GSMDM 2015: Empowered by Hope

Dear Friends,
Once again, we (the 100+ members of the GSMDM and I) are embarking on another journey to the remote region of Cao Bang, Vietnam. There, we will live out our calling: to care for and love on the people of this distant land. Some of you are also aware that I plan to visit the Orphanage in Hoi An after my medical mission. My plan is to bring them the kind and thoughtful gifts from our amazing friends in the States; however, I am currently having some issues with the flight arrangement. Please keep this in your prayers... "If it is God's will that I have the opportunity to visit the orphanage then let it be so. If not, I pray that there is a way to send these gifts to the children."

Love Beyond Borders - Week 2

The second week of the mission picked up after a much needed weekend of rest and relaxation. There was an ample supply of cute old patients steadily flowing into our clinic throughout the day. 

This beautiful lil' old lady came to the clinic for a general check up and eye examination.  Her poor vision had severely limited her mobility over the past several years but she could not afford to have her eyes examined and fitted for new glasses; that's exactly what she received today. I did not witness the moments but the team members could not stop re-telling how brightly her eyes shined and how sweetly she smiled as she tried on a new pair of glasses. 

Another interesting fact about her is that she'd never had her photograph taken before. When a team member gave her this photograph she held on to it like a treasure, stating that she "will pass this on to [her] grandchildren so they can remember [her]."

We have a great team of healthcare providers this year. The team meshed together seamlessly. We had a great time working with each other and learning from one another. 

We discussed interesting cases together as we tried to come up with the most sound and economically feasible plan of care for our patients. One example is the patient above, who presented at the clinic with symptoms of gradual descending muscle weakness that spread from her neck to her R and then L upper extremities, and then to bilateral lower extremities over the course of 2 years. The weakness became diffused and continued to worsen over the past 2 years. In addition, she also exhibited mild resting tremor, cogwheel rigidity, stoop posture, and flat affect. CT scan of her brain and spine showed no discernible lesions. MRI was not available in the province of Cao Bang. After much discussion we decided to start her on a trial course of Sinemet since she has many symptoms of Parkinson Disease. 

We encountered many cases that would require intervention from a specialist. In such cases we can only ask the patient to come back next year, hoping that our friend will join the mission next year and lend a helping hand to these patients...

There were also cases where we were blessed with the opportunities to share our faith with the patients. 

One of the encounters that left an impact on me is the case of this beautiful nine-year-old girl who was born with developmental delay. She was brought to the clinic by her father with complaints that "she is strange" and "she is slow and does not understand anything." It was only 10:30AM but I could already smell the stench of alcohol on his breath. I patiently explained to the father what developmental delay is and the extra attention and nurture the girl would need. But he was rather fixed on explaining to me how she is a trouble maker and a burden to the family. As I proceeded to examine her, I noticed some necrotic tissue on her left index and middle finger. Also her left middle finger appeared shorter than the right one. The father explained that she somehow got her hand in a food grinder just several days ago. I inquired if her injury had been evaluated by a healthcare provider and got a blank stare in response. We obtained an X-ray and confirmed that she had an amputation of part of the distal phalange of the left middle finger and fracture of the distal phalange of the left index finger. I counseled the father that she needed to be evaluated by our orthopedic surgeon (who was operating at Cao Bang Hospital) and he hesitated until I reassured him that all expenses would be covered by the mission.

We were concerned that the father may not bring her back for evaluation so we insisted that they stay at the clinic and come back to our hotel with us for our orthopedic surgeon to do further evaluation. My heart is heavy for her situation and  for her father who does not seem to understand the attention and patience it takes to care for a special child such as her. It highlights the kindness and compassion that the team members poured out to her throughout the day.

Throughout the day, our clinic was also filled with cute little patients such as the one above. This was my reward after a long day of work. She gave me a little peck on the cheek.
There will be plenty of photos of many cute little children we met throughout all the clinic days.

Physicians & Medical Assistants Team photo at the end of clinic day

Mission Funsies

After a long week of much hard work, we got a little break to explore the beauty of Cao Bang, including the Cave and the Waterfall.

The team inside Nguom Ngao Cave

On top of the mountain with my best friend...

The beautiful Ban Gioc Waterfall situated between Vietnam and China

The gang weathered the storm for this photo

The next day we played soccer with the local teams...

Needless to say, we scored...

Capped off the weekend with a relaxing hair wash 

 

Towards the end of our first week of work, one of our patients fainted while waiting for her medication, likely due to the heat, humidity, and exhaustion.  This gives you an idea of the kinds of conditions our team works in. One of our members notified me that, "one of our patients fainted... oh, and by the way, we can't find a pulse..." My heart almost dropped. The last thing we need to add to a busy clinic day is a code blue. Luckily, we found a pulse and after IV fluid hydration our patient was better. Her EKG and lab tests showed no remarkably concerning findings; she was transferred to the local hospital for further evaluation.

As we were rounding out the week the energy was spent, many members were fatigued; but amazingly, love and kindness never ceased. This is the reason why this mission is so dear to my heart. It is the beautiful people of Vietnam and it is the incredible young volunteers from the US.

And the work continued on as we cared for the patients...

...taught the local doctors how to provide an up-to-date standard of medical care for the patients. No, we are not just doing "medical tourism." We are dedicated to improving the healthcare and the lives of the people of Cao Bang...

by loving them...

and spending time with them...

even if just for a brief moment doing the silliest thing...

Thank God for the amazing kitchen of Mo Tu with a variety of options on the menu. Funny how everything is always "sold out" except for 'mi goi' (instant noodles).

Took a moment to appreciate the majestic beauty of God's creation on the way back on our last day of clinic. God is always giving us little gifts, it is up to us to notice them.

The Journey Continues... GSMDM 2014: Love Beyond Borders!!!

We arrived at the clinic site (often a local high school jerry-rigged into a medical facility) in the mist of rain on our first clinic day.  Our attempt to capture the pristine beauty of Cao Bang did not do the province justice.

A moment in between setting up and seeing patients shared with my good friend, Cat, who is near and dear to the Mission. Like most volunteers on the mission, she has given up a lot to be here serving the people of Cao Bang.

The goofballs at the end of clinic day.

A little team bonding exercise...

So we gathered an audience

To look for that treasure...

...and here it is!

One of our physicians braving through the sea of patients to expedite the process

With permission from the mother, I was allowed to take this photo of her child who was brought to our clinic for evaluation of a congenital condition that makes his eyes rather sensitive to light and have a frequent nystagmus. Under the circumstances and limited resources, we soon came to realize that there was not much we could do for the patient medically. The remainder of our encounter focused on the challenges, discrimination, and stigma that this young mother faced over the past three years. "It is not about me...I'm worried about my boy and what he will have to face in the future...What if he goes blind...!?" I held his soft little hand in mine and couldn't help but think about my little niece back home; how I think of her every so often; and how the thought of her can bring a smile to my face. If I can love my niece that much, how much more must this young mother love her child? And how it must pain her to helplessly watch her child endure the challenges of life with his medical condition; and my heart ached for them.

For that moment we were connected by one commonality, LOVE! Hers for her child and mine for my little niece. I can empathize with the emotion that she experiences. I am convinced that love is a manifestation of the Godly spirit instilled in each of us. How else can one explain something so uniquely perfect yet shared commonly across all cultures, languages, and people? God is Love and Love transcends all things...

Apologies for the bombardment of cute babies picture but just keeping my promise to take a moment to play with one cute kid/baby each day. This is an awesome boy that I met on day 3 of clinic. Very happy and friendly. He accompanied his mom to the clinic for chronic back pain & headache; conditions that affect majority of the population in the Province of Kao Bang due to the difficult, labor-intensive lives they endure.

Chilling with Courtney, during a lunch break...We were talking about Ashley (Courtney's sister) and spontaneously decided that WE ARE BRINING BLUE STEEL BACK..... Hope you enjoy this Ashley! :)

The most precious little girl that I met on day 2 of clinic. She has the most beautiful eyes and just angelic in general. Her mother brought her in for concern of poor weight-gain. Her laboratory test results were normal. She will be fine with some nutritional adjustment/supplements.

One of the Medical Asistance team member spending time bonding with the patient. We have amazaing volunteer group this year.

Twinsies, I found these 2 little cuties toward the end of the 4th clinic day. I was pretty excited to get to play with them...not sure if they feel the same way...lol.

This little cutie came to clinic with his mom on day 5 of clinic.

This boy is definitely the bravest patient I have ever met. He sat there and let me draw his blood without even blinking. He was hesitant at first but after his dad told him to be brave, he just put out his arm and did not even complain once. This is the after-picture.

This cute little girl is the last of the babies-series. Met her toward the end of clinic on Friday.

Severe bilateral foot-deformity on a 70+ old patient. She presented with Baker's Cyst to left leg which we attempted to drain. The deformity of her feet and chronic backpain/leg pain were so debilitating that she now has difficulties moving about and take care of herself. The team was able to sponsor for a walker for her. We definitely need a podiatrist to come with us next year since deformities like this is a common occurance in this region.

The first two days of mission work was physically demanding but nothing I can't handle...so I prayed for more challanges, I prayed for God to break me down and show me the meaning and purpose of this mission. And of course, God is always faithful. The following day, I encountered this patient, a 7 year old girl with epilepsy, developmental delayed, and large left facial mass. This child was brought to the clinic by her mother for...HELP. The mother then proceed to describe classic symptoms of seizure, for which she reported that the patient is NOT on any medication.

I sat quietly, observing my patient. She is shy, quiet, and avoidance of eye contact; though no audiometry was available, preliminary clinical evaluation indicates that she is deft, and she is able to speak. To make matter worse her family is in such poverty that both parents have to work daily in the rice paddies to provide for the family. She stay at home with her grandpa who can hardly move around. It breaks my heart to think that this little girl had suffered epilepsy all her life without any medication or treatment. She struggles everyday almost-alone, the constant care and supervision she so needs is seemingly impossible.

At the end of the day, we can only take care of her the only way we know how...we cried with her (and her mom), prayed for her, and most importantly we loved her.

We arranged to bring her back for a consultation with our ENT and Plastic surgeons to see if mass on her face can be surgically removed and repaired. Please pray for everything to go smoothly, for her life to be improved even in the smallest way; and that our patient and her family will find peace and comfort always...

CAPTIONS/STORIES TO BE POSTED LATER...

If one ever question the existence of God, he only has to open his heart and eyes...
Some of the beautiful images captured by one of our team members.