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Surgicorps is set to leave for our 6^th mission trip to Zambia from September 17^th-24^th with 23 medical and non-medical team members. We look forward to partnering again with Beit CURE International Children’s Hospital in Lusaka. Our team this year includes: 10 members from Pennsylvania, 7 from Massachusetts, 2 from North Carolina, 2 from Nevada, and 1 each from Virginia and Zambia.

Our returning volunteers include Janet Belitsky, Cliff Bierman, Mary Bierman, Christine Bowman, Tara Burns, Lori Ellis, Rama Joshi, David Kim, John Lagnese, Peg Lagnese, Michele Misher-Harris, Richard Montilla, Bernadette Montilla, Scott Pearson, and Courtney Retzer Vargo.

A warm welcome to several new team members this year as well:  Mutande Chisanga, Meredith Deaton, Courtney Garbee, Yuen-Jong Liu, and Stephen Vargo.

Jack Demos will lead the team as Medical Director and Linda Esposto, our Director of Programs and Logistics, will be overseeing all aspects of the mission. DeNese Olson will be our Trip Coordinator.

Although all volunteers pay for their own airfare and accommodations and generously donate their time and skills, Surgicorps has additional expenses not covered by volunteers.  Please consider visiting our Bon Voyage 2016 Team Zambia Crowdrise campaign here and help us to fund this gap.

Thank you team Zambia for helping Surgicorps serve people in need in Lusaka. Stay tuned and follow us, for trip updates and pictures, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn!

During my three years as an interpreter for Surgicorps, I’ve heard a lot of things that formal Spanish classes and medical translation textbooks simply didn’t prepare me for: a toddler cursing at me in K’iche’ when I had to restrain him from ripping out his IV, two young girls staring at me incredulously when I responded that no, I was not married yet even though I was already 17, and an 80 year old man revealing to me that the secret to a long, healthy life was eating lots of frijoles.

But perhaps the declaration that stuck with me most came from a kindhearted man who had traveled 5 hours to find help for his son who was born with a cleft palate. When I asked if he had any questions about his son’s upcoming surgery, he shook his head and replied, “No. But I would just like to thank all of you for leaving your jobs and your families this week to come to Guatemala. There are so many here who need help, but so few who are willing to provide it.”

This sobering quote put a lot of things into perspective for me. First, I realized how much I take for granted living in a place with such abundant medical resources. When my wisdom teeth started to cause problems, I had my choice of 5 surgeons within a 10 mile radius of my home. When I broke my arm, I was casted that same night. And when I feel something as minimal as a sinus infection coming on, I have the privilege to drop into any of the 15 urgent care clinics in my town and receive an antibiotic. When you are used to such accessible medical solutions, it takes a quote like that to realize that most of the world does not share this same luxury.

And secondly, as I looked at this man holding his son and heard his words repeating in my head, I realized that there was nothing else I would rather do with my life than to be one of “the few” and help those whose circumstances hinder them from receiving the care they need and deserve. After that moment, I knew that I could never be content working in a place where I was an option: one out of 5 doctors in a 10 mile radius that could all treat the same problem, while knowing that somewhere else in the world, I would be someone’s only chance at finding help.

If it weren’t for my time with Surgicorps, I might never have chosen this path. But through these trips, I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by volunteers who have shown me what it means to be one of “the few”: selfless, kind, and hardworking medical and nonmedical personnel who invest their time to help those who need it, and who exemplify what can be achieved by using their talents for the good of others. Each year, we see more than 100 patients who travel for hours to receive care for life­altering deformities and life­threatening conditions, care that they could not access otherwise. For these people, volunteers like those at Surgicorps are their only hope for a better life.

Although the efforts of “the few” are not enough to heal the whole world, they are enough to make a lasting difference. With each trip to Guatemala, I am continually amazed by what a team of just 30 caring individuals can accomplish in just a week’s time, and by how many lives are changed in the process. My experience with Surgicorps has inspired to continue this type of work, not just for one week out of the year, but for the rest of my life. And with a career built on my Spanish skills along with my medical training, I can only imagine all of the quotes I have yet to hear, both comical and life­changing.

I have begun my path of transition to retirement. As Surgicorps moves forward, I have moments of great joy and at times much emotion as an observer and a participant. This 2016 trip to Guatemala is special for me and also for our team members here at the Surgicorps’ office.  It will be the first team to fulfill the Surgicorps mission led entirely by a volunteer Medical Director and Trip Coordinator.  Everyone has put much work and energy to develop ideas, discuss options, and listen to input. It is a work in progress to insure that our mission to help those in need in the developing world continues well in to the future. There is no doubt in my mind that this team will be successful based on the teams that have gone before them to 20 countries over 22 years.

When Surgicorps’ core contains generous donors, tireless volunteers, team members with skilled hands, team members who comfort and show compassionate and patients and their families that touch your heart, Success is guaranteed.

I want you to save the date Saturday June 3, 2017. I want to invite all of you to my home. I hope it will be very crowded. I hope to meet some of you for the first time or hug you once again. It is part of my personal transition to decrease my time but never leave Surgicorps. My home is special. It is where I surround myself with my sisters, their husbands, their children and my friends. It is my core. I want you to come because you have become a part of it. So save the date and details will follow.

So team Guatemala 2016 lead the way to the future and continue the commitment to the Surgicorps mission to provide service to those in need in the developing world.

Our hearts will be with you!

Linda

 

Surgicorps is preparing for our 14^th trip to Guatemala from August 6^th-13^th with a team of 33 dedicated medical and non-medical volunteers. Our team this year includes: 14 members from Pennsylvania, 14 from Massachusetts, 2 from Spain and 1 each from Arizona, Colorado and New York.

Previous Surgicorps team members include Heather Archambeault, Kerry Bennett, Dylan Butt, Kevin Cohen, Beth Demos, Brian Gierl, Amelia Hare, Anne Kamarchik, Ramon Llull, Carlos Mata, Judith McNicholas, Aidan McNicholas, Dave Metro, Farzaneh Nabizadeh, Lynn Novier, Katie Respet and Mark Stoker.

We welcome several new team members this year as well: Sam Bennett, Melinda Desourdy, Amy Hatch, Melanie Hodge, Aina Llull, Nick Metro, Maria Metro, Jonathan Miller, Elise Perz, Katelyn Perz, Amy Shalala, Kylie Shalala, Regina Stoker and Greg Williamson.

David Kim will once again be our Medical Director and Stephanie Charron will be the Trip Coordinator.

Surgicorps thanks each of these volunteers who help make our mission of serving individuals in need in the developing world possible through their commitment of time, energy and resources. Stay tuned and follow us, for trip updates and pictures, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

It’s been 11 years since I first heard about Surgicorps. While at the University of Pittsburgh completing my masters degree in Nurse Anesthesia I heard a lecture about volunteer anesthesia by members of Surgicorps. I became interested in volunteering overseas during my initial RN training and after hearing this lecture I knew right away Surgicorps would be the group to get involved with.

I have been on 11 trips now including: Guatemala, Vietnam, Bhutan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Zambia. It has been a great opportunity to help others and give back to those less fortunate. Participating in life changing surgery is such a neat feeling. Fixing a burn scar contracture can improve daily life so a person can walk or use their arm. Repairing a cleft lip can improve a child’s self-esteem so they are not embarrassed to go to school.

The adversity that some patients have to overcome is amazing. Some families have carried their children for days over mountains while sleeping at night without shelter just for the opportunity to be evaluated. I have been able to travel all over the world and see places I never would have otherwise. It has been enjoyable to experience other cultures.

 The chance to sample different foods and local cuisine is something I look forward to on every trip. In Vietnam, due to the absence of forks, I learned quickly how use chop sticks. I have made many new friends on these trips. The seamless teamwork that develops between the medical and non-medical personnel is always impressive. I have gained tremendous experience and skills that have helped me to be a better Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at home.

What will the next 11 years hold for me on Surgicorps trips? You’ll have to check back in 2027!

My first impression of 11 year old Namgay was one of remarkable sadness. Dressed in the traditional red robe that monks wear, his tiny frame appeared younger than his years.  Surrounded by the noisy pre-op room filled with patients and their families, he seemed nervous while he waited to be evaluated by the Surgicorps doctors. There was something magnetic about this little boy, and when I looked into his eyes I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I had somehow met him before.  Knowing that he had been through so much pain and trauma in his short life, I stayed with him to ease his fears.

Namgay was severely burned as a toddler, after crawling into an open fire while his mother was outside milking the yak.  It took two days, on foot, for his family to reach the hospital in Punaka, near his hometown.  After 7 months of treatment, he was transferred to another hospital in India where he would spend the next year being treated for burns all over his body.  Our team thought it was a miracle that he had even survived, given the nature of his wounds.

Namgay’s father entered the monastery to become a monk at the age of 5 and left when he was 17 to care for his aging parents.  His father explained that years ago it was common for a family to have at least one male enter the monastery. He went on to say that times have changed and now it is a choice for a child to become a monk. Namgay entered school after returning from India but was teased relentlessly by the other children, making it too painful to continue there.

At 10 years old, Namgay made the choice to become a monk and has been living in a monastery for a year.  His father says that now Namgay is happy and often prefers to stay at the monastery, even during break times when he can come home to visit.  Namgay’s parents are overjoyed that their son will have the opportunity to learn, and grow, in an environment where others accept him with open arms.

Next year, Namgay will return to be seen again by our surgeons. We will wait, with anticipation, to see this young monk; one who will surely be a little taller, and a little wiser.  His gentle nature and piercing eyes have left an indelible mark on all of us, one that will stay with us until we return to the Land of the Thunder Dragon in 2017 for our 11^th mission trip.  Until we meet again…