One Patient
General FBC Missions, Karen Project Team 2008 February 26th, 2008 by Elizabeththe following is a letter from Steve Neubauer;
Yes, a medical mission trip that treated one patient over the entire course of the trip!
We unexpectedly met this young girl in Burma at a local clinic staffed by one of the medics from the Backpacker Health Workers team. Much to my surprise, she had an IV and was receiving IV antibiotics, just as I would provide one of my patients in the emergency department. The medics pulled out an impressive flow sheet of her vitals, medication administrered, etc., just as I would reveiw for a patient in the US, outlining her five days of treatment in this bamboo clinic. After I repeated a difficult history and exam, given the language barrier, the medic and I came up with a treatment plan which eliminated the need for a painful and dangerous transport across the border into Thailand for treatment.
(photos below - Dr. Steve examines young girl. Girl’s mother and baby brother stay close by.)
This case demonstrated to me and, I hope, illustrates how humble one should be when doing missions trips. I had visions of providing care and utilizing my skills to save the masses but that was not God’s plan. Instead, the group came away with a greater awareness of the Karen people’s needs, as well as a vision of how we can become more invovled in their struggle.
Humbly, I am now aware that my time and effort to make the long journey meant a lot to these people and our financial help will go directly to opening a medical clinic where the Backpacker Health Workers Team medics can provide care to their people.
This trip certainly also brought me great hope as many kind people donated an overwhelming amount of money and prayer. The four of us have lots of ideas and certainly have a vision of how the church, volunteers, and financial supporters can continue to respond to this crisis.
Thanks again for all your support.
Steve Neubauer, MD