Launch Day Minus Two (Or, Babies are Scarier than SARS)

Why is it that five minutes in a meeting can be excruciating, and yet yesterday the minutes just fell off the clock every time I turned around?

Things are sort-of ready. We get on the shuttle to the ABQ airport in 49 hours (note to self: actually arrange said shuttle.) and off we go. I have cash, my toothbrush, a basket of gifts, a pile of documents and Cipro. It's funny that things on paper can be worth so much more than paper itself. It's just ink and paper, technically.

Speaking of Cipro reminds me of a former boss, Terry. He carried Cipro in his everyday briefcase. And it wasn't for the flu. We had good work, analyzing reports on chemical compounds to see what was likely to be active against various conditions and diseases. And we studied HIV resistance by drug and genome. So Cipro for him seemed normal. I thought it was funny.

What ARE you going on about, Bobi, you could ask? Well, that study was going on exactly at the time I was preparing for an off-the-beaten-path trip. It would have been my third visit to China. Between working on genomic virus data and having some experience in China, the news was not adding up. I am no prude about some things - I was in the air to China in 1999 when the US State Department travel warning was lifted (Belgrade bombing of the Chinese Embassy). My friend Meg, who is part of Den Hartog Baby 2006 Team #2, was working in China during those riots. I visited her and had a great time.

But viruses, and new ones, are a whole different matter. And five days before another friend and I were to leave for the Three Gorges trip, I pushed the big red emergency stop button on the trip. I actually was much more diplomatic about it and found a really nice alternative - Melbourne, Australia - nice, nice! We'd already arranged time off of work. Current events also meant that airlines were scrambling to refund/reroute passengers without additional charge. One of those events was war in the Middle East. But that was not what had waved me off of southeast China.

Later that same day I called off the trip, Saturday March 29, 2003, Dr. Carlo Urbani of the WHO passed away. I've never been so validated about a decision in my life. Dr. Urbani died of a virus that was sequenced in a worldwide scientific community effort, the likes of which had never been seen before - and would be dwarfed should bird flu jump to humans or another aerosol influenza rage again. He had leapt into action, identifying, isolating and treating patients and it had cost him his life. You can go to the NIH genome libraries online and look at the series of alphabet letters that made up the genome of the SARS strain that killed him.

As someone once told me about the Eiger, you don't want a feature there named for you. Similarly, having a SARS strain named after you also means epitaph. You can tell Dr. Urbani is one of my heroes. And what it takes to make me not travel :)

So, now you know a) I am a geek b) I should know how to pack a suitcase.

b) is so proving to be not true.

Thermometers and masks (use HEPA not surgical) are an easy packing list of preparation: baby bottles and toys and caretaker gifts are another. Guess which one scares me :)

The baby thermometer REALLY scares me :) (I suppose I could imagine how the baby feels.)

I am too scared to think about the actual baby. One week from today and this little undefined entity will be exactly defined in the form of one tiny little human being with exact eyes and ears and toes. And permanent. So close to knowing, but so unknown. Off to hyperventilate now.