When you wish you could do more…

In recent days, I was privileged to participate in two back-to -back medical missions in the country.  The first one was in Tagbilaran, Bohol where 80 medical doctors from Medical Surgical Mission Team from Texas and Kaiser Permanente, LA conducted a 4-day mission.

They came prepared.  The medicines were sent to the Philippines ahead of time. My back and those of the other Filipino volunteers got really acquainted well with those  huge 75 boxes of medical and surgical supplies hauled from the church hall to the Cultural Center and Regional Hospital.

And the people came.  Just several hundreds on the first day – but the lines grew and grew each day.

I was part of the documentation team – so I got to see and interact with some of the patients who patiently lined-up to be seen by the doctors.

3 of them broke my heart on the second day of the medical mission.

Tumor growing in his right kidney

This boy’s name is John Mark Cafe, 1 year old.  His parents came when they heard that there are surgeons from the US.  He has a tumor in his right kidney.  The operation alone would a lot of money.  I approached them and in her Cebuano dialect, she explained the whole situation.  I tried to help them as much as I could and even helped them expedite their  paper process to the pediatrician line.  Even had the call to the hospital arranged so that John Mark could be operated on by one of the surgeons from MSMT.  I felt the world crumbling down when I was told that he could not be operated on because there were no pediatric surgeon.  There was no pediatric surgeon from the team.  There was no pediatric surgeon from the whole island of Bohol.  The operation had to be done in Cebu or Manila.

But that meant, it would not longer be free.

I was desperate so I sent sms to my highschool classmate, asking if she could send a pediatric surgeon from Manila.  The team from Texas had the medicines, the equipment and everything else, but the pediatric surgeon.  Since this was going to be a complicated operation, there had to be a pediatric surgeon to help out and to take care of the post-operative process.   My classmate responded and said – the pediatricians were not available.

I actually sat in one corner and asked God why He didn’t make me a pediatric surgeon instead.

Then I got to meet another couple with a 2 year old son suffering from hydrocephalus.  Another major operation. Another cry for help that we could not easily attend to. This boy still has not learned how to walk, does not talk and basically acts like a baby.  His father removed the head covering and showed me what the disease has done on him.

I did not get to see the 3rd child needing another major surgery. But I was told about this young boy with a massive abdominal mass.

More than 8,000 patients were served by the 4-day medical mission in Bohol.  I was really grateful for these doctors from MSMT who took the time off from their hospital duties, paid for their own airfare and hotel accommodations here in the Philippines and did what they did for the residents of Bohol.

I would see them at the end of a long day – and one surgeon from LA wryly smiled and said “really tired..” when I asked him how he was doing.

I did not get to mention earlier that while I was sitting in one corner just silently praying for these parents and helpless children, I got an sms from the orphan I shared with you about.  He was telling me that there was no more food to eat in the house and he only had P60 left in his wallet. That is equivalent to a little more than  USD$1.

Drove me to my knees and pray.

Thank you Lord for the medical teams from the US. Bless their hearts.  Bless the work of their hands.  One of the medical doctors celebrated his birthday the day before the medical mission.  He has been celebrating his birthdays in the Philippines and he said, it has been particularly difficult for his wife.  I asked why he didnt bring his wife to the mission and he said “we have a 5-month old baby…”  Bless this young surgeon God and take care of his hands.  Use those hands that had been trained to cut through the body and make repairs where necessary.

Another doctor celebrated her birthday the day they left for Manila.  One of the team members surprised her with a huge birthday song by asking the blind singers at the airport to sing Happy Birthday to her. When she came out of the restroom, we all erupted into singing Happy Birthday to her.  Even strangers joined in the singing. I looked back from where I was seated and she was drying her eyes now covered with tears.

Bless them Lord. Take care of each of them and bring them back to the Philippines next year.  Despite the challenges and the bureaucracy they face here, please encourage them to keep on remembering the Philippines.

Thank you Lord for these doctors.

UPDATE ON JOHN MARK

He has been seen by the GIFT OF LIFE Foundation and now being assessed to be scheduled for operation either in Cebu or Manila.  Please keep him in your prayers.