A team of 24 Campbell health sciences students spent part of their Christmas holiday serving the people of Guatemala.
Eleven first-year medical students, two biomedical sciences students, two undergraduate pre-med students, five faculty and staff as well as four additional support staff traveled to Naranjo, La Lima, San Jacinto and the Chiquimula City landfill. The team had been trained in basic medical Spanish in preparation for the trip by Ann Ortiz from Campbell’s foreign language department, and they were assisted by local volunteer translators through the Songs of Joy ministry.
The team worked under the umbrella of local churches and in coordination with the health department, Centro de Salud. The local missionaries who collaborated with the team in these locations included 91 year old Reese Hurley who prayed with each of the 615 patients seen by the team.
Patients were treated for conditions ranging from common respiratory infections to more complex illnesses and injuries. The Campbell students received extensive training on cardiopulmonary exams while assisting in the treatment of many of the patients who were seen. Four patients required referral and transport to the local regional hospital for orthopedic treatment.
The trip provided many impactful experiences clinically as well as emotionally and spiritually:
Humbling
“Following our first clinic day, we had a debriefing about our experience and take-aways for the day,” said first year medical student Jared Casale. “I noticed earlier in the day that the women in the clinic were wearing very nice dresses that seemed to be of traditional Guatemalan attire. I asked Dr. Joe about their attire, and he explained that the people were so grateful that we visited them that they wore their nicest clothes to come see us in clinic. I can only describe the feeling upon hearing this as ‘Why am I worthy (as a first year medical student) of anyone getting dressed up to come see and my friends?’ – it was extremely humbling.”
“In our debrief after the trip, many of the students identified our time with the residents of the Chiquimula City landfill as the most eye opening and humbling,” said Rev. Doug Short, a professor in Campbell Med’s Department of Community and Global Medicine. “When we entered the landfill, the residents had decorated a Christmas tree from trash as a gift to us for coming.”
Hope
“We met the ‘Give Hope Give a Hand’ ministry at the Global Missions Health Conference in November, and they supplied us with adult and juvenile prosthetic hands from the Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foundation, and we were able to fit four patients with artificial hands on this trip,” said Dr. Joe Cacioppo, chair of community and global medicine at Campbell Med. “This was a huge blessing! These prosthetics improve the quality of life for these patients and are truly a life changing gift.”
Dr. Craig Fowler, chair of surgery and specialist in cornea transplantation, cataract & refractive surgery, also fitted 275 patients with reading glasses.
“Not being able to see well has a significant impact on health and quality of life,” said Dr. Fowler. “Campbell medical mission trips provide me with an opportunity to provide hands on training to medical students on how to do an ophthalmological exam and basic fitting for glasses, and it is truly incredible to see the immediate positive impact on the patient and the joy the medical students receive from providing this care.”
In addition to medical treatment, the team provided 400 pounds of corn and beans, and the team offered special ministries including a children’s ministry, foot washing, prayer, and sharing the Gospel.
“We witnessed approximately 60 professions of faith,” said Dr. Cacioppo. “That’s what these trips are all about – sharing God’s love and providing hope.”