REFLECTIONS
Reflections
MEDICAL MISSION?
Teresita Bacani-Oropilla, MD
G
reat catastrophes, it seems we have
had more lately, usually attract
missions galore. Typhoons, fires,
earthquakes, tsunamis and the
like get publicity. People moved
by compassion become magnanimous, raise
money or collect essentials, offer food, shelter,
medicines. Those are transported by land, sea
or air to aid the victims. Churches, non-governmental organizations,
the Red Cross, private charities, all mobilize and volunteers take
time off to do whatever they can. These activities are all laudable.
They have saved lives, alleviated a lot of suffering, and are greatly
appreciated by recipients and donors alike.
Among the usual committed volunteers and helpers are health
care workers, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and plain lay people
who want to help. However, long after the immediate crises, their
work does not cease. They need to stick around to see that clean
water for drinking, proper sewage disposal, and pest and mosquito
control are maintained so as to prevent and forestall epidemics.
Besides, an uptick of ailments that occur with disrupted daily liv-
ing conditions have to be treated under less than ideal conditions.
During past tsunamis in the far East, unknown to many, exhausted
forensic pathologists labored unceasingly and with heavy hearts
for months to identify the dead and give closure to their families.
Taking care of patients in crisis, in poorer countries, is sometimes
beyond the comprehension of those trained in modern centers. In
the great 1976 earthquake in Guatemala, for example, where adobe
houses fell on sleeping inhabitants, volunteer physicians with a Span-
ish interpreter had to make the rounds in the mountains to isolated
homes. They dressed wounds and left enough oral antibiotics to last
until the estimated infections would heal. No cultures nor x-rays
were taken. Transporting patients to destroyed health centers was
impossible. To be sure that the drinking water was boiled and not
just heated, mothers were instructed to make tea out of the local
“herba buena” leaves. “Improvise” was the word and volunteers had
to move on to the next home or village.
Fortunately, past experiences, research and tremendous im-
provements in communication and transportation have improved
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FEBRUARY 2018
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