*Winter 2001 Magazine CR - Webpages at SCU - Santa Clara ...
*Winter 2001 Magazine CR - Webpages at SCU - Santa Clara ... *Winter 2001 Magazine CR - Webpages at SCU - Santa Clara ...
By Adam BreenA winter trip to Mexico is a vacation for most people, but fora dedicated group of doctors and volunteers, it’s a mission of mercy. SCUAssociate Professor Bill Stover and other members of The Flying Doctors (LosMedicos Voladores) donate their time year-round to help people in rural Mexicanvillages where there is little or no medical or dental care available. Stover sayshe almost always returns from the four-day trips mentally and physically drained.Seeing children whose broken bones were never properly set or adults whose teethare rotting from a lack of care takes its toll on him. But he keeps going backbecause he knows the patients seen by The Flying Doctors have no other options.ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL STOVER“The pleasure of seeing good done—real, immediate results—certainly outweighsthe hardships,” says Stover, whohas been a pilot and de facto medicalassistant on these trips for 15 years. “It’sexhausting work. Some of the places wego are not very clean. We sleep on a bedthat sags in a room with cobwebs. I get alot of heartache out of it, and yet a lot ofpleasure in seeing medical care broughtto these people who otherwise wouldhave none.”For 26 years, The Flying Doctorshave been sending doctors, dentists,nurses, and interpreters from Northern California toremote regions of northern Mexico, where they set up aclinic and see as many patients as they can from sunriseto late at night. Everyone volunteers. No one gets paid.In fact, every member of the volunteer entourage pays$200 and brings whatever medical equipment they mayneed, including needles, vaccines, and dental drills.On some occasions, The Flying Doctors are given aplace to sleep by the local authorities who invited them.Otherwise, they rent their own rooms and buy their ownfood. They typically arrive on a Thursday afternoon andsee patients until dark. On Friday, patients comethrough from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., then again Saturdayfrom morning until mid-afternoon, when The FlyingDoctors head home.The focus of the trips is indigenous people or thosewithout medical care, says Stover, who teaches internationalrelations and international law at SCU.“Most physicians get into the field, really, because ofhumanitarian concerns,” says Stover, who got involvedas a way to apply his interest in international relationsSCU Associate Professor Bill Stoverstands near the plane he flew to the islandof Cedros, off the coast of Mexico.and aviation. “They get so bogged downwith insurance companies and HMOs,the staff in their office…they are helpingothers but they often lose sight of it.“When they go down to Mexico, it’sso clear. They don’t have labs or expensiveequipment—they have their owndiagnostic skills. It’s kind of nice to goback to that point … having to talk topeople to figure out what’s wrong withthem.”In mid-February, Stover and anotherpilot flew a dentist and a medicalassistant to Isla de Cedros, a Pacificisland of 3,000 people 15 miles off the mainlandwhere the main industry is processing salt from thesea for shipment to Asia. His journal charts the tripand chronicles the good work The Flying Doctors dowith no fanfare.Friday, February 164 a.m. “The weather looks fine as far south as theborder and also to Cabo San Lucas. We’re going halfwaybetween the border and Cabo. The Isla de Cedros doesn’treport weather. We are going to pick up the one dentistwho’s going with us in Oakland, so it looks like a go.”7:35 a.m. “We’re airborne. This is my job, gettingthe medical professionals on station to provide care.Vamanos.”11:15 a.m. “At Mexicali, we stop for immigrationand basically, we’re halfway there.”3:06 p.m. “We’re approaching Guerro Negro, a placewhere we can get some fuel. It’s $5 a gallon for fuel, butit’s the only place to get it, so that’s what we have to do.SANTA CLARA MAGAZINE/SUMMER 2001 15
“On our way out to the island afterleaving Guerro Negro we try to hug thecoast and do some island hopping, so ifwe lose power in any way it will allow usto get back to land.”6 p.m. “Well, here we are at Isla deCedros, 10 1/2 hours after departurefrom San Jose International. My job isfinished as far as flying is concerned.Now it’s time to help with the medicalwork. We exit the plane and go directlyto our ‘clinic,’ where a dentist (from asecond Flying Doctors trip here) hasalready seen three patients with 11 waiting.The clinic is a white stucco house with three roomsoverlooking the bay. The dentist is working on patientslying flat in a raised hospital bed since there are nodental chairs.”8 p.m. “We’ve seen 11 patients tonight, many ofwhom were in some pain. I was able to provide someassistance in helping the waiting patients occupy theirStover and the others on his trip stopped for acustoms check at an airport in Mexicali, just southof the United States border.6 a.m. “Get up for a 7 a.m. breakfastof huevos rancheros. Work starts at8 a.m. My job today is a kind of triage.Those people in pain will see the dentistfirst; the others will simply have towait. Much of the work involvesextractions, for they don’t have theresources to treat root canals or takeX-rays. If people have pain, they basicallyhave to get their tooth extracted.”8:30 a.m. “There’s a loud bang.The compressor hose just disconnected,scaring us but doing no damage. Wehave to bring our own compressorbecause they don’t have any way to runa drill down here.“One of the dentists, AdrianFenderson, is a Vietnam vet who practiceddentistry during the war. Whilehe works, he likes to listen to ’70srock-and-roll music. It’s kind of niceto hear the sounds of my youth.“Two pilots, Tom Engleman andAndy Brown, reconnect the compressor hose with aSwiss Army knife. All of a sudden the power comeson, the hose is working, and on we go.”10 a.m. “Busy, busy. We just had several patientsarrive, one who is in pain. Many of the patients arefrom a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic here onthe island for men from all over northern Mexico.“The pleasure of seeing good done—real, immediateresults—certainly outweighs the hardships.”time—especially those who were suffering.”8:30 p.m. “We had a dinner of fish, then took a rideto the other side of the island in an open pickup truckfor our sleeping accommodations—a surprisingly comfortabledormitory for the Japanese salt company thatemploys almost 1,000 people here. And there were hotshowers! Thirty percent of the islanders work for thesalt company; others fish for lobstersand abalone.”Saturday, February 17An aerial view of Cedros, where 30 percent of thepopulation works for a Japanese salt company.Others sell lobsters and abalone to make a living.One of the men is a physician who had a problem withdrugs—a really nice guy. I had to assist with an extraction,handing equipment to a dentist and holding alight. It’s surprising to see how much blood loss thereis.”11:30 a.m. “A 21-year-old male needs six teethextracted. They were so bad that none could besaved. This was the result of poordental hygiene and a lack of professionaldental care.”1 p.m. “During our lunch break, wetake a walk up a hill to the center foralcohol and drug rehabilitation, where85 people, all male, are sharing in anAlcoholics Anonymous cooperative livingexperience. They’re following the12 steps of AA, learning sobriety, community,job skills, and probably mostimportantly, learning pride in theirsuccess of living without drugs. Theylive on this island year-round in part to16SANTA CLARA MAGAZINE/SUMMER 2001
- Page 1 and 2: The Board of Fellows of Santa Clara
- Page 3 and 4: ForeWordsCommitted to memorySome of
- Page 5 and 6: 150th AnniversaryHere’s a samplin
- Page 7 and 8: 150th Anniversary‘Shen Fu’ lear
- Page 9 and 10: MissionMattersIBudget funds technol
- Page 11 and 12: MissionMattersThe School of Law inF
- Page 13 and 14: MissionMattersFirst African-America
- Page 15 and 16: MissionMattersConferences focus onc
- Page 17: With few resources, uncommon dedica
“On our way out to the island afterleaving Guerro Negro we try to hug thecoast and do some island hopping, so ifwe lose power in any way it will allow usto get back to land.”6 p.m. “Well, here we are <strong>at</strong> Isla deCedros, 10 1/2 hours after departurefrom San Jose Intern<strong>at</strong>ional. My job isfinished as far as flying is concerned.Now it’s time to help with the medicalwork. We exit the plane and go directlyto our ‘clinic,’ where a dentist (from asecond Flying Doctors trip here) hasalready seen three p<strong>at</strong>ients with 11 waiting.The clinic is a white stucco house with three roomsoverlooking the bay. The dentist is working on p<strong>at</strong>ientslying fl<strong>at</strong> in a raised hospital bed since there are nodental chairs.”8 p.m. “We’ve seen 11 p<strong>at</strong>ients tonight, many ofwhom were in some pain. I was able to provide someassistance in helping the waiting p<strong>at</strong>ients occupy theirStover and the others on his trip stopped for acustoms check <strong>at</strong> an airport in Mexicali, just southof the United St<strong>at</strong>es border.6 a.m. “Get up for a 7 a.m. breakfastof huevos rancheros. Work starts <strong>at</strong>8 a.m. My job today is a kind of triage.Those people in pain will see the dentistfirst; the others will simply have towait. Much of the work involvesextractions, for they don’t have theresources to tre<strong>at</strong> root canals or takeX-rays. If people have pain, they basicallyhave to get their tooth extracted.”8:30 a.m. “There’s a loud bang.The compressor hose just disconnected,scaring us but doing no damage. Wehave to bring our own compressorbecause they don’t have any way to runa drill down here.“One of the dentists, AdrianFenderson, is a Vietnam vet who practiceddentistry during the war. Whilehe works, he likes to listen to ’70srock-and-roll music. It’s kind of niceto hear the sounds of my youth.“Two pilots, Tom Engleman andAndy Brown, reconnect the compressor hose with aSwiss Army knife. All of a sudden the power comeson, the hose is working, and on we go.”10 a.m. “Busy, busy. We just had several p<strong>at</strong>ientsarrive, one who is in pain. Many of the p<strong>at</strong>ients arefrom a drug and alcohol rehabilit<strong>at</strong>ion clinic here onthe island for men from all over northern Mexico.“The pleasure of seeing good done—real, immedi<strong>at</strong>eresults—certainly outweighs the hardships.”time—especially those who were suffering.”8:30 p.m. “We had a dinner of fish, then took a rideto the other side of the island in an open pickup truckfor our sleeping accommod<strong>at</strong>ions—a surprisingly comfortabledormitory for the Japanese salt company th<strong>at</strong>employs almost 1,000 people here. And there were hotshowers! Thirty percent of the islanders work for thesalt company; others fish for lobstersand abalone.”S<strong>at</strong>urday, February 17An aerial view of Cedros, where 30 percent of thepopul<strong>at</strong>ion works for a Japanese salt company.Others sell lobsters and abalone to make a living.One of the men is a physician who had a problem withdrugs—a really nice guy. I had to assist with an extraction,handing equipment to a dentist and holding alight. It’s surprising to see how much blood loss thereis.”11:30 a.m. “A 21-year-old male needs six teethextracted. They were so bad th<strong>at</strong> none could besaved. This was the result of poordental hygiene and a lack of professionaldental care.”1 p.m. “During our lunch break, wetake a walk up a hill to the center foralcohol and drug rehabilit<strong>at</strong>ion, where85 people, all male, are sharing in anAlcoholics Anonymous cooper<strong>at</strong>ive livingexperience. They’re following the12 steps of AA, learning sobriety, community,job skills, and probably mostimportantly, learning pride in theirsuccess of living without drugs. Theylive on this island year-round in part to16SANTA CLARA MAGAZINE/SUMMER <strong>2001</strong>
Change language