Barco's Nightingale Scholarship Winner

One of our Barco’s Nightingale Scholarship winners Anne Daly is leaving for Kenya to start her mission trip with the organization Prevention International No Cervical Cancer (PINCC.) PINCC is a nonprofit, volunteer medical service organization whose mission is to create sustainable programs that prevent cervical cancer by educating and treating women, training medical personnel and equipping facilities in developing countries. The organization works with local community personnel to provide and inexpensive way to screen for cervical cancer, some of the countries this organization works with are Latin America, Africa and India. 

Today cervical cancer kills around 300,000 women worldwide each year, even though it is completely preventable. The process is relatively easy, it is done by visual inspection of the cervix and the use of vinegar. The vinegar allows the medical personnel to see if any changes are present that should be evaluated further. PINCC was established in 2005, by Dr. Kay Taylor, a gynecologist who during a medical mission in Honduras witnessed more women dying from cervical cancer then in her entire career. From this, Dr. Taylor and her team visited three health clinic sites where there they began to train healthcare workers in screening and treatment.

From Anne:

I am about to go to Africa for the first time - Kenya - with an organization that I really enjoy working with. It is PINCC, or, Prevention International, No Cervical Cancer. This is a NGO based out of Oakland, CA and it works to establish screening for cervical cancer (still a big problem in developing countries) in local communities by using a one-step screening process. This is important because the pap testing that we are often used to requires a lot of infrastructure and coordination - that often is not possible in these countries. 

With these trips I have the privilege of getting to know a small part of the community into which we are welcomed - in a deeper way than I would by just being a tourist. I also get to teach and interact with local health professionals and I learn so much from them. More, I sometimes think, than they might learn from me!! Being of service - wherever it might be, in any agency, community, location anywhere in the world, is profoundly gratifying for me and I am honored and privileged to be able to do this with the help of organizations that support these causes. I also feel a little less "alone" when I know I am going with the support of others - and that is extremely gratifying."

Thanks Anne! We wish you a great trip and hope to hear of your mission trip when you return.

-ONAAT CREW

"Perfect Moments Don't Come in Perfect Packages"

There are so many words swirling around in my head when I try to describe my experience as a mission nurse. Certainly the words sweltering, sticky, dirty, sweaty and exhausting cover the physical part, but the physical is the most superficial aspect of the experience of mission nursing. Mind and spirit are the deeper aspects, and this is where I find the most authentic words to describe the experience.

How do I describe the sheer joy I felt holding the hand of a child on a rickety ferry blasting Bollywood music on our way to provide typhoid and malaria testing on a remote island? Or the overwhelming welcome we received in each of the villages we visited with all the villagers gathered to sing for us? Perfect moments don’t come in perfect packages and they aren’t always received with perfect grace. I found myself on the verge of tears at the oddest moments most of the week. The interaction with the villagers we met brought me back to that primal place I first visited when I decided to become a nurse 21 years ago. For me, the decision to become a nurse was divinely inspired, a response to a harrowing 2 years of my little daughter’s treatment for leukemia. Thus, nursing has always been my ministry. It’s when I’m able to be most in the moment and most connected to my reason for existing on this planet.

Mission nursing is not easy! The heat in India in May is annihilating. Simple things like putting on gloves become a challenge when your hands are dripping sweat. (Thankfully a team member brought a little container of baby powder.) There are no toilets in the jungle, a fact which was painfully brought home to me the day I absolutely had to go and was directed to a corner where 2 roosters were tied up. I gave up my vegetarian ways for the rest of the trip and ate all the chicken that was served to me.

You become concretely aware of what you don’t have: plastic bags for medical waste, sharps containers (we had 2, which filled up the first day and we ended up using empty water bottles), dressing supplies. We had to tote all of our medical waste back with us in our backpacks.

The cultural differences are both charming and amusing. I cringe when I say amusing, because I know I was probably the source of a lot of Indian laughter as I bumbled along. I imagine the look on my face was pretty funny the first time I was presented with a huge plate of hot rice and curry and realized that I was expected to eat it with my hands. Or when the Indian ladies poured buckets of water over my feet after the encounter with the roosters in the open air loo. And Indians have this head wagging thing that they do, which means “yes”, “I approve”, “hello” or all of the above.

The deepest feelings I have about my mission experience actually involve the Indian head wag. As the villages lined up for testing, I made a point of holding each hand, looking into their eyes and smiling. When I got the smile and head wag in return I found my heart filling up and realized that I was once again experiencing the essence of why I became a nurse. It’s so easy to lose this connection with our patients in our rushed and impersonal culture. How wonderful to find it again in a place where communication transcends the boundaries of language and culture to come straight from the heart.

-Liza Leukhardt, RN
Nurses for the Nations, Andra Pradesh, India, May 14-24, 2012

Liza Leukhardt decided to become a nurse 20 years ago after caring for her three year old daughter during two years of chemotherapy for childhood leukemia. Having already worked as a newspaper reporter, elementary school teacher and theater costumer, Liza views nursing more as a ministry than a career. For the past twenty years she has been a hospice nurse. Her ability to work with the dying is a gift she discovered during her daughter’s illness. Today her daughter is a robust and healthy 29 year old woman with an exceptional empathy for others in need. Liza currently works as a weekend Baylor nurse for a local home care agency while pursuing a master’s in nursing at the University of Hartford. She is a contributing writer to nursetogether.com and her story may be found in the anthology “Nurses on the Run” edited by Karen Buley.

"A Dream Trip"

Liza Leukhardt, RN will be traveling with the organization Nurses for the Nations to India May 14-24.  Liza will be part of a group of nurses providing charitable medical care in Andra Pradesh, India.  In Liza's own words:  "This mission is a dream trip for me. Since I was a teenager, and probably before, I've fantasized about doing humanitarian work as a medical person. In my teens, when other kids were listening to rock and roll, I was listening to African folk music, and driving my mother crazy. I've been a nurse now for twenty years, and I feel that 2012 is going to be a year of huge transitions and accomplishments for me.  I'll be starting graduate school in the spring, with the goal of teaching nursing in the near future. I've been a hospice nurse for most of my career, so I know a lot about dreams, fantasies, and bucket lists. I expect this mission will be life changing for me. I've been blessed with a comfortable life and feel a need to not only broaden my perspective, but show my gratitude. I'm delighted and thrilled to have been accepted by Nurses for the Nations for this mission to the dalit, or untouchables, in India. I expect to work very hard in a tough, dirty, hot environment with people who are ill with diseases I've only read about. I expect this won't be my first mission. I'm thinking about retiring into the Peace Corps. Until then I'd like to use my skills to provide compassionate care to as many people as possible."

Liza Leukhardt decided to become a nurse 20 years ago after caring for her three year old daughter during two years of chemotherapy for childhood leukemia. Having already worked as a newspaper reporter, elementary school teacher and theater costumer, Liza views nursing more as a ministry than a career. For the past twenty years she has been a hospice nurse. Her ability to work with the dying is a gift she discovered during her daughter’s illness. Today her daughter is a robust and healthy 29 year old woman with an exceptional empathy for others in need. Liza currently works as a weekend Baylor nurse for a local home care agency while pursuing a master’s in nursing at the University of Hartford. She is a contributing writer to nursetogether.com and her story may be found in the anthology “Nurses on the Run” edited by Karen Buley.

"Stop and Drink the Chai!"

This February I had the opportunity to be part of a medical team which was organized by e3 Partners to go to India. We focused on two areas, first Pathankot, Punjab, where we went to smaller villages for out-patient clinics. Second, we had a clinic at a UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) camp that was in New Delhi.  We were able to have five clinics and see 1734 people. Our clinic staff included 2 MD’s, 1 dentist, 1 eye MD, 2 RN’s and 2 pharmacists. Our focus was on primary medicine, especially with our limited resources. Malnutrition, parasites, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections and hypertension were among most of what we saw. We also did many well baby checks and reassurance to mom’s they were doing well and teaching for those who needed assistance.

I enjoyed getting to meet people from other cultures, to learning the differences and to seeing how much alike we are. We all have dreams and desires, we want our children to grow up healthy and hopefully better than us. We worked primarily with Sikh’s and Hindis, which I have had limited experiences with in my practice at home.  The greatest difference, other than the masses of people, was the religious practices. Their religion seemed to be much more intertwined in their lives and taken more seriously. Men and women were separated when it came to public events. Also the hospitality, to each village we went, we would stop at he host family’s home. We were treated to chai and short bread cookies. During mid-afternoon clinics we could count on being brought chai. Then at the end of the day back to our host family for more chai, and cookies. They are a very hospitable and giving people. I never was into chai tea prior, but now, “stop and drink the chai” became my slogan.

The most difficult part of the trip was seeing the children with malnutrition and parasites. You just want your children to get a healthy start. It was also difficult to hear the stories at the refugee camp of torture, beatings and imprisonment prior to escaping Afghanistan and coming to the refugee camp.

There were many memorable experiences, let me focus on three. First, joy in the children’s faces. I had the opportunity to spend time and play with the children between seeing patients. It reminded me children are children. Their joy and fresh outlook on life, it is very infectious. Second, was a man I met who survived an Afghan prison. He talked of beatings and torture, and escaping with his family, his health problems he now has and the effects it has had on his wife and children, both emotionally and physically. The effects have become generational. Third is the story of faith. We had a woman come to our clinic to share how she had been raised from the dead. Our team leader spent time with her, listening to her story. She told of how she had died and was wrapped for cremation. A man in white came and told her husband to go to this man and have him come and pray for his wife. He did and his wife sat up, fully alive. Our team leader spent time investigating, interviewing people involved and confirming the story. I have heard of such stories. It was an amazing story of faith.

Having opportunities to go and be part of medical teams, reaching out to those in need, has been such an enriching experience in my life. It has been a time of personal growth, faith building and helps me as a nurse in my practice at home. I look forward to my next opportunity and want to say thank you to One Nurse at a Time for helping this trip become a reality.

-Ken Lobe, RN