Day 121

19 Aug 2013

Remember Tommie?

Come in man ! I heard the voice of Eddie Verdriet from behind the thick wooden door with the tiny open window in the middle. I had just brought the bike to a standstill in front of his house in Deventer. Our planned 12 noon rendezvous at the local town square had been altered as I had rushed away this morning , even skipping breakfast. Rob had looked at the weather radar which showed a rain depression coming in at a fast rate from the west. I thought I still had some time to spare, however the weather radar information often runs I little behind real time. When I used my own radar (looking out of the window across the sea) I realized that I better get away immediately as the sky was black and I could hear the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. The rainstorm was coming from the west and I had to travel east so I better got a move in quickly and stay ahead of the storm. Within 7 minutes I was away when at the same time I could feel the first rain drops. Heading east the sky cleared somewhat until… the road went south before turning east again. During this short period the storm overtook me while riding on a freeway. I got very wet before I had a chance to stop to put on my waterproof gear.

Eddie took my wet jacket and hung it in the back yard. This is a man with foresight as he figured I would have left without breakfast and made sure that he had some fresh bread rolls in the house. In the back yard we caught up about the events from the moment I said goodbye to him and his lovely partner Hi-en in that little café in the back street warren of Hanoi. That was on day 33 on the13th of May.

Most of you remember Tommie and the plight for help to save his 1 month old life. For those who joined the blog later please refer to the day 28 on the 28th of May. " A boy called Tom" and read this to set the scene. I was a major and life changing event for me and many others and shows what people can do when they band together and point their noses in the same direction. During those days Tommie, who was just one month old was within inches of losing his life but the collective effort of both our friends and friends of friends and family members soon pushed this event into a new direction.

For those who had donated money during those dark and critical days I am very happy to report that as soon as that money arrived steps were taken, things were changed so Tommie could be placed in a more sterile environment and soon after Tommie started to improve. About a month later Tommie was discharged but to be sure Eddie and Hi-en stayed around the hospital for a few weeks just in case things would go wrong. Soon after, they left for their home near Sapa in far northern Vietnam, The dirty Hanoi air was now exchanged for clean mountain air and soon Tommie had recovered. Meanwhile Eddie could start and run his business again so money started flowing in once more to provide a steady income. On behalf of Eddie a very big Thank You for all who assisted- It may sound cliché but your donations saved a life, so you have a reason to feel good about that!

Luckily the rain bypassed Deventer so we could go and have some lunch in the main square after which Eddie gave me the guide tour I refused to do (see day 74 – May July 3 the story which mentioned an anal retarded man posing as a friendly tour guide)

Eddy and I exchanged our experiences and found that the events had brought us closer together as we were also able to discuss our personal life at close range. Eddy and I are leaving the same day to go home. I had hoped that we may even be on the same plane but alas he I am leaving mid morning via Singapore and he is leaving around six via Bangkok.