Goodbye little hearts of Myanmar

People say it’s sad to say goodbye.

I don’t think so.

No one you meet in life ever goes away. Their lingering energy becomes part of you.

Even 10 years on, when they wander back into your mind… there they are. You feel them as if it were yesterday.

Yes, it’s good to say goodbye.The little lives this team has saved, must now move on, leave the hospital and live.

When we gathered to catch the plane, I wondered if we’d will see each other again.

Some you know you will, some you know you won’t and some you wonder.

Life is so fast and furious. Even this trip was.

When I got home, my children roused on me for not having jumped in the motel pool in Myanmar.

“Not even once!?” cried my daughter.

None of us had time, the week had rushed by in work and passion. But the strange thing is, whenever I think back across that week, time stops. It’s the warm stillness the memories bring, which tell me it was a good thing to do.

To all the surgeons, nurses, intensivists, perfusionists and all the other fascinating people whom made up the Open Heart team, it was really something to observe how you touched humanity.

For anyone reading this who may be thinking of volunteering, you already know what I’d say.

Thank you Myanmar