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Seeing the Other Side of the Coin

Dr. James Lehmann’s Full Circle Journey with ORBIS

Dr. Lehmann is a Cataract and Cornea Specialist from San Antonio, Texas.  He served as an ORBIS staff ophthalmologist on the Flying Eye Hospital in 2005 and returns to ORBIS as a volunteer faculty member.  This interview was conducted during his latest program with ORBIS in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2012.

Interview and photos by Geoff Oliver Bugbee

Why ORBIS?

What makes ORBIS unique compared to other NGOs is that we don’t just try to come into a region and do as many cataract surgeries as we can - which is helpful to people, but you leave and they are not able to replicate what you’ve done.  What ORBIS tries to do is take a kind of integrated approach.  It’s not just about the delivery of surgery.  The nurses teach nurses how to scrub, how to sterilize instruments, how to maintain sterile technique. The anesthesiologists teach the local doctors how to monitor patients correctly, how to choose patients for surgery.  The biomedical engineers do hands-on with the local biomeds and learn how to fix machines that are broken and do routine maintenance.  And that is truly unique about ORBIS - so when the Flying Eye Hospital comes to Addis Ababa and they’re at Menelik Hospital, when they leave they’re leaving the ability to continue what has been taught.

What is the fundamental difference between working as a staff member with ORBIS on the Flying Eye Hospital and being a volunteer faculty surgeon? 

When I was here in Addis Ababa for the first time it was 7 years ago as a staff ophthalmologist on this DC-10 plane.  At the time I had just finished my residency and had signed up to work as a staff doc for a year.  And now, coming back as visiting faculty is nice because I can see what a good impact ORBIS has had on Menelik II Referral Hospital.  Their eye bank is functioning.  I looked on the board the other morning and saw that they had harvested 127 eyes this year which is fantastic.  The operating room seems to have better equipment, is better maintained, and they’re doing a higher volume of surgery.

On a personal note, it’s special to me because I’m able to teach these local eye docs now and it’s kind of coming around full circle.  When I was an ORBIS staff doctor, I was more of a “helper” - organizing and doing the heavy leg work to support the whole dynamic process - much like the current crew who do it impeccably well.  But for me, it’s kind of special knowing that I put in the time doing that then and now to come back as a visiting faculty because I know how hard it is to be a staff member on this plane.  Not only that, what an honor it is to be picked by ORBIS to be a volunteer surgeon on a program.  They have a lot of eye doctors who want to do this, so the trust that they’ve put in me is not taken for granted. 

Could you talk about the training and skills transfer process?

I’ve been impressed with how engaged the trainees have been here in Addis and the audience participants here in the Flying Eye Hospital classroom.  They’ve been copiously taking notes, asking questions - I think there’s a thirst for knowledge that they have and it’s encouraging to be a part of that process.

Our goal this week was to essentially teach cataract surgery to higher level trainees that are already doing some specialty work. We focused on a wet lab where we would simulate the cataract surgery before actually doing it on the patients.  It gave them the chance to get a feel for the instruments, get a feel for how the surgery goes - and all of it on these little clay eye models.  My two trainees are in their forties and they’re already practicing consultants here in Addis - one of them does glaucoma surgery and one does retina. It’s important for them to learn this modern cataract technique - Phaco emulsification. It allows them to do combined surgeries so they can take care of both the glaucoma and cataract at the same time.  The small incision cataracts which work well here also make it more difficult to do glaucoma surgery or retina surgery after the fact.

What motivates you to do this work?

As a cornea specialist I always get to see the happy endings - that is, the patient who has been the recipient of the cornea transplant and is seeing better.  But I had the opportunity a couple of months ago to attend what was called a ‘Donor Quilt Ceremony.’ These were people whose family members had donated a cornea after they had passed away.  Their pictures were sewn into the quilt.  The family of the donor would tell their intimate stories to the recipients in the room.  This powerful experience allowed me to see the other side of the coin.  I saw the people whose loved ones’ cornea had given sight to somebody else and that was big for me because I only see the happy side of the picture.  And here I was able to see how tragedy can sometimes lead to something fortunate. 

A Fairy Tale or Flying Eye Hospital?

Blog Post by Sarah Jacobs

Dr. Sarah Jacobs participated as an associate ophthalmologist during Week 1 of the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is a graduate of the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, MN.

This afternoon, at the end of a day of paperwork and eye drops and cleaning and more paperwork, there was a knock on the door of the plane (that phrase sounded a lot more normal until I actually wrote it out). A woman from the ORBIS Ethiopian office was standing outside on the stairs with a group of grade school children who had arrived for a tour. A lecture was underway in the front classroom, and a surgery was in progress in the back OR. We silenced the kids with stern hushing, then led them to the laser procedure room.

“Ugh. Think of all the equipment in here that they can wreak havoc on,” said my inner curmudgeon. “Ooh! Remember the first time you looked at an eye?" said my better self.

I took the kids to the slit lamp in pairs, with one child as the patient and one as the doctor. I turned on the lights and adjusted the beams and let them look at each other’s eyes. Every child came away with an expression of curiosity and discovery on his or her face, as if they had just seen something truly amazing. Have you ever had a moment when you perfectly, clearly, joyfully remember why you do what you do? This moment was one of mine.

I grew up on a dead-end dirt road called Poverty Flat, in a small, windy northern Arizona town. I was the youngest of 5 kids in a family living well below the poverty line – grimy faces, hand-me-down clothes, pinto beans for dinner, and a backyard well for water. For most of my childhood, the town lacked specialty healthcare. Even if it had been available, we wouldn’t have been able to afford it. My mom had her first stroke when I was 12, and the general sense in my family was to accept it as fate. When my dad had a retinal detachment, the nearest retinal specialist was 5 hours away. We were poor. Care was beyond reach. Nothing could be done to change it. I hated the feeling of helplessly surrendering. 

I studied hard, earned scholarships, and worked three jobs to put myself through college. I ploughed on through medical school, planning to pursue general family practice medicine. During my third year of medical school, I was on a service trip to the Dominican Republic where I worked with an ophthalmologist who changed my entire career trajectory. The people there had a local expression describing the blind: “Bocas sin manos,” meaning mouths without hands – people who must be fed but can’t do anything to contribute back to their families or the community. Think what an impact it can have on their productivity, quality of life, and sense of self-worth when their vision is restored.

Nearly 5 years ago, a South American woman told me a story about a gigantic airplane with an operating room inside that came to her city and made the blind people see again. Fairy tale. Or so I thought. This week, I found myself standing inside that airplane, volunteering as an associate ophthalmologist for ORBIS. I’ve been on medical service trips before – Dominican Republic, Ghana, Bolivia, Haiti, Chile, South Africa– but the ORBIS experience is distinct in several ways.  

On other trips, we would arrive with hundreds of pounds of medication and equipment in duffel bags, then screen and treat hundreds of people each day.  Every time, the same question haunted me:  “What happens after we’re gone?”  With ORBIS, an in-country doctor has been caring for the patients before we arrive, and continues to provide care after the plane flies away.

The purpose of and ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital program is not to perform as many cases as possible, but to teach new skills and stronger techniques to the local doctors and nurses so that they can continue the work for years to come.

For example, on Monday during the screening for children with strabismus (misaligned eyes), I met a local provider we’ll call Dr Z. He had been doing some straightforward strabismus surgeries, but was not comfortable with his ability to do more complicated cases. His eagerness to improve was striking. By Tuesday, he was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the ORBIS surgeon in the OR. By Thursday, he was operating confidently on complex cases. By Friday, he was planning when and how to arrange surgeries for his own patients. ORBIS treated 8 strabismic children during my week in Ethiopia. Dr. Z will hopefully treat thousands. 

Through the ORBIS Lens: Daniel Craig in Mongolia

“Through the ORBIS Lens” is a collection of photos showcasing the issues surrounding global eye health. Each week ORBIS will share our best photographs highlighting our efforts to eliminate avoidable blindness around the world.   

In 2011, actor and OMEGA brand ambassador, Daniel Craig visited the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital during a program in Mongolia. Celebrate James Bond Day today and watch "Through Their Eyes", feat. Daniel Craig produced by OMEGA Watches and ORBIS. http://bit.ly/SyRXJd

Photo: Geoff Oliver Bugbee

An Unforgettable Experience

Blog Submitted by Alexandra Stripp

Alexandra Stripp is a student at ACS International School, Hillingdon. Since 2000, American Community School (ACS) has partnered ORBIS to promote international education and global citizenship among its students.  Every year, high achieving students go through a rigorous selection process for three internships during one week on board the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital.

In April 2012, I was lucky enough to be able to follow the work of the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital in Da Nang, Vietnam for a week, together with three other students from ACS International Schools and the Westminster Academy, and I can say without doubt that for me it was a life changing experience. 

The work of ORBIS fascinates me on many levels. First of all as a human being, wanting to make a difference in the world - it was amazing to be a part of a team that each year changes thousands of lives. Secondly, as I am planning to study medicine, the actual work ORBIS carries out fascinates me on a medical level. And finally the way passionate specialists come together in a team, sharing their knowledge and engaging others while changing the life of people in great need is an amazing experience to be a part of.  

Monday morning was the screening day, the day where pre-selected patients come to the local eye hospital to be examined. This is a very busy and tiring day, many patients come and leave, and as the Medical Director of the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital told me, the day is “controlled chaos”.

Each patient was put into one of three groups, depending what treatment was needed. The three categories were cataract, oculoplastics and surgical retina, with one ORBIS Volunteer Faculty member in charge of each. Each patient’s situation was individually evaluated, and about 20 from each category were chosen to have a surgery by ORBIS Volunteer Faculty and local hands-on trainees.

I was following Dr. Kutzscher’s work that day. He is specialized in cataract and had come all the way from the U.S. to volunteer for ORBIS. This is also one of the things that made ORBIS such a great experience, all the staff, everyone is so committed and it was so amazing to observe them striving for what they believe and work for. This was also shown in Dr. Kutzcher’s way of very explaining to us what he would be doing and looking for while examining each patient. 

The next three days were again hard work for the doctors, nurses and the rest of the team, as the selected patients would be treated. One doctor would be located at the local eye hospital and the two others would carry out surgeries on the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital. 

The days on the plane were very exciting. I was able to scrub-in at (assist at) a surgery, which made me understand much better how it all works. I saw the importance of the many people involved both before, during and after a surgery. When not scrubbing in, one can follow the live streaming of the surgeries with a doctor explaining every move on a screen in the Flying Eye Hospital classroom. 

This was so helpful and fascinating at the same time, as it was much easier to understand what was going on when both actually seeing it, but also having it explained. In the ORBIS classroom at the front of the plane, local trainees were following and learning from an ORBIS Volunteer Faculty member, and in-between each surgery other classes or lectures were held. Quickly, without knowing much about ophthalmology, one felt engaged by the passion of the doctors, showing different cases they had performed themselves in their home-country and then explaining the differences. 

The aircraft also carries a simulator, used by trainees, which we were allowed to try. This was very hard, but enjoyable at the same time, giving insight about how much training and perfection the doctors need during the surgeries, where 0.5mm can make a huge difference. 

The emotional moments of this experience will probably stay with me the longest, if not forever. I especially remember standing looking into the operation room as a surgery just finished. As soon the translator, told the patient that everything went well, she took the doctor’s hand, kissed it and said ‘thank you very much’ while a tear dropped from her eye. At this point, I think I realized how big a difference ORBIS makes to these people. 

I feel so privileged that I got the chance of following ORBIS in, Da Nang, Vietnam. For me, the trip was an unforgettable experience. Following the work of the entire ORBIS team, feeling the passion about each person’s profession and their experiences with ORBIS, seeing patients entering the plane with bad vision, and leaving the plane the same day, with improved vision, which, for most of the patients would not be a possibility without ORBIS. 
I will never forget this trip and I am so thankful to ORBIS for giving me this opportunity.

Rural Outreach in Vietnam

Blog submitted by Neha Lalani

Neha Lalani is a student from ACS International School, through ORBIS' partnership with ACS Dillon was selected to participate in an internship for that allows students to take part in an ORBIS program overseas. 

 

After working for a week in Da Nang with the crew of the Flying Eye Hospital both on the plane and in the local hospital their willingness to give up their whole Saturday to help those who needed it was the most kind-hearted thing I’ve ever seen.

The first thing I noticed about the clinic in which ORBIS was going to be working was the surprising lack of people outside. It was 9 in the morning and we had just arrived at a rural outreach program being carried out just outside Hue, the location of the old Imperial City in Vietnam. It wasn’t until we entered the eye clinic that we saw the first few people waiting for treatment. The program had been advertised on the radio so there was close to 500 people who had turned up for basic eye checks. Perry Athanason, the Communications Director of the Flying Eye Hospital who organized this outreach, took us down the single corridor and showed us the process each person went through.

 
As soon as a person entered the clinic they were taken to Visual Acuity where their sight was tested in each eye, if the staff ophthalmologist thought they needed extra examination they were directed towards one of the three examination rooms. We were then each assigned one room, to act as general assistants to the staff ophthalmologists who were doing examinations in that room. The first patients had already come and were being examined by doctors from either Hue Eye Hospital or Da Nang Eye Hospital. After a patient had been to an examination room and they had a problem with their eyesight they were seen by ORBIS staff. The staff in the patient care room either helped to schedule their surgery at one of the local hospitals or gave them some more information on their condition. There were a few lucky people who were having normal eyesight and were able to go home straight away.

The patients who were being seen at this particular outreach program were mainly older adults whose most common complaint I noticed was cataracts in varying states of severity. Dr. Hunter Cherwek the medical director aboard the Flying Eye Hospital soon took over an empty room turning it into an extra examination room allowing more people to be seen at one time.

The whole process looked so smooth and practiced like everyone had been doing it for years, it ran so smoothly. By the end the staff had seen 225 patients collectively, which was a lot more than the expected 200. The whole day felt like it was over in a blink, there was so much to keep everyone busy. A day very well spent indeed!

 

Internship Visit to ORBIS

Blog submitted by Dillon Van Auken

Dillon Van Auken is a student from ACS International School, through ORBIS' partnership with ACS Dillon was selected to participate in an internship for that allows students to take part in an ORBIS program overseas. 

Today featured the commencement of ORBIS’s Da Nang program in the form of screening day, over which the ORBIS doctors (known as Volunteer Faculty or “VF’s”) examined around twenty-five patients to determine appropriate later treatment. 

As today was quite busy in preparation for the rest of the week, our job as interns was to mainly observe the doctors and identify prospective case-studies that we will be writing as the week goes on. Each of us went to certain specialty screening rooms, which included retinopathy, led by Dr Hampton; glaucoma, led by Dr Piltz-Seymour; and paediatrics, led by Dr Black. Gradually we moved in between rooms to grasp the wide array of ocular problems facing the local people and the subsequent treatment that they would be receiving from ORBIS.

Each doctor would examine the patients in front of several hands-on trainees, local doctors from Da Nang, other areas in Vietnam, and some from Cambodia and Laos. The doctor would examine the patient’s eyes with various instruments, whilst also explaining the observations to the hands-on trainees. It was truly amazing to watch the doctors do this, as they had to cope with actual treatment of a patient, teaching, and a language barrier all at once. Despite these tough requirements, each did so very calmly and efficiently.

After observing each patient, the doctors would decide whether to perform surgery on the Flying Eye Hospital, the Da Nang Eye Hospital, or to postpone surgery for local doctors to carry out at a later date. From each section, four patients were chosen to go to the Flying Eye Hospital, four were chosen to go the Da Nang Eye Hospital, and the rest were selected for later surgeries, although some did not require surgery at all.

So far, this trip has already been extremely moving and inspirational for me personally.  Observing the doctors today was one of the few times in my life where I have seen people be genuinely selfless and devoted to helping others.  Often, even in charity work, self-interest is still a major motivator, yet these doctors as well as the entire ORBIS staff are committed to genuine philanthropy. It was also very emotional to see the numerous patients, many of them children, with very severe eye conditions that could have been prevented with greater infrastructure and development. Yet, the sadness of their conditions is counteracted by the optimism that they will have treatment this week through the help of ORBIS. It will be great to see their progress at the hands of the wonderful ORBIS staff over the week.

An Unforgettable Year

Blog submitted by Dr Grace Prakalapakorn. Grace has been an ORBIS staff ophthalmologist onboard the Flying Eye Hospital for the past year.

Hello and Welcome aboard ORBIS!. Please find your seats, ensure your seat backs are in the upright position, tray tables are stored and your seat belts are fastened. Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight! 

 A year in the life of a staff ophthalmologist aboard the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital was a busy one. There was always a lot of work to do and never a dull moment. When we were in plane mode, the days began early, often ended late and we would sometimes work for three straight weeks without a day off! Even when we had a “day off,” we would on occasion hold vision screenings or community outreach projects in schools or within a community. Off the plane, the work did not end. I conducted clinical reviews of surgical patients, helped with hospital based programs, evaluated local eye centers and hospitals and worked on program planning for upcoming programs. 

This year, I wore many hats alongside that of a staff ophthalmologist, including but not limited to a biomedical engineering assistant, ER doctor, tour guide, plane custodian, circulating OR nurse, community outreach volunteer, patient advocate, Cyber Sight® contributing author, character in a documentary, educator, student, goodwill ambassador, and even flight attendant (would you like some cream and sugar with your coffee?)!! ORBIS offers opportunities not only to the patients and doctors that participate in its programs, but also to its staff: how many people can say they’ve been to Nigeria 4 times in 8 months?! :)  

 Being a part of the Flying Eye Hospital was a very unique and rewarding experience. The most memorable part of the year was the people: the patients and their families, host doctors, crew members and our fabulous volunteers. One of the most memorable moments of my year was hearing the cries and tears of an elderly lady as her patch was removed the day after cataract surgery. She had been living with bilateral cataracts for many years and had become dependent on those around her due to her poor vision. Another is watching a young infant take those first few steps and walk around by herself after cataract surgery, whereas before surgery she was too timid to leave her mother’s arms because of her severe visual impairment. These are not uncommon stories you will hear around the world and to reflect about the difference we made in their lives and those of their families and communities by making them more independent and less of a burden on the resources of those around them. It always brings a smile to my face knowing that I was a part of that. But the work we do goes beyond these two individuals, we work to build capacity and enable and empower the local community, doctors, nurses, engineers, and technicians to care for those around them and hopefully teach others. 

 Thank you ORBIS for the work you do and for a wonderful year!!

Photos by Perry Athanason

Follow up with Bello from Niger

Blog Submitted by Amna Al-Gallas, MD

Amna is a Staff Ophthalmologist on board the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital. Amna joined the crew in February 2010.

It was the last day of my one-week return visit to Niger as I went back to follow up our patients who were operated on there, almost two months before, during our first Flying Eye Hospital program ever in Niger. It was another hot long working day that was only made easy by the smile of grateful patients whom I have examined as they tried to express how happy they were with the results. By the end of the day, I was informed that there were no more patients waiting and that some patients could not show up because they lived far away. I started to collect my papers and equipment but my mind was busy, as if something was missing and I decided to wait and use the time to do some paper work. Few moments later, a child came running to me. She was wearing a beautiful pink dress and a big smile on her face. She handed me a plastic bag with ORBIS logo on it and uttered few words in local language which I couldn’t understand. She opened the bag, took out a pair of glasses and put them on, I then recognized the little angel right away, “It’s you, Bello!” I said, smiling back at her.

 Her mother came afterwards, apologizing for being late and expressing how happy and enthusiastic her daughter was to come. Bello was a 7-year old girl from Niger who came to ORBIS through our rural outreach screening program in Libore. At that time she had opacities in both eyes which largely compromised her vision. She underwent a certain laser procedure, to remove the opacities, and she was given specific type of glasses to help improve her vision. I examined her and she was doing very well with good improvement of vision. Her mother said that since the procedure her daughter was doing better in school and had good grades. She also said that Bello was always wearing her glasses and taking good care of them. After I finished and gave the mother the necessary instructions, Bello gave me a big hug and walked away with her mother, waving goodbye with a great big smile.

I gathered my things and walked out. I looked back at the patients as they were heading home. I was tired, starving and thirsty but I was filled with joy, knowing that another ORBIS mission has succeeded. All the hard work of ORBIS team has paid off and transformed lives in Niger, such as Bello’s, and gave them a new future, a new tomorrow!

See Bello's story below in our Eye Report from Niger.

Volcanic Ash Does Not Impair ORBIS Vision

Blog submitted by Lynn Donovan.

The April 2010 Volcano Eruption in Iceland had a massive effect on world travel. It essentially held people captive wherever they were in their travels for approximately 10 days. During this time, ORBIS had Hospital Based Programs scheduled in Africa, and China. I would like to share my story of the effect it had on the staff involved in the Kampala, Uganda Program.

On Saturday, April 10, 2010 Dr Grace Prakalapakorn, and I traveled from Kaduna, Nigeria to Lagos from there we were to go to separate locations. Dr Grace was to go home to Atlanta, Georgia in the US, and I was to go to Kampala, Uganda for another Hospital Based Program. Upon arrival to Lagos, Dr Grace found her flights to be canceled. This caused a dilemma, as she was not to stay in Lagos alone, especially when she was not certain how long it would be before she would be able to travel back to the US. After discussion it was decided the best option was for Dr Grace to travel to Kampala with me, as there would be a confirmed hotel room to rest, and adequate Internet access to plan future travel.

It was then discovered that Dr Bernadette Martinez was delayed on travel for the program and was still in China trying to reschedule flights to arrive in Kampala. Dr Gordon Douglas, the Volunteer Faculty Surgeon for the Kampala program, was delayed as well, as he had also been re routed. Both Dr Bernadette and Dr Douglas were to arrive Monday, the first day of the program- screening day, but in the afternoon and evening respectively.

After many e mails with our Medical Director, Dr Hunter Cherwek, it was decided that Dr Grace, Dr Jonathan Lord, and myself would go to Mulago Hospital to explain to the Trainee Staff Doctors, and the patients that arrived for screening, that due to circumstances from the Volcanic Ash the doctors scheduled to see them would not be able to do so until the next day. It was a good thing that Dr Grace was there and able to cover in Dr Bernadette’s absence.

When Monday evening came around Dr Douglas and Dr Bernadette had both safely arrived in Kampala. The program went on with screening day on Tuesday and one less surgical day, however all 10 surgeries were performed in the two surgical days and all aspects of the Kampala Hospital Based Program were accomplished. Dr Grace was finally able to travel on Wednesday via the long way home. This was a very memorable event for me as I am sure there are stories around the world of the Volcanic Ash influence on the lives of others.

ORBIS was able to provide much needed services even when a natural disaster had occurred, and once again through teamwork and determination to achieve the ORBIS mission and goals of “saving sight worldwide.”

First Time Volunteer

Blog submitted by Mr. John Brookes

Mr. Brookes is a volunteer ophthalmologist from the United Kingdom. This is Mr. Brookes first time volunteering with ORBIS.

Having just returned from my first ORBIS program in Dalian, China, I would like to thank the whole ORBIS team for making this an incredible personal and professional experience in my career to date.

I have been involved in several charities over the past 10 years; I try and spend at least 2 weeks each year doing some surgical work abroad and this has taken me to India, Palestine and Egypt on many occasions. Having received several invitations over the past two or three years to take part in an ORBIS program, in my specialty of pediatric glaucoma, I finally succumbed. Admittedly, because first of all, I’ve never visited China before but secondly, I have always been an airplane fanatic having obtained my private pilot’s license in 2004. I was obviously very excited therefore of combining my love of ophthalmology and my interest in all things airborne!

I was incredibly surprised however at the size of the city of Dalian when I eventually arrived. Having never heard of the city before, I expected something a little less enormous. The people were incredibly warm, generous and grateful for all that we were able to offer.

I met my hands-on trainees on the screening day at the base hospital, He Eye Hospital. They were incredibly eager to learn with a constant stream of questions and never seemed bored with my endless lectures, videos and other teaching material.

Following the screening day, I spent the next two days at the base hospital with my hands-on trainees, carrying out glaucoma and cataract surgery on the patients we had identified on the screening day. I was however, extremely anxious to get onto the plane!

The fourth day arrived and I was at last going to board the iconic ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital at Dalian airport. From afar, I could see its majestic outline and the characteristic livery. Boarding the plane for the first time was a truly memorable experience. All my childhood dreams had come true. I sat in the captain’s seat and the maintenance engineer gave me a truly extensive tour of the plane, even going into the bowels of the plane beneath the cockpit and seeing the miles upon miles of electrical cables and wiring, which somehow get this plane in the air.

Setting my excitement aside I had to go into the operating theatre for my first experience of ‘live surgery’, broadcast to the 30 local doctors sitting next door in the lecture room. Fortunately, all went well with the surgery and I ended up quite enjoying myself.

The rest of the airplane was truly amazing; state of the art operating theatres, clinic space and audiovisual equipment we could only dream of at home! Overall, I had a wonderful experience as a medical volunteer and I would like to thank all the staff who organized these programs, which must require so much background work to have them running so smoothly.

Of course I would like to do another mission…..perhaps next time I could fly the plane?

Photo by Perry Athanason