Specialty Team Reports

2/28/02

ENT Team

Kosrae and Chuuk, FSM

Jan. 17 – Feb. 3, 2002

The first Canvasback specialty team of 2002 to travel to the Federated States of Micronesia was an eight-person ear, nose and throat team headed by Dr. Richard Flaiz of Hermiston, OR.

One of the biggest challenges facing the team was how to get their 27 boxes of supplies and equipment out to the islands with them. In the past, Canvasback has counted on the airlines to waive excess baggage charges because of the humanitarian nature of these missions. However, due to post-9/11 increased security measures, they were unable to get excess baggage clearance on any of the four airlines they were using to get to the islands.

Finally, just two days before the team departed, Canvasback Executive VP Jacque Spence was able to "connect the dots" and get all of the baggage cleared on Continental Micronesia, saving the mission $1,100! In addition, Northwest Airlines and Horizon Air also waved all of their excess baggage charges at the last minute! This series of little miracles showed the team that the Lord was indeed going ahead of them and preparing the way.

Thanks to Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston, OR, and
Ronald Swehla of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in
Sacramento, CA for donating supplies for the trip.
Thanks also to Hearing Healthcare of Kennewick, WA,
and MSR Northwest of Bellvue, WA, for providing a much-needed
audiometer and tympanometer as gifts to the FSM.

The majority of cases the team dealt with were children with chronic ear infections resulting in hearing loss. They also found a great need for hearing aids by adults who had experienced repeated infections and hearing loss from diving.

Left: Team coordinator Lauren Petford, RN, carries a little girl to the recovery room.

Here are some of the team's more memorable patients:

Twenty-year-old Detsiogo was completely deaf in one ear and had 50 percent hearing loss in the other. The deafness was such a problem for him that he had dropped out of school. Dr. Ric Jones fitted him with a hearing aide that improved his hearing so dramatically that he could actually hear his mother whisper!

His mother Suzinda was so excited for him; "Now he can go back to school!" she said. She was even more overjoyed when Dr. Ric's wife Chris presented Suzinda with her own Bible. She had wanted one for so long.

Audiologist Ric Jones treasures a hand-carved Manta Ray
that was a thank you gift from Detsiogo and his parents.

Another young man, 22-year-old Teiki, was so grateful for the surgery that enabled him to hear again that he hitchhiked all the way to the airport to thank Dr. Sadoyama for this wonderful gift.

Dr. Ric Jones fits Andy with a hearing aid.

Then there was Andy, who traveled three days by boat to reach the clinic. He was so excited about the hearing aid he received that he was still smiling the next day!

The team served more than 500 patients and performed 50 surgeries during their two weeks in the islands. They also had the opportunity to reach the public through a live interview on Chuukese radio. In addition to giving advise on caring for the ears, the team discussed Canvasback’s motto: "Sharing the love of Jesus through healing hands."

Richard Moller, PA, shows us some of the supplies brought by the E.N.T. team.

The team marveled at the way their supplies kept stretching. "At times we thought we would run out of certain things, but we always had what we needed," says Ric Jones. "It was almost like the story of the loaves and fishes," he added. "We even had enough supplies left over to give some to the hospitals!"

"Dr. JoJo," the local surgeon in Chuuk, assisted with many of the thyroid surgeries. "Hopefully he will be able to continue performing them on his own," says Dr. Sadoyama.

Dr. JoJo (left) learns how to perform a thyroidectomy from Dr. Jim Sadoyama (right). They are assisted by Richard Moller, PA (rear).

Members of the ENT team and Kosrae medical staff (from left):
Arthy Nena, MPH, hospital administrator; Ric Jones, audiologist;
Chris Jones; Jim Sadoyama, MD; Richard Flaiz, MD;
Kimea, OR nurse; Bob Sigrah, assistant hospital administrator;
Dr. Austria, local surgeon; William Chisholm, CRNA; April Moller;
Dr. Likiasa, FSM ENT medical officer; Richard Moller, PA;
Lauren Petford, RN, team coordinator.

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Urology Team

Chuuk and Pohnpei, FSM

Jan. 31 – Feb. 17, 2002

Team Members:

Gary Barker, MD

Norman Kies, MD

Akiko Meyers, RN

Lauren Petford, RN, Team Coordinator

The subject of urology may not be a polite topic of conversation, but it is a real and important need of men and women in the FSM. The Canvasback urology team, led by Gary Barker, MD, of The Dalles, OR, provided 180 in-depth patient examinations and performed 13 surgeries. Most of what they treated were urinary tract infections in women and prostate problems in men.

Norman Kies, MD, Akiko Meyers, RN, and Gary Barker, MD, visit with Dr. Eliuel Pretrick, FSM Secretary of Health Services, who arranges for all of Canvasback specialty teams in the FSM.

While the team was in Chuuk, a teacher named Richard collapsed in his classroom from a very painful kidney stone. (There is a high incidence of kidney stones in the islands because the people do not drink enough fluids—a topic requiring further education.) Richard was immediately brought to the team for treatment, and is doing well.

This patient spoke little English but was was very fearful of having surgery. Thankfully, nurse Akiko Meyer was able to comfort him in his native Japanese language.

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