Di has participated in three MMF missions thus far- 2009 Mali, 2010 San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala and 2010 Uganda. She became involved with MMF through her good friend, Dee Reed. They had worked together with a different organization in 1993 on a six week mission in a remote northern Guatemalan town. Dee encouraged Di to participate with MMF and in 2009, for the first time in 16 years, the two worked together on the Mali mission.
As a Pre-op and PACU/Post-op nurse, Di sees and prepares patients before surgery, during recovery and sends them home or to a hospital bed after their procedures in the OR. What stands out to her is that many of the patients she works with on missions have waited weeks, months or longer to have their surgery done, often with no certainty that it will occur. "They may travel hours or days to the mission site, sleeping where ever they can while waiting. Some patients ride home by bicycle or bus on dirt roads just hours after their surgery. It's sobering."
Di loves working with the other volunteers she has met through MMF saying, "They're a great self-selected group of optimistic, hard working, talented and adventurous people. I enjoy the opportunity to work with the people of each country and culture that we visit, as more than a casual tourist. Nursing in mission settings offers the same satisfactions as our paid American work, but often in a more frontier environment with unfamiliar equipment and less technical support." Di, of course, explained this as a fun adventure.
Di shared that "every trip is a refresher course in how much comfort, safety and sheer abundance we have, how little many people must make do with and how many good-humored and caring people there are. It can be sad, humbling and encouraging all at the same time."
Thank you, Di, for your participation and lending your skills to our missions!
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