WOW!

Centre street in the Village with all Nations' flags. Got to get a pic of the best one...

As many of you know, I've been around the block a few times or, like some like to say :"This isn't my first rodeo."
I have been honoured to be part of a Canadian Health Care team, many of them as CMO, since 1999 when my first experience was with the Canadian Pan Am team in Winnipeg. So I have seen, organized and set up multiple Canadian Medical Clinics. The way it works is as follows. Canada sends a delegation of athletes to these various major international competitions. There has to be an infrastructure of support staff in charge of this Canadian Team. That's what is called the Mission Staff. It involves a Chef de Mission (the lead Canadian representative), an Assistant Chef, a Village Manager, Games Manager, Operations team of athlete and sport services, Chief Medical Officer....and many more.
Health care services at these foreign events has a fully serviced Polyclinic in the Village which is for everyone. That's where we access higher services like 24 hours admissions for ill people, specialist referrals, dentistry, optometry, MRI, Ultrasound, etc.

The Polyclinic

We, as many other countries do, have our own Canadian Medical Clinic. That's where I spend most of my time when I am not covering events at fields, gyms, courts, etc. We bring our own supplies and take over some of the Team Canada residence's space and "build the clinic". That's the point of being here before anyone can show up and be ready for their arrival. That's what they call the "pre-opening". Since I was the Assistant Chief Medical Officer, I didn't have to "build it" this year...first time since 2008 in Beijing!
I had seen a few "before" pictures but what I saw when I got here was fantastic. I have never seen such large space for Parapan Ams or Paralympic events as we have smaller teams than the Olympics and are scaled down.

The clinic is so spacious! Last year in Toronto we were walking sideways down hallways and had a few rooms where we could only fit 2 treatment tables. Here it's open concept.

Open concept clinic

The decor is also much nicer than past experiences. The branding, making everything look Canada-like to establish a strong team spirit and home feel for athletes, is also much nicer than prior events. Since these apartments are going to be sold as condos after we vacate, they often have cheap drywalls and subfloors. Here we see brick walls and not too bad looking linoleum making it much warmer. The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) spends a lot, money and people-hours, setting up as many surfaces as they can. Walls. windows, balconies are not spared.

Branding is never ending

Looked great in the sun...less when it started pouring rain though. I only took a few pictures.

I think I might be enjoying some coffees here...when it is sunny

I went to the women's wheelchair basketball practice today. Temporary structures housing many gym surfaces of great quality. The rain made it sound as if we were in a steel drum though.

The rest of the day was spent getting myself oriented to Village setup: where's the dining hall, the gym, international zone (where different services are available like store, hairdressers, few snack places and athletes gather and hang out....and visit the onsite McDonalds), transport area for all venue buses. Checking out our clinic to see where things are as I didn't set it up. Filled and organized my medical kit.

This is only half of the dining hall. You can't even see this side's back wall. Almost empty now but will be packed soon

And generally got caught up with many friends and athletes.
Only a few are here today but tomorrow will be different as we have a massive influx of teams.

The place will get very busy!

Got to go. We are helping distribute the athletes' suitcases, filled with their team clothing, to each individual's bed for their arrival. Everything is made to ease their transition and, even if we are medical, we always lend a hand when we are not busy. Since we closed the clinic at 10, it's bag delivery time!

I've never experienced this before

My feet landed in Rio exactly when Air Canada said they would. Long direct flight with a bulkhead seat allowed me to have more leg room and nobody leaning their backrest on my lap. Not the cushy "pods", Air Canada calls them "suites", up in business class but as best I could  muster. Leaving at 11:20 pm has one making the decision:movies, sleep, work....I ate a bit, as we get a meal, then part of a movie then attempted to sleep. Didn't do too badly and logged a few hours of sleep. When I checked my watch it was 8:30 Rio time so I got up , walked around top get the kinks to loosen up and the blood to flow and got some work done until breakfast was served.
Landed at 10:30ish and felt generally not bad. Unfortunately I couldn't wait for the basketball teams to unload as I was heading to a different area and the shuttle couldn't wait. It takes a long time to unload over 20 athletes using wheelchairs out of a plane. As the Village isn't opened to athletes, entitle 31st, Wheelchair Basketball Canada made the great decision to get both teams here a day early so they can be at the opening gates at 8 am in front of all the masses of international athletes coming in. They are staying at a naval base near Rio where they came a few months ago to train. It allows them to relax, train a bit today, get a private tour of an aircraft carrier then be ready to get to work in the morning. I will see them tomorrow.
As we have too many Canadian team support staff, many cannot get accredited. It means get full access to the Paralympic Village and venues. We house the overflow in residential apartment complexes across the road and close to Olympic Park, or now called Paralympic Park, where most competition venues are located ( https://www.rio2016.com/en/venues ). I am staying here tonight then tomorrow I move in the Village in the Canadian Team Residence.

What I refer to in today's blog title is with the last many events I took part in, I was the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The responsibility requires to be one of the first on the ground to set up the clinic. Enter empty apartments and clean whatever leftover and mess the Olympic teams and delegations left behind and start unloading infinite amounts of boxes, bins and containers of medical equipment and supplies and create what will look like a fully functional medical clinic... in about 2-3 days.
As this year I was offered the position of Assistant / CMO, I don't have to do those tasks. Andy Marshall, these Games' CMO, has been here with Nancy Botting, our Chief Therapist (CT), for the last few days. They have been fixing and repairing, c;meaning and scrubbing, unpacking and carrying, storing and preparing the whole clinic. I assumed I was arriving today , getting off the plane and helping them but Village access is restricted to certain numbers and we have already enough Canadian team members in there so I simply cannot get access. As I mentioned above :"I've never experienced this before". It is almost uncomfortable resting and relaxing when I know from much experience there is a lot of work to be done. I guess I can look at it with the view that I have don my share and, as far as I am concerned, did it very well and offered a great clinic set up for my colleagues to work in when they arrived.

There's always something we can help with. Helen Haworth, our Clinic Manager (CM), was on my flight and at the same residence I am tonight before moving in the Village tomorrow as well. She and I went on a scrambling mission to find a few supplies Andy needed: drano, anti-ant spray, multiple small tupperware containers and stick-on hooks for the door. Great variety. So we cabbed it in rush hour and got our supplies at what I call the "Brazilian Tire", the equivalent of Canadian Tire.

One never knows when a good sledge hammer may be needed....

Super hero tupperware for our supplies

Driving back we saw a bunch of large capibaras on the roadside. They are huge! At home we wouldn't blink to see squirrels on the side of the road...but a bunch of the world's largest rodents?Couldn't get a picture from the taxi.

So now, back in my room, I can relax as I am finally starting to get the feel of the overnight travel and less than optimal rest and sleep. I hear it will rain the next few days....

I know these blogs are not visually exciting. Many of my past readers know that eventually, pictures are going to be part of these blogs. Thanks for being patient.

Pre-departure

Well, here I go again.
This evening I am heading to Toronto to get on a plane to Rio de Janeiro. I will be part of the Health Care Team for the Canadian Paralympic Team. My role as the Team Physician for the Canadian Women's Wheelchair Basketball team makes it convenient for them as I will be with them for their whole stay in Rio.
Leaving home always brings a mixed bag of emotions. The excitement of being part of the Canadian Paralympic Team is balanced by leaving family behind. Many ask: " Is your family going with you?" It would be fantastic but not realistic or practical. When at the Games, I will be residing in the Paralympic Village residences with all Canadian team members. Family and friends have to find accommodations at local hotels or resorts which are very expensive. I will also not have the luxury of much free time to spend with them due to our responsibilities of keeping Canadian athletes healthy and ready to compete. There's always the safety issue in Rio which is another reality affecting all travellers. When I went to London for the 2012 Paralympics, I managed to secure 5 days accommodations and many event tickets for my family to travel and experience the excitement and energy of the Games. This year's plans of taking the family have not materialized mostly due to timing. It is the first week of school and Lukas, my 14 year old son, enters high school. New school , new location and new challenges are not going to benefit from him missing the first week.

It has been a different experience this year. I have been honoured with the responsibility of the role of Chief Medical Officer for the Canadian Parapan Am and Paralympic teams in Beijing (2008), Guadalajara (2011), London (2012) and Toronto (2015). This year, they asked if I wanted the role of Assistant Chief Medical Officer as Dr Andy Marshall takes the reigns. I was glad to help and it is quite refreshing to not shoulder as much responsibility. I also don't have to be one of the first on the ground for set up. Before all athletes can enter the Village on August 31, we have to organize a fully functional medical clinic within the Canadian Team residences. Last year, only 4 of us could gain entry in the Village for "pre-opening" to help set up all the Canadian delegation spaces: clinic, Mission staff offices, team attache offices, team support, coach support, technical analyses room, press and communication room, athletes lounge and coaches lounge.....44 pallets off the trucks and organized in storage and rooms to make the arrivals of teams and competitors smooth.  This year I get to skip this part. I think it is really refreshing...

The games begin on August 7 and end on September 18. I will be there from tomorrow until the 20th. I will strive to write daily and post some pictures to allow you, the readers, to get a little access to what life is all about at these Games. The media will do a better job at the big stuff. I will try to bring a different view to the experience.

Thanks for reading and be sure to pass the word around for anyone who needs something to read with their morning cup of coffee.