The end is just the beginning!

Its amazing how fast things have progressed here in the last few days. Sky and Ben and some of the other crew ventured back to California to visit their familes, and while home, Floating Doctors got some great news! We were given all of the money that we need in order to finally set sail! The grant was given to us under the condition that we keep our haul-out date (either the first or second week of october) and leave within 2 weeks or so after that. This is such exciting news because we all were starting to think that we were never going to leave Florida!

It's crazy to think that I have been living on the east coast for 4 months now. Floating Doctors has been nothing like I expected, but every minute of it, even the hard times, has been such an incredible learning experience for me. I have gotten the opportunity to help build a non-profit from the ground up and I feel like Floating Doctors is now my organization, just as much as it is Dr. Ben's. All of us have had such a big hand in creating, changing and growing with this project, and I feel so proud to be a part of such an amazing team of people. We all share the same dream of helping as many as we can, with whatever we can. It's a self-less life we lead here, with 150% dedication to the cause. We live and breathe Floating Doctors, making it a 24/7 job. Not many people can say that they live with their co-workers! Luckily, our crew is made up of such unique and compassionate people, I know that the friendships that have been formed here will be lifelong, and the impact they have made on my life will always hold a special place in my heart.

As we come nearer to our date of departure, there is so much work to be done! While a lot of work still needs to be done on the boat, most of the work is finishing details, which can be done while we are dry-docked in St. Augustine. Meanwhile, I have taken control of our medical supply and medication inventory, which is a very labor intensive job, considering we have thousands of pounds of equipment, supplies and medicine to consolidate, organize and go through. I'm also doing a lot of planning work for the galley, where Sky and I will be cooking. I've been looking at different storage options, as well as buying bulk supplies and food. Cooking on a sailboat is already difficult, but food storage and rationing is quite an art, so I've been trying to gain as much insight and guidance from other sailors and galley chefs.

Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed in all of this, but I know that this opportunity is unlike any other. Traveling around the world by sailboat gives me the chance to learn everything I have ever wanted to learn and start up new hobbies, and really give rise to my creative outlet. Lately, I went to a used bookstore and bought some classic literature, as well as other books that I have always wanted to read. I have sign language and spanish books to learn, diagnosis cards to study, sutures to practice and am hopefully going to be shadowing an ob-gyn as well as a ultrasound tech so that I can be able to use the ultrasound machine in clinic as well as teach my other crew members. I also got back into painting (I'm painting two murals on the boat), and started jewelry making (which is good practice for sutures and minor surgery!). And of course, my guitar skills are improving daily!

The only downside to all of this is that I miss my family and friends more and more each day and it pains me to think that I'll be away for so long! But they are always in my thoughts and in my heart, and I will be radiating love back home the entire journey. And I can't believe that journey begins so soon!!!