Scheer Memorial Hospital: Spring 2014 News--Teams!

Springtime in Nepal! Beautiful! At first you can take your coats off and enjoy perfect "sweater weather!" At first the skies are still blue and the awesome Himalayas are in view,

but that slowly changes as the spring rains (and the heat!!!) start.

Here is the same view a little later in the spring.

If you didn't know better, you'd never know the Himalayas were there!

We were blessed this spring to have three volunteer medical surgical teams visiting us to help patients who otherwise would have no help. There are simply not enough doctors in Nepal.

When these teams come, they come during their vacations and give of their time and efforts instead of having a family holiday. They can only imagine the impact they have made on the lives of their patients.

We also count on Nepali doctors who dedicate themselves to do follow-up treatment if necessary and we value them as very important members of the surgical teams.

The first team this spring was a repeat visit from Centura Global Health Initiatives' OB/GYN team, based in Colorado, U.S.A., seen here with Mr. Pralhad Bhurtel, our Health Project Coordinator, as they arrived.

We're happy to announce that teams from Centura regularly come twice a year for much needed female surgeries, mainly which consist of uterine prolapse. If you've been following our news, you already know about them. If you'd like to check out their website, here it is: http://www.centuraglobalhealth.org/NepalWomensHealthInitiative

You'll find out that this dedicated team also travels to other countries with their volunteer work.

To read more about the tremendous need of prolapse surgery in Nepal,

here is a very recent newspaper article about the difficulties:

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/may/07/nepalese-women-stigma-fallen-wombs-prolapsed-uterus

These pictures show the common sight in Nepal of women carrying heavy loads on their backs, which is one of the contributing factors to uterine prolapse.

Here are Dr. Jaime Arruda and Dr. Carole Christensen, OB/GYNs from Colorado, USA, in action.

Thank you for changing the lives of the 20 patients you had during your one week in Nepal!

Dr. Cardona thanked the team at a dinner,

and gave gifts in appreciation.

Here is the whole team with our own staff members who worked with them.

We look forward to your next visit! Blessings are sent your way and a BIG THANKS!

Our next two teams were both from Australia. Sydney Adventist Hospital (http://www.sah.org.au/) and Open Heart International (http://www.ohi.org.au/) organize these teams and their yearly trips here. The first team to come was a women's health team, for more uterine prolapse surgeries. As noted above, this is a large health situation here and we are grateful for each team that comes to help the women of Nepal. They arrived in the evening.

How many surgeries did they do in approximately ten days? 82! Yes, 82! Eighty-two women's lives were changed by their time and efforts! What a blessing!

Thank you for coming and we look forward to seeing your team again next year!

The next team from Sydney Adventist Hospital and Open Heart International to come was the burn contracture reconstruction team. This team helps to solve the often insurmountable problems facing burn victims in Nepal. Tragically, many of the victims are children who do not understand the dangers of fire and live in rural communities where fires (often open fires for cooking and heat) are important to daily life.

They arrived with smiles on their faces after a long flight!

Here is the anesthesia team, with our own anesthesiologist and our acting CEO. Left to Right: Dr. Fernando Cardona, pediatrician and acting CEO, Dr. Jiro Sato, anesthesiologist from Japan, our won anesthesiologist Dr. Ramon Ruiz Diaz, Dr. Stephanie Phillips and Dr. Tony Chan, both from Australia.

Dr. Stephanie Phillips is seen here in front of one of the four anesthesia machines she was instrumental in bringing to Scheer Memorial Hospital. We are thankful and grateful for this wonderful contribution! What a blessing!

Dr. Neelam Shah and Dr. Basant Mathema, plastic surgeons from Kathmandu, check a patient's chart. They are an important part of the burn team as they continue with the important after care are the Australian team leaves. Their contribution is necessary and invaluable. We thank both of you so much!

We give a big thank you to the whole team for coming here during their vacation time and working! We hope you all were blessed as much as your patients were! See you next year!