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Travel Day: On the Road Again

General, Snapshots

3:15 AM my alarm goes off. I am not used to getting up this early but, strangely, I am wide awake. Whether it be from nerves, excitement, anxiety, or because I didn’t go to sleep till late, I can’t be sure. Maybe all of the above. The 2025 Beyond Borders team begins our journey at the Indianapolis International Airport at a crisp 4:14 AM. We checked our bags and headed to security which was slightly busier than normal for such an early hour, possibly due to the holiday. Amandine had the fabled TSA precheck so she zipped through security for us to meet up with on the other side. Little did we know she got stopped by security for attempting to smuggle in… deodorant.

The 2025 Beyond Borders Team. From left to right: Amandine, Chastidy, Lilly, Makenna, Frankey, and Krista.
The 2025 Beyond Borders Team.
From left to right: Amandine, Chastidy, Lilly, Makenna, Frankey, and Krista.
Plane view leaving IND to DFW
Plane view leaving IND to DFW

We had some downtime between our first 2-hour flight from Indianapolis (IND) to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW). After getting some celebratory coffee and a few breakfast sandwiches we sat down to go over the gameplan for today, dealing out the important tasks such as who will be in charge of choosing the music in the minivan. We took our Travel Day picture and gathered our stuff. The longer we waited the more my excitement and nerves grew to get back out into the field.

The 2024 Beyond Borders trip was my very first time flying, ever. It was a new experience and I didn’t know what to expect. I felt like I was at the mercy of everyone else, not knowing what to do, where to go, and asking a million questions. In reflection, I wonder if those feelings were similar to the ones a migrant would have when they begin their journey around the US Border Patrol Checkpoint. I have flown about 8 times since our last trip but nonetheless, I still felt nervous. We finally boarded, sat down, and got comfortable. As we were taking off I remembered I didn’t bring any motion sickness medication. Thus my 2 hour game of “Will I Get Sick on the Plane?” began. Happy to say that I didn’t but I was immensely thankful to be back on the ground when we landed in Dallas.

Gas pump at the behind-the-scenes rental facility
Gas pump at the behind-the-scenes rental facility.

We had a decent layover which helped my body reset for our short 40-minute flight to San Antonio. Surprise, it wasn’t much better. We landed and made our way to the baggage claim to gather our things and then to get the rental van. As we typically say with these trips, “Expect the Unexpected.” We find the van, which I am 100% sure is the same one we had last year because of the scrapes on the rear bumper, and we Tetris our luggage into the trunk. We buckle in, load up the playlist, AND… the van’s out of gas. The tire pressure light is also on. So, Dr. Latham gets a person from the rental place. A nice but panicked man comes to the van and proceeds to get in the front seat, while we are all still buckled up in the back. Instead of letting him drive the van away with hundreds of dollars worth of field supplies, we stayed in the van wherein he proceeded to zoom through rows of cars in the parking garage. I had to close my eyes for a minute because I was so sure he was going to smash into another vehicle. We go up a level wherein there is a whole area of gas pumps, air for tires, and a multilane full carwash. We get the van fixed up and go back to Dr. Latham whom we left on the level below. FINALLY, we are on our way.

As we do every year, we stop at Torchy’s Tacos. I can personally attest that the one in Indianapolis pales in comparison to the one in San Antonio. Filled up, like the van, we begin the two and a half hour drive to our hotel in Falfurrias, TX. We plug in our playlist of over 20 hours of listening time and get on the road again!

Fallen heroes memorial at the center of Falfurrias.
Fallen heroes memorial at the center of Falfurrias.

When we get to the hotel we quickly unpack our things and head to HEB. We grab stuff for lunches, field snacks, personal goodies, and water… lots and lots of water. What a luxury it is that we can buy 12 gallons of water and have them at our disposal, not afraid we will run out. Keeping these thoughts of how fortunate we are to have access to these things and be prepared for the field is important to get us into the mindset of why we came down here.

Personalized ID cards made for each member by Deputy Don White!
Personalized ID cards made for each member by Deputy Don White!

We put our stuff away and met Deputy Don White at Whataburger for a hardy dinner for our first night. With full stomachs, Don surprises us with a gift. Personal ID cards for each team member for Remote Wildlands Search and Recovery. Such a wonderful gift that makes me really proud to have something with my name on it alongside such an amazing organization. Before we left to go back to the hotel, we had to give some pats and treats to the cutest member of the team, Socks! Although a year older, she was just as excited to meet a new group of friends to play with.

Back at the hotel, we have a quick team meeting to talk about some things to expect and assign some of the rotating responsibilities like who writes the blog, photography, and who is in charge of the walkies. Snacks in hand we head back to our room to pack our bags, shower, and head to bed. With excitement in the air, we settle in ready for the unexpected to begin tomorrow with our first search!

Chastidy

The Butterfly Effect

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

“It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world”. The quote appears on the screen at the opening of the movie The Butterfly Effect. The premise of the movie is that everything that happens in this moment is an accumulation of everything that’s happened before it. This idea is not new and is rooted in Chaos Theory, a mathematical theory which states that small differences in initial conditions can yield widely diverging outcomes. It shows that what was once thought to be the randomness of a complex system is actually a system of interconnections, patterns and feedback loops.  Chaos Theory suggests that all of our actions, no matter how seemingly small, have consequences.

The south Texas brush
The South Texas brush

As someone who overthinks everything, Chaos Theory is quite a mental burden. Replaying every word I said to a jury wondering if I inadvertently biased them, hoping the foundations I have laid for my children send them in a trajectory that keeps them happy and safe, and always second guessing whether I’ve done enough to support my students or if my form of support is not the best approach.  You must be thinking that sounds incredibly egotistical and self-centered within the context of a prolonged mass disaster where people are dying daily.  That the last ten years I have emphasized this is not about me/us but about the conditions at the border, and that is true. What we’ve also seen over the last ten years is no real change in policies at the border that stop or slow the number of deaths. People are still dying in large numbers. The location may shift over time, but the situation is still dire.

South Texas vegetation
An example of the vegetation in South Texas

Our forensic work within the massive scale of need at the border is small. We make a big difference to the individuals and families we directly contact, but after over a decade of work we are not seeing a tsunami of change. Instead, we are always left with questions – Did we do enough? What if we just searched more in that direction? What if we stayed out just one more hour? What if we stayed just one more day? But I do see the tsunami building within the hearts and minds of our young people. There’s over thirty faculty and students from the University of Indianapolis alone that have traveled with the Beyond Borders Team to participate in this work. We also work with numerous other universities and students in the Texas Borderlands. They are experiencing this crisis with a lens and perspective that my generation just does not have. I am able to quiet the questions and the overthinking knowing this experience sets them a trajectory quite different then had they not experienced this.

Remote wildlands
A previous search and recovery operation showing the environemnt in South Texas

This trip will be different. We will be working solely with Remote Wildlands Search and Recovery on large scale search and recovery efforts in clandestine ranchlands. I am excited to see Deputy Don White, Paramedic Ray Gregory, and any other members that may be able to join us. They are wonderful humans that do great work! We lost Eddie Canales, the Director of the South Texas Human Rights Center and my friend to cancer a few months ago. I still expect to see his smile, hear his laugh, listen to all his new stories and get scolded for not improving my Spanish since the last trip. Eddie also contributed to that tsunami, and I know we will make him proud this trip. The South Texas Human Rights Center continues, and you can make a donation is his memory here.

Eddie (male) speaking with the UIndy team about water stations and supplies.
Eddie speaking with the UIndy team (Jan 2024) about the water station route and supplies.

~KEL

Shifting the Focus to Others

Snapshots


One week ago, I caught a mild cold that gradually worsened into an ear infection. Early on Christmas Eve, it culminated in my tympanic membrane rupturing—commonly known as a ruptured eardrum. While this small tear will heal with time, I’m currently experiencing constant ringing (tinnitus) and reduced hearing in my one ear as the membrane repairs itself.

As an anatomist, I immediately recognized what had happened when I awoke to a loud crackling sound in my ear, along with a sudden release of pressure deep within. Surprisingly, it was relatively painless and even felt somewhat relieving. Fortunately, I was able to visit my doctor the same day to confirm the diagnosis and discuss the severity and treatment plan.

Most importantly, here’s what I learned NOT to do:*

  • DON’T blow your nose forcefully.
  • DON’T use Q-tips.
  • DON’T let debris or water enter your ear.

The process of healing will take weeks to months, but I’m comforted by the thought that I should regain my hearing with little to no lasting issues. Over the past week, I have found myself thinking of how this situation might affect our upcoming trip to the Texas-Mexico border. Initially, my focus was on myself—planning how to best keep my ear dry and clean while managing temporary hearing loss.

But my thoughts soon shifted outward. I began considering on how a similar experience might impact someone else in vastly different circumstances. For instance, what if this happened to someone traveling on foot through rural parts of Texas, with limited access to clean water and no chance of receiving medical care? Would their ear become infected? Would they have antibiotics among their most precious belongings? Would they endure pain without relief? And how might hearing loss hinder their ability to handle such a journey?

These questions have made me think more deeply about the challenges others face in conditions far more difficult than my own.

In my teaching, I emphasize the importance of empathy, particularly through the shared experiences in the anatomy lab, where graduate students dissect individuals who have donated their bodies for medical education. Empathy—putting oneself in another’s shoes—helps students understand the impact of their words and actions beyond the classroom and reflect on how they can affect others throughout their lives.

The Beyond Borders project similarly fosters self-awareness. While its primary goals are to assist in searching for and identifying those who have gone missing while attempting to cross into the United States, it also offers personal growth opportunities for volunteers involved in the humanitarian effort. Faculty and students often return from the field with transformed perspectives.

Personally, I anticipate this experience will be humbling and somber at times as I try to keep my head above water—both figuratively and literally. And more importantly, I will aim to shift my focus from myself to others, using my personal setbacks to gain a broader perspective.

* This information is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as verified medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional regarding any health concerns you may have.

~AE