Mt Baker - Day 66 (Reaching the Void)

It is all about the joy of giving. Yesterday I met with Richard F. regarding the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary Climbing for Sight and Sound campaign. Our goal is to raise necessary awareness and funds for treatment, care, and rehabilitation of children with vision and hearing disorders. The Mount Baker summit on July 23-25 is a means to promote this very worthwhile effort. Richard brought with him pamphlets, fliers, and materials which I could now distribute to friends, family, colleagues, and patients informing them of the effort and seeking their generous donations. We discussed the campaign further including other ways of getting the message "out there". He left with my readiness to carry-on efforts towards the common goal even more invigorated. There is no question that this whole upcoming mountaineering expedition is now for a greater cause. It actually makes the experience that much more rewarding.

No sooner had the campaign materials been delivered when a colleague( and friend) of mine walked into the office and told me of his intentions. Without me having said a word, Dr W said that the campaign's quest had touched him and that he will be contributing. He even mentioned joining me on later trips. It really made me so appreciative and even more determined to carry-on for as long as I am able. And again this morning, I was in the Infirmary cafeteria, getting a cup of the usual AM coffee when a similar episode happened. A friend and colleague (Dr U) mentioned that he had seen posters of the program. He, too, would be providing a very generous donation. The more I hear of this, the more I want to donate again as well.

The events made me think of some of the other important times of giving (and receiving) in my life. Perhaps the first and most important one that comes to my mind took place on April 30, 1983. At that time, I was in the northern mountains of Scotland in a small white chapel near the little town of Kincraig. Though in the majestic mountains, there had been no intention of spending the days with climbing the heights. I had barely thought of such adventures at that time of my life. Achieving success in medicine was far more immediate and consuming. On that day, however, not even medicine was to come to mind. On this particular day, we were in that chapel to pray for success in another venture. You see, that day was our wedding day; Nancy and I, a younger version of the two of us. The giving that I refer to on that bright, clear Saturday morning was both a wedding ring and my heart to my bride.

We had previously written the minister of the Kincraig chapel requesting him to perform the ceremony. We had chosen him and the church from several other options; all of which were of relatively limited understanding (Remember - at that time, the word Google did not exist). Our choice could never have been better. He generously agreed and provided necessary instructions.


We were without family in the Scottish Highlands but not alone. Even though we essentially left those we knew to "quietly wed" in this lovely but distant part of the world, the folks of Kincraig were there to greet us and had, totally unexpected to us, organized a beautiful ceremony complete with organist, flowers, photographer, and good will. A reception they had planned after the ceremony took place in a small inn near the chapel. There was even a reporter from a local Glascow newspaper there to detail the events for his city's readers. The whole experience is not something that is easy to forget and certainly something to draw upon later in life when the going gets a little tougher.

So why the title of today's blog, "Reaching the Void". Perhaps, there are two reasons. The first and why we are even writing the frequent blogs is to know that these children in need, when having neither the means or the ability to correct their handicaps, would have to be living their lives with a certain void. By giving when we can, perhaps we can reach those empty places and provide open doors to a richer life experience. The second is to know that in our own personal quests which can leave us at times with a void yearning to be filled; that these, too, can be reached by remembering the times of giving and sharing with those who make a difference in our lives, including colleagues and loved ones.