Quantity or Quality?

Adam and I after snorkeling in a bat cave!

I haven't had an opportunity to update my blog in quite some time. During my lapse in writing I was able to go on a really amazing adventure. I was able to spend 6 days at Natuvu Creek Mission in Fiji. Our destination took about 16 hours of travel time and we made our way from the top of the world (Anchorage, Alaska) to the bottom of the world (Natuvu Mission, Fiji) for a total of nearly 9000 miles!

This trip was a mission trip that provided the people of Fiji with free dental care. My husband is a dentist and he works for a wonderful group that believe in volunteering their special skills to help those who do not have the accessibility or income to get dental care. I was initially thinking that Fiji sounded like a honeymoon destination rather than a place to do a mission trip. It was a paradise and gorgeous, but I gained more from this trip than I ever imagined. 

I am not a dental professional, so I was tasked with keeping track of patients and making sure we had a count on how many patients were seen for dental hygiene exams. Many of the cleanings took 2-4 hours because it was the first time that many of the patients were getting their teeth cleaned. At times, I had to help assist the hygienists and wipe blood from the patients mouth or hold a flash light above so that they could see better. At the end of the day I was tired and my feet ached from standing all day. My work was nothing compared to the doctors, hygienists and assistants jobs. They worked tirelessly everyday because they didn't want to turn anyone away at the end of the day.

Me holding a flashlight for one of the hygienists

I also gained much insight and appreciation for how hard my husband, Adam, works. I have always gone to the dentist and was a little timid and not really sure of what was going on while I was in the dental chair. I learned how much skill, work ethic and precision is needed to be a dentist.  There were 4 dental chairs and only one of them was workable for a left-handed person. Adam is left-handed so he was doing extractions in a chair with no suction or water. The circumstances were not ideal but everyone made it work despite the lack of equipment. I beam with pride when I think of the hard work and effort that Adam and his dental practice put forth.

My husband, Adam, working in Fiji

Fiji is a beautiful, lush and tropical environment. I was tremendously enriched and reminded of the simple things that are the roots of what matter in life.  We have TVs, cars, fresh running water (hot), bathrooms, access to dentists and doctors. All of these items that we deem as necessities, but are not always valued and are taken for granted. The Fijian children were disappointed to miss a day of school and even paid $35 a year to attend school.  Some students lived so far from home that they lived at the school and didn't see their family for that school year.

 I felt spoiled in Fiji because I reflected on the luxuries that I have at home. I am able to take hot showers, drive to work and I even feed my dogs organic dog food and pay for them to go to doggy daycare. Many of the Fijian people we met lived in small huts with 10 or more people. They had no running water or bathrooms. The ocean was their bathroom and shower. Their main mode of transportation was walking and they gathered their food from livestock that they raised and grew much of their own produce.

The school students sang to us when we visited their school.

The Fijian people would take 4 hour boat rides and 2 hour bus rides to come to the clinic to receive free dental work. They would even spend their whole months earnings for transportation to get to the Natuvu clinic. It was very powerful to see a community of people who came together to support one another, they were content in their way of life and I would say they even had a much richer life than most Americans. They didn't spend time watching movies or playing games on their phones, they spent time with their families by preparing meals, singing and dancing and enjoying each others company.

This trip ended up being an experience of a lifetime and I feel that I have a whole new perspective on life. I will be forever grateful for this experience and I will always cherish the lifetime of memories that I carry with me. The people were beyond grateful and giving and I hold them near and dear to my heart.

Adam at a traditional Fijian Feast

As soon as I got home reality approached quickly. I ended up with a terrible cold that started in my sinuses and traveled to my lungs. I had coughing attacks at night and my lungs were clogged with thick mucous. I wasn't able to fall asleep until my coughing subsided. I felt heart broken because I had an amazing time on this trip but it was causing sickness and pain in terms of my Cystic Fibrosis. It had me thinking about if I want to live a life of quality where I go on trips that give me a wonderful outlook on life or do I want to live a life based on quantity (extended my life as long as possible) where I avoid experiences that could create possibilities for me to get lung infections?

Despite my lung infection I still decided to continue with my weekly boot camp training classes and running even though I felt tired and not up to par. I even ran two half marathons and participated in a burpees challenge! My regimen was to do inhaled Tobi and oral antibiotics during this time. I am now starting to feel better but I am not 100% yet. Fortunately, I think that the exercise has helped to keep me from hospitalization and from worsening my lung infection. I saw my CF doctors in Seattle and I am so relieved because my Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT's) and weight are okay. My PFT's are a little lower than last time but I plan on getting them back up to normal! Training for the Lost Lake run will help with that :) I am going to do 2 more weeks of the antibiotic Levoflaxicin to try and kick whats left of this infection.

Mayor's Half Marathon

2 Hours 6 Minutes 50 Seconds

In order to live a life full of wonderful experiences I need to focus on my health. Exercise is my main form of airway clearance and it is my way to fight CF. I run and attend boot camp so that I can be healthy and active as I journey through this life. I can have a life filled with adventure, as long as I hold myself accountable and continue to fight everyday. Some days are harder than others but I WILL NOT give up.


On a side note, the Lost Lake run is about a month away and I have raised about $6500 for Cystic Fibrosis this year. My boot camp, Figarelle's Fitness,  generously hosted a burpees challenge that was combined with their grand opening and helped me raise over $2200! I even did 101 burpees in 15 minutes :) It was very moving to see how generously people were donating for a cause that means so much to me, even if I didn't know them very well personally. I was so honored to have these wonderful people donate their time, money and pain in honor of Cystic Fibrosis!!

My mom and aunt made an awesome video that recaps the 2012 Lost Lake Team 'Sabrina Fights CF'.

This was written in the garden at the Fijian school that we visited. This scripture was also read at my wedding. 

Thank you! 

Sabrina Walker