By Laura Thill
As one rep can attest, planning a service trip is no small feat. But the hard work is worth it.
Before his first mission trip to Guatemala City four years ago, Tim Lynch had no idea what true poverty was. “There are two classes there,” he explains. “The haves and the have-nots.” For the Seneca Medical sales rep, his annual service trips have focused on providing for the have-nots – from their medical needs to dental, ophthalmologic and psychological trauma care.
Soon after joining the local chapter of the Rotary Club eight years ago, Lynch befriended another member – Bill Taylor – a private pilot who would empty his small plane of its seats each year and fly dental supplies to Guatemala City. In time, Taylor’s mission expanded to include medical, ophthalmologic and psychological trauma supplies.
In the beginning, Lynch volunteered by helping to round up gloves, sutures and other much needed medical disposables. (A Guatemala City-based rotary club – Los Americas – gathers needles and syringes and other such supplies that would be difficult for Lynch and Taylor to bring into the country. Lynch’s Rotary Club later reimburses them.) “I would contact my manufacturer reps and ask if they had any supplies about to expire,” he says. “Then, four years ago I [accompanied] Bill on his flight. The first year I was just there to help. The following year I took over as project leader, with the goal of expanding the program.” He was also a private pilot and began co-piloting mission flights with Taylor.
Mission control
Planning and preparing for a mission trip is one thing; getting there is another. The flight to Guatemala City is about eight hours, Lynch says. “We fly to Key West, Fla., stay overnight, and then fly about four hours the next day along the Cuban coastline, down Mexico, and into Guatemala City.” The mountainous landscape in Central America makes for an interesting flight, he says. “Bill has flown for much longer than I have, and he has some training navigating mountainous areas,” he says. Even though Taylor is an experienced pilot, the flights don’t always go exactly as planned, he says.
“On our last flight, our autopilot quit around Naples, Fla.,” says Lynch. “We stayed overnight in Key West and thought we had it repaired, but it broke down the next day over Cuba. I flew the approach into Guatemala City, and Bill landed the airplane. Again, we had the autopilot repaired while we were in Guatemala City for 10 days. But, it broke again on our return trip home!
“Also, when you fly, you are at the mercy of the weather,” he continues. “On this same trip, we had to leave Guatemala City a few days early to avoid bad weather, but we still encountered significant rain, and icing on the wings over Chattanooga, Tenn.”
Making it happen
In spite of any hiccups Lynch and Taylor have encountered on their trips, their missions have been a success. “We usually arrive in Guatemala City on a Saturday and tour the city,” he says. “The next day, we visit Remar Orphanage – an orphanage that [houses] babies through teenagers. These are babies who have been left on doorsteps and teenagers who have seen their parents shot dead in front of them. All of them are impoverished.” These are some of the people who are serviced by his mission, along with adults and families who travel for days to reach the makeshift clinic. “People come from as far as the Pacific Coast,” he says. “Word of mouth travels fast when people need medical attention. They camp out around the clinic and sleep in line (which extends around the block) to save their spot.” Some of them must wait years to receive the care they need, he adds, and once they arrive at the clinic, they don’t want to miss out.
The mission clinic is “a very raw environment” says Lynch. But it is organized and offers the best possible professional care for its recipients. Each of the four types of providers – dental, medical, ophthalmologic and psychological trauma – claims an area, he says. “The dentists set up chairs and instrument sterilization areas, and determine which of them will work with children, adults, etc.,” he says. “We help set up their local anesthetics, gloves, sutures and other disposables. The hygienists set up their area as well.
“There is no separation between dental patients and all we have to work with is a local anesthetic,” he continues. “One woman needed to have 13 teeth pulled, all with local anesthesia.” But, the dentists and hygienists are professionals and pull it off, he says.
The other care providers follow suit, Lynch continues. “The ophthalmic clinicians set up their clinic in the same building as the others,” he says. “We work with Vol State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn., which trains technicians,” he says. “The college sends four of its students (two of whom are sponsored by the Rotary Club) to Guatemala City. The Rotary Club, together with the community college and a Memphis, Tenn.-based company called 20/20, raise eyeglass donations. “Bill and I bring about 800 eyeglasses to Guatemala City each year,” he adds.
“Two or three physician volunteers set up their space as well,” says Lynch. The Rotary Club receives a grant to purchase about $3,000 worth of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications which Lynch and Taylor fly to Guatemala City.
“We also have a psychologist at the clinic who is trained in trauma and can work with children who have been raped, mugged or who have witnessed their parents being killed.” The list goes on, he adds.
By Monday morning the clinic is ready to open its doors. “We see patients from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening, Monday through Thursday. Thursday night, we break it down and pack up. “Last year, we treated 1,600 people in four days,” Lynch says. “It’s quite a moving experience. The poverty we see in the U.S. is nothing compared with the poverty in this part of the world,” he adds, noting that, although the missionaries pack lightly for their stay, “when we arrive, we have more on our person than these people ever will own.”
After breaking down the clinic, Lynch, Taylor and the rest of the team take some much-needed time to relax and be tourists before heading home. As gratifying as the experience is, it’s exhausting, he says. From solidifying travel arrangements to rounding up dental, medical and vision supplies, he and his team are spent by the end of the week. “As [tourists], we try to eat local foods and experience the culture,” he says. “There are some hole-in-the-wall restaurants there that offer some of the best seafood.” That said, McDonalds, Applebees and other American restaurants are available for those who are less adventurous. And, as in many parts of the world, visitors must stick to bottled water to avoid becoming ill.
There is an out-of-pocket expense that the missionaries incur – generally between $1,100 and $1,200 for airfare and to cover their 10-day stay. “But, this can also be considered a vacation,” says Lynch. “While there’s plenty of poverty in Guatemala, there is a lot of beauty as well, such as plantations and volcanoes – some of which are still active.
Back in the states
Upon his return home, Lynch feels blessed with a fresh perspective. “You develop a newfound respect for healthcare after seeing treatment performed in such a raw environment,” he says. After seeing the products he sells to his customers being used on his missions, “I get a bigger and broader picture of how these instruments are used.
“For the most part, though, this experience gives you a much deeper appreciation for all you have,” he says. “In the United States, we sometimes take for granted our salaries, our homes, etc. We tend to complain about things. But, if you are born in the United States, you have already won the lottery. After returning, you see that the things you once thought were monumental no longer matter.
“In Guatemala, we see people who have [been forced to] live in pain for a very long time – sometimes years. Maybe [here in the states] when we go to the E.R., we need to wait too long to see a doctor. But this missionary experience puts that into perspective.”
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