We were definitely excited to be at the Mission Hospital to help serve the needs of the patients there. Things started out chaotic in the sense that we didn't really know how we were going to be utilized. Once that issue was resolved, the fun began. We were given a tour of the hospital by Dr Solomon and Dr Paul. Dr Solomon showed us the Mission Hospital Surgical Complex. There, he told us that Orthopedic Surgery will be performed there mainly. Dr Solomon is an Orthopedic Surgeon. This is a very nice facility with nicely equipped room and anesthesia equipment. They also have a Fluoroscopy scanner so that they can do total joint replacements. We were then given a tour of the main hospital. They have a 3 bed Emergency department, a separate male and female inpatient wards, an x-ray and ECG department. They even have a way to perform stress tests. For a small hospital that serves a very large and poor community, they are nicely equipped to meet the needs of this community. The team was then partnered with the Doctors of the hospital. Dr Wells was by himself, Dr Jason O'Grady was initially with Dr Paul and later left to see his own patients, and I was with Dr Das. He is the local Cardiologist/ Family Doctor for the hospital. I really enjoyed my time with him. He was gracious enough to explain how he treats different ailments. He helped to put into perspective the reality of medicine in India. Though he is a cardiologist, reality is that he has to see every type of ailment. He contrast things in India and the things in the USA. It is so easy to lose sight of the fact that this is a very rural place with limited resources. He was sharing with me the history of one of the patients that we saw today. Here is a 45 year old male who by his EKG, was showing signs of having a heart attack. I am telling him what we would do in the USA. He agrees but then tell me the nearest facility to do these studies are 400 Km away. This man truly practices by faith. He stated that there have been many time where he knew that God was the only one granting His patients time until they could get the necessary studies done. He realizes that he is just a vessel of God and that God is the only TRUE HEALER we have. That really left an impression on me today. Jason had shared with me about one of the patients that he saw today. He had been coughing for a few months and is a heavy smoker. He ordered a chest X-ray to evaluate his lung status. He saw a mark on his film that lead him to believe that he may have cancer. The doctor with him felt it was something else. Maybe he was seeing something different because he knows this are and has a better grasp of what is more common in this area. I feel one of the neat things about this trip is being able to share and trade ideas and remedies but ultimately, we are all serving the same God.
Overall, this was truly another great and blessed experience that we had on our last clinic day for this mission trip. The people at the hospital and even at the other clinics were so appreciative and we were/are so blessed to be able to serve in this capacity. I thank God daily for providing me this opportunity of a lifetime . What a wonderful experience. Thank you Mountain Christian Church for allowing me to be apart of this team and to serve in different capacity that was not always comfortable.
Kevin Smallwood
Oak Grove Baptist Church
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
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