By
freep.com
The Detroit Free Press just published an in-depth story on the September journey of several local doctors and nurses to Kenya. It doesn’t get much more uplifting than this!
Elizabeth Studley, a pediatric nurse at both Henry Ford Hospital and the University of Michigan Medical Center, arranges this annual medical mission to Migori. Grown from the Kenya Relief organization (stationed in Alabama), team members ship out wearing “Got Kenya?” t-shirts and, according to the paper, “look like kids on their way to summer camp.”
In spite of the sometimes harsh living conditions on the trip (including power outages and water restrictions), the doctors and nurses spend their own vacation time and personal money in order to go. Supplies like tracheotomy trays are among the thousands of dollars worth of supplies that the Henry Ford Hospital and U-M Medical Center donate to the cause.
This happens every two months–the vans of American medical professionals arrive in Migori and people come from far and wide (five regions, to be exact), line up and sleep outside for days in order to be seen.
You might be thinking, “Are we really just that good?” Well, the entire country only has 7,129 doctors (as of 2010). The state of Michigan itself had 38,799 that same year. So maybe the problem is in the numbers.
The Michigan team (seven surgeons, two family practice doctors, six nurse anesthetists, an audiologist, a pharmacist and six nurses) worked for three days in the pre-op, post-op, operating rooms and the pharmacy. During this short time, they saw 648 patients and performed 80 surgeries. Chances are, they will never be the same.
To read the full account and personal stories of Kenyans who were treated on the most recent trip, head over to the Detroit Press.
Source: Detroit Free Press
