Namaste!

Here is a sneak preview of some photos from inside the GMC Hospital in Pokhara.  These photos are a small but invaluable glimpse inside the world of our Nepal operating rooms and the people that we worked closely with.  Enjoy!

All photos shown here were shot by Brandon Cusick and Mark Grant

On Saturday morning the Pokhara team made a 7-hour bus ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu. The original plane flight was cancelled as weather has kept smaller planes grounded in the region for nearly a week. The ride followed a river through the canyon the entire way and the beauty of the scenery made it easy to ignore the scarier points in the ride. Back in Kathmandu we were reunited with the Mustang team who had made an even longer journey to the capital city. On Monday the team set out to head home or to pursue further travels in the area.

I would like to thank the entire team and The World Outreach Foundation for giving me the opportunity to participate in this incredible opportunity. This will be an experience I will never forget and for which I could not be more thankful.

Be sure to check back on the website for final numbers for both the Mustang and Pokhara Teams!

Friday marked the end of a successful mission to Pokhara. The morning was spent performing the final surgical procedures, while in the afternoon team members taught classes to hospital staff regarding their areas of expertise. This was a great way to bring the week to an end as it ensured the hard work of the team would continue to benefit the community even after our departure.

Friday evening brought with it a more-than-generous farewell celebration put on by the Lions Club. The members gave speeches, and tokens of appreciation were given to the entire time. As the speeches wrapped up, a performance of traditional Nepalese dancing commenced which served to set both the Americans and the Nepalese dancing into the night. The food was superb and never seemed to stop coming: I thought the appetizers were the main course, woops. Thanks to the hard work of all involved, it was the perfect end to a perfect week in Pokhara.

Basudev Bandey: sixty-one years old. As I came down for lunch, he was sitting under the tent, unassuming and humble, a traditional Nepalese hat resting atop his head. He greeted me with a warm smile, the type that does not stop at the lips, but extends to the corners of the eyes, and offered a simple Namaste. His memory would likely have blended into countless similar interactions from this week had the Lions Club members not brought his story to the attention of the doctors surrounding him. As Basudev slowly leaned forward removing his cap, he revealed a large, exposed section of cranium which, we learned, was the result of being struck by a bolt lightning nearly a year ago.

Basudev’s wound would require a large skin graph to repair, and could result in infection if left untreated. However, as the surgery schedule for the week was fully booked and as his body had healthily healed to this point, we were forced to tell him that we would not be able to perform this procedure during our visit. Personally upset by this, and imagining how Mr. Bandey would feel upon hearing it, I braced myself for his reaction as the message was translated.

Not skipping a beat upon hearing this news, Basudev explained that this would not be an issue as one year ago, the psychic he went to told him he would not live past the age of sixty. After a pause, Basudev elaborated: since the lightning strike, the psychic had revised Basudev’s life expectancy to 72 years old. With this, Basudev rose, offered me his phone number and asked if I would notify him when we next return to Pokhara.

Completely dumbfounded, I fumbled for my pen as Basudev offered me a second Namaste and an even bigger smile as he turned to leave the hospital.

Although I am still ruminating on my encounter with Mr. Bandey I am sure of this: the next time I am frustrated with traffic or think life has dealt me a bad hand, I will think of Basudev Bandey and I am pretty sure these feelings will quickly melt away.

Here is a brief update on the surgeries and clinic visits carried out so far (through 3 days) at the Pokhara leg of the Nepal mission:

In the weeks leading up to the medical mission, screenings were performed in surrounding rural areas to identify patients for whom medical care was a distant dream. For these Nepalese villagers, the medical mission has truly become a family affair. As the patients meet with the doctors you can see the eyes of the entire family fill with a hope that was previously impossible to hold.  And as each patient comes out of surgery and enters the recovery room you can feel the excitement and gratitude in the air as these patients lives have been changed forever. It is so clear that this opportunity has affected their entire family as you observe the patient’s recovery bed surrounded by family members who will care for them and bring them their meals until they can make their trip back home.

On this Tuesday, there were two patients in particular whose stories I will never forget. Their experiences were the type that made it clear why I was here and why will I will keep on coming back.

In Asian regions, there is an abnormally high occurrence of cleft lips and palates. More than a physical deformity, these conditions cause children to be ostracized by their peers and makes it difficult for them obtain an education. The first surgery I observed this morning was the repair of a cleft lip on a three-month-old child. As I watched the child’s lip being sutured together in a manner that would completely erase any future memory of this condition, a condition that the infant will never even remember having, I was floored by how drastically the course of the child’s life was being changed by this simple procedure.

Due to small living quarters and harsh winter conditions, the centerpiece of many Nepalese villagers’ homes is an open fire. While the benefit of this energy source is necessary and clear, its unintended side affects can be unforgiving. Such was the case for the sixteen-year-old boy who arrived this morning with his entire family. One year ago, this child’s life was changed forever when he suffered a seizure and fell into his family’s fire. The results were devastating: burns covering the child’s chest and face that changed his physical appearance and life forever.  While the child waited to be seen by the medical staff, you could clearly see how the burns were affecting him as he would often face way from crowds or stare directly at the ground. However, when the boy met with the doctors and was told they would operate to repair his lower lip and right eye on Thursday, you could see hope, joy, and youth rush back into his face. While a string of surgeries over many years will be necessary for this child, this was undoubtedly the most powerful experience I have witnessed this week and maybe in my life.

All in all, Tuesday evening brought with it the successful completion of 22 procedures. From the Doctors, to the nurses, to the volunteers, to the Nepalese staff, it has been incredible to watch everyone work together to give wholely and tirelessly. By weeks end, we expect close to 100 surgeries to be completed and countless more lives changed; I know mine has been.

With a fair deal of our luggage still lost somewhere between Kansas and Nepal, Monday brought with it the arrival of our doctors from Kathmandu. On our way to the hospital that morning our bus was slowed as traffic froze to allow a lone cow to cross the street. Once the cow had safely passed, the mix of motos and cars again began to flow in both directions on either side of the road; I made a mental note that it did not appear pedestrians were given a similar free pass in crossing the road.

We arrived at the Gandaki Medical College Hospital where we would be hosted for the week around 9am. We were greeted with another warm welcome from the Pokhara Lions Club upon our arrival. Medical care in Nepal is government-run and the hospital in Pokhara, and I assume most of Nepal, runs from 9 – 5. The morning was spent prepping for the rest of the week: the nursing staff unpacked the suitcases full of medical supplies, the anesthesia team worked with the local anesthesiologist familiarizing themselves with the resources on hand, and the doctors were introduced to their Nepalese counterparts. I sat in on these introductions and listened as they discussed the types of cases normally seen and shared knowledge regarding how each usually handles such a case. From here the doctors began to meet with patients from the surrounding area that had been previously been screened to receive services. I followed Dr. Cusick, the group’s plastic surgeon, as he met with a handful of the patients he would be seeing during the week. The procedures to be performed ranged from a cleft palate repair to a scar contracture release.

It appears as though the largest amount need here is in women’s care with between 25 – 40 cases expected to be seen during the week. Luckily the group has been blessed with the attendANCE of the Ridgways and Dr. Bishop to handle these cases. Not wasting any time, operations began that afternoon.

The first patient to come out of the OR was an elderly man on whom Dr. Vilkins and a team of Nepalese orthopedists performed surgery to release a Dupuytren’s contracture on the patients left hand. Not to be outdone, Dr. Leah Ridgeway operated on her first patient, a hysterectomy. The care the Nepalese/American team provided this patient was top notch as the usual 5pm closing time was pushed back three and a half hours. From pre-op to post-op it was truly impressive to watch the Nepalese and American nursing and surgical staff interact, often without a common language, to take care of this patient and better their quality of life.

Needless to say, this long first day and the lingering effects of 30 plus hours worth of jet lag made it easy to overlook the rock hard beds as the team called it an early night. The next day is sure to bring with it more challenges, strengthened relationships between the medical staffs, and continued hope and care to be delivered to the patients and community as a whole.

Here are some more shots from the preliminary health camp set up before and at the start of, the Nepal mission.

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This afternoon the members of the World Out Reach Foundation’s Mission to Nepal safely arrived in Kathmandu; if only the same could be said for certain volunteer’s luggage which decided to take the late flight out of Houston. Despite this, spirits and energy are high as we were warmly welcomed into Pokhara by the members of our host, the local Lions Club. Tomorrow morning will see the beginning of the program in both Mustang and Pokhara with close to 70 patients expected to be seen in Pokhara alone. More details, stories, and photos to follow tomorrow once my charger arrives with my luggage and my jet lag is cured by a long night’s sleep.