Thursday, October 28th - submitted by Julie Christensen
Monday morning everyone woke up at 5am to run for the program Back on My Feet. This organization helps the homeless get back on their feet by building community through early morning runs three times a week. Everyone met at 5:30am at the shelter in downtown Philadelphia for the run. There were about twenty people total. After introductions, we split into two groups - one ran 1.4 miles and the other ran 4 miles. When everyone had finished running, we circled up one last time and then headed our separate ways. Around 10am, we began our drive and arrived in Boston around 4:30pm. After we arrived, we unpacked, ate dinner, and prepared for our work at IMEC the next day.
On Tuesday, the group woke up (somewhat unwillingly) at 6:45 to head to our first community service appointment. Considering none of us have significant experience with Boston's morning traffic, it was quite an accomplishment that we managed to get to North Andover by 9:15. We started our first shift at IMEC (International Medical Equipment Collaborative), an organization that packages medical supplies and sends them overseas to hospitals and clinics in developing countries. Their goal is to supply the world's poorest hospitals. We split into two groups and packaged "Administrative Suites" of desks, chairs, tables, etc. At noon, we headed back to the city for a meeting at Massachusetts General Hospital.
At Mass General we were greeted by Dr. John Stone, MD, MPH, a rheumatologist, who gave us a presentation of three cases he's been working on in terms of diagnosis and treatment. We even got to meet two of the patients and see pathology slides! Then Dr. Stone dropped us off at the Resident's Report where the hospital's second year residents meet to discuss unusual cases (in our case a young man with malaria). After we left Mass General, the group dispersed for dinner and evening activities.
maybe one day?! :-)
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