Volunteer Reflection: Christian Falgons for Kenya III, 2023
This was my first experience in participating in a medical mission trip, my first time joining M2H on a mission, and my first time in the continent of Africa.
About a year prior to the mission, I made the irrevocable decision to entirely commit myself to join on this medical expedition. The 12 months preceding the mission dates, were best characterized by a determination to ensure I could participate with M2H and continuously fueled by the regular updates of pictures and stories from the ongoing missions. I fought in a continuous uphill battle with my deans, administrators, and course directors to adjust my entire rigid schedule to allow me to participate in this mission. During these months, I was asked many times why I would not agree to just choose a different mission trip experience that would be more agreeable with my schedule. To which I replied in the same manner every time, “there is no expedition like it”.
M2H differs entirely from other global health efforts and stands entirely alone when compared to other surgical medical missions. Not only does it address remote and under-resourced communities which often overlooked, it brings that help directly to them. Other missions I came across function out of an established hospital building in a static location, leading to a flood of logistical issues for many members of remote communities to find a way to reach the location, often enduring long and dangerous travel. M2H’s expedition brings immediate care directly to the community, serving even more remote and further under-resourced areas. Looking back, I am happy I remained so persistent because the trip never failed to supersede any expectation in every aspect including the ingenuity of the operations and treatment regimens, the hospitality and appreciation of the communities, and as well as the chance for adventure
My trip began 2 weeks prior to the mission trip, exploring enough of Kenya to be able to say “hello” and “thank you” in Swahili. I ate zebra and ostrich at the Carnivore, rode boda-bodas through the streets of Nairobi, stayed with the Masai people in Masai Mara, saw the big five on a game drive, got uncomfortably close to Hippo’s in Naivasha, rock climbed the walls that inspired the story for The Lion King at Hell’s Gate, and scuba-dived and kite surfed on the white beaches of the Indian Ocean in Diani Beach. Then I was headed off to a place where most local Kenyans never had visited with M2H: Lake Turkana.
The long journey from Nairobi to Lake Turkana consisted of about 5-6 hours on a paved road as we crossed over the equator, then another 4-5 hours on a dirt road in our Toyota Land Cruiser. We learned en-route to our destination of a confirmed rumor that it was raining in the Lake Turkana region – the first-time rain had fallen in 4 years, since the last time M2H had visited the site where 4 years ago they were again accompanied by heavy rains following a 5-year draught. The bringers of rain had arrived again with more rain. The MSUs got their chance to demonstrate their unimaginable strength and versatility as they traversed through once dry channels but now flowing rivers with ease.
Finally arriving at the village medical sites, the MSUs were set up: two giant trucks, a humble group of buildings without electricity or windows, and already a group of patients dressed in colorful garment growing by the minute all with the backdrop of beautiful mountains, rock domes, surrounded by the rarely ever seen, static lenticular clouds. The friendliness and goodhearted nature of the locals was never lacking. You felt almost as if you had returned home to your roots while standing on the same ground that the first homo sapiens stood upon at the dawn of humanity.
The days each brought on their own unique and fulfilling experiences. After overcoming the morning rush hour caused by the herds of camels, they would begin by coordinating and organizing the lines for clinic in the morning, seeing patients throughout the day, and finally operating for the majority of the afternoon until we reached “chai time” for an afternoon lecture under the acacia tree. The operations were a wonder to witness, using limited supplies to achieve great results all under just a shot of local injection. The operations were not the only reason this mission trip was memorable. The group, the communities and the local activities planned made this trip one of a kind. Our group of volunteers, Dr. Daniel, Katy, Sam, and Dr. G clearly displayed their desire to help these communities in need day in and day out throughout the trip.
I learned many things including how to communicate through expressions and hand motions, diagnosing through context, and how to catch the small details to fill in the gap created by the language barrier. Like the time Dr. Glenn had picked up on a teen’s diagnosis of sickle cell pain with the mere fact that he had never had malaria in his life in a population of people who all have had malaria at some point in their young lives. Because we didn’t have available to us all the expensive and myriad of tests and imaging possible like in the US, you had to practice real medicine – trusting your clinical judgement and a good physical exam. It never seized to amaze me the length to which people would travel to come be seen by the western doctors, traversing the desert lands on foot for days. This included the nursing students we had the opportunity to work with, such as Joshua who traveled on his motorbike on the flooded riverbanks from his town over an hour away every day to come learn.
Each day I welcomed on a new and sometimes unexpected roles. I wore many hats through the trip and happily adapted to the role that I was needed to take on. Some of the “hats” that I wore included an electrical and mechanical engineer, a mechanic, a plumber, a nurse, a professor, a coordinator, an OB, a cook, an organizer, a dentist, a surgeon, and a “daktari”, but always a student. I was able to push myself beyond the limits of what I thought I was capable of, providing an amazing opportunity to grow. I learned that in the parts of the world there is no doctor or dentist or any given role, there was us to fill this void ourselves and with the medical providers we trained once we had departed. No matter how foreign the task might be at hand or how limited you might be in the resources or tools you have to achieve this task, you find the way to figure it out, and then teach that skill forward to the next local person.
The locals were tough both physically and mentally. They gave us a lot to learn from. They may seem poor in the eyes of a westerner, but you rarely saw someone without a giant smile cheek to check. The patients and medical providers learning always showed the purest and most genuine gratitude and appreciation of the patients and students.
In the final days, I fell sick with a full day and night of intractable emesis, but the silver lining? – I had the honor to become Dr. Glenn’s patient. With a fully functioning OR and a world class surgeon and doctor in the bunk under mine, I thought to myself there could be no better place in the world for this situation to take place. I recovered quickly under the care of Dr. Glenn and the entire team.
If I were to give one piece of advice to future volunteers: pack your many hats and an extra running shoes because you never know what hat you will have to wear as you take on a new role every day and you never know if Dr. Glenn will have enough of his shoe glue to repair your shoes before you join him on one of his morning runs.
All in all, the Kenya mission trip of 2023 was unforgettable and unique given the additive nature of the mission work, the MSU’s, the communities, the volunteers, the activities, the food, the lessons learned, and most importantly the memories.
Finally, I wanted to thank Dr. Glenn and M2H for one of the single greatest experiences of my life. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity not just to be part of the mission, but to absorb so much of the knowledge and wisdom gained from this short experience. After a difficult month following the results of the residency matching process, this mission has reignited that fire within me to be a healer, devote myself to the care of others, and refocused me on the things that truly matter in life. I have spent much of my path to becoming a doctor, questioning if my methods of doing things differently and carving out my own non-traditional, deviating from the linear trajectory that every advisor and classmate draws out, was the “correct” way or even truly fruitful. But after working with Dr. Glenn and M2H, learning their story, and emerging myself in the purest definition of a care provider to all people, I have let those worries go and seen how carving your own path to my ultimate goal of helping as many people as possible in any place at any given time is fully possible. I feel more motivated and more driven than ever before towards my goal to care for the people who need it most yet have never been given the chance.
I look forward to working with M2H again. Any opportunity I get to come work on another mission again, I will take without hesitation. Thank you for this learning experience. I feel more filled with knowledge, meaningful experience, and confidence in my abilities to help others after just these two short weeks than I have in all medical school. Thank you for truly pushing me to the edge of my comfort zones and facilitating this learning experience.
I will continue to strive every day for adventure big or small, collecting life experiences, and creating as much impact in other people’s lives.
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