Day 5
The Askenasy team woke up, ate breakfast, got on the bus to the hospital, and went to service just like the previous days. As usual, the worship was great, and helped the team on the final surgery day. Also, everyone is looking forward to the celebratory dinner tonight, when Dr Askenasy will be handing out the awards.
However, today’s announcement was that we must be out of the hotel by six in the morning tomorrow, all packed and ready to go. It is a bittersweet moment shared by the team. Even though people may be eager to go home and see their families, we will miss each other. This trip may be the only time some members of the team can see each other before returning to their busy lives. Over the years, the members of the team have gotten really close, but we still have our favorite memories of this year’s trip.
Some members of the team were excited to share what their favorite parts were. Michael and Brenda both work down in the mobility clinic. Brenda is a physical therapist, while Michael helps build the wheelchairs. They both say that their favorite part of the trip was seeing the people that need the wheelchairs, being able to have a more reliable source of movement. Clay, who also works down in the mobility clinic, is a second-timer for the Askenasy team. He connected with the people on the trip, and wanted to grow those relationships, as well as forming new ones. Jenny works in the patient ward and her job is to make sure that the patients are ready and healthy enough to go home. She says that her favorite part of the trip was seeing men with catheters leave the hospital without one. Chinh is an OR circulator and he makes sure that the surgery runs smoothly and everyone has what they need. He says that his favorite part of the week is Sunday when everyone is unpacking and meeting with the patients for the surgery days. Matt is a urologist and he says that his favorite part is meeting new team members and watching the team come together. Last but not least, Jacob is a pastor and his favorite part was watching everyone work really hard to serve others.
It is really impactful to see everyone with different roles work together to make a fully functional team with the goal of helping and healing others. Over the past week, we have seen great work through the team members.
The Askenasy team isz excited to return in 2027!
Seth Askensy Photographer and Blogger
