Hien. Those that do not know her are initially surprised. Who is this diminutive woman in jeans and a t-shirt who acts with such paradoxical confidence as she cuts through red tape and miscommunication? She looks nothing like what she is, which is nothing less that one of Vietnam’s best anesthesiologists. Her selfless dedication to improving the quality of life of the poorest people in Vietnam through her involvement with Interplast is an amazing testament. As long as there are people like Hien in the world, I will continue to have hope...
We have arrived. The famous jumbled train of airport carts piled high with Interplast supply boxes combined with our own luggage proceeds towards customs. But we hit a snag. Some part of the paperwork is screwed up, or maybe the official is just corrupt or obstructive. Lian asks me to get on my cellphone because hers is “out of money”- amazingly it works just fine- and I call Hien, who is supposed to be there waiting for us. (Not for the first time I think of our incredible shrinking world thanks to technology. The phone signal presumably goes from my phone through the Vietnam exchange to an international exchange then to Toronto, then back to international, and back to Vietnam to find Hien’s cell phone. Truly incredible) Hien answers her phone. She is allowed in, and is soon able to sort out whatever was a problem. We are on our way.
Most Interplast teams that come to Vietnam meet up with Hien. Those that do not know her are initially surprised. Who is this diminutive woman in jeans and a t-shirt who acts with such paradoxical confidence as she cuts through red tape and miscommunication? She looks nothing like what she is, which is nothing less that one of Vietnam’s best anesthesiologists. Her selfless dedication to improving the quality of life of the poorest people in Vietnam through her involvement with Interplast is an amazing testament. As long as there are people like Hien in the world, I will continue to have hope...
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