At the end of March I was due to leave for Japan with several of my Australian Ski Patrol colleagues to attend a biennial international ski patrol conference ("FIPS") at the ski resort of Rusutsu on the island of Hokkaido.
On Friday 11th of March I was attending an anaesthetics seminar at one of Melbourne's leading teaching hospitals when the news came through that north-eastern Japan had been affected by a devastating earthquake and tsunami. It has been heartbreaking to watch this terrible disaster unfold for the people of Japan and to know that it is not over yet. As I have undertaken a considerable amount of training in disaster management and radiological hazard management, I have been deeply concerned at the unfolding humanitarian crisis and the lack of certainty about the outcome of the nuclear containment efforts, and have felt incredibly sad about the loss and suffering of the Japanese people. It will no doubt be a very long and painful recovery process, with global implications.
It is also very sad that the ongoing unstable nuclear situation has led to the cancellation of the conference, and the lost opportunity to meet with our overseas colleagues and share ideas, knowledge and fellowship. I felt it was very important to write to the conference organisers to say thank you very much to all the members of the team for all the time and effort they have put into the organisational process and offering us such a warm welcome. It is hoped it will be possible to reschedule the conference for a later time.
I hope that we can all keep the people of Japan in our thoughts and prayers, and offer whatever tangible support that we can.
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