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by Kim Mercer
September 2005
A total of nineteen individuals including Physicians, Nurse
Practitioners, LVN's, Clergy from different denominations
within our community, and some very important volunteers embarked
on this amazing trip post- tsunami to Sri Lanka.
A very special Sri Lankan minister, Dyantha, and his wife,
Sheami, worked tirelessly to make sure we had food, plenty
of drinking water, travel arrangements and a safe place to
sleep among other things. I am very honored to have been a
part of this group. Many individuals, various churches and
organizations in our community donated funds and supplies
that made this medical mission possible.
Kim Mercer (right) with a Sri Lankan family.
During the many weeks of planning and meetings to prepare
for this endeavor, many people, including my friends and some
family members, kept asking me "why do you want to go there,
what if you get sick….isn't it dangerous?" The only answer
I had was quite simple. "I can't explain it. It is just something
I feel I need to do." Granted, being part of a medical mission
anywhere was definitely on what I call my "Life List." Anyone
that knows me well knows I have a specific written list of
experiences and a time line of when I want to accomplish these.
I believe without this, time simply passes and before one
realizes it opportunities may be forever gone.
I kept a journal of this incredible trip that forever changed
how I perceive many things in my life today. I would like
to share with you my thoughts and experiences.
It began with an eleven-hour flight from DFW to London. We
had a layover for several hours and then caught Sri Lankan
Airlines to Colombo, Sri Lanka, located on the west coast
of the island. This part of the island was virtually untouched
by the tsunami. We arrived at the airport in Colombo at 3:00
A.M., and as soon as our medication cargo cleared customs,
we drove approximately ten more hours across to the east side
of the island, which had seen the most devastation.
We traveled in a group of several vans with hired drivers.
Looking at the map, I simply could not imagine that it would
take as long as it did to cross the island. However, I soon
realized why. While the roads were fairly good by third world
standards, it was necessary for us to pass through many, many
impoverished villages. There were so many people walking and
riding bicycles or motorized scooters. We saw oxen and cattle
roaming the streets, and often had to stop and wait while
they leisurely crossed the roads. We even saw a few elephants!
At times, we also saw wild monkeys, darting in and out of
the jungle along the sides of the road.
It had been earlier decided that we would travel to the eastern
province of Sri Lanka instead of the southern coast (which
had also seen its share of tsunami devastation) for two reasons:
first, the eastern province had been hardest hit and, secondly,
this part of the country was closer to the Tamil Tiger rebel
(LTTE) part of the country, and therefore was having more
difficulty getting medical care and supplies. We were told
there had been a civil war in Sri Lanka until approximately
one year ago. Now there was a ceasefire. A year ago, we would
not have been allowed access to this area.
As we drove, I kept wondering, when would we be entering
that part of the country? However, there was no doubt when
we finally arrived. Along the roadside, I began to see lookout
towers, rolls of barbed wire, and bunkers with guards armed
with semi-automatic weapons strung over their shoulders. There
were also signs posted in fields declaring "Danger/Land
Mines." It all seemed so surreal. At first, I could feel
my heart racing, but soon after seeing more and more of the
same, I just started waving and smiling as we drove past and
the soldiers did the same.
We finally arrived to our destination at Kalmunai just before
dusk. Our guesthouse where we ate and slept each night had
sustained some damage during the tsunami. Water lines were
apparent on the walls downstairs. Everything around our guesthouse
was essentially destroyed. There were only a few buildings
left, and most only partially standing. An elderly woman from
across the street told me that she had been sleeping under
a large tree since her home was destroyed. Another woman approached
me with her eleven-year-old daughter, to tell me in broken
English that she had lost her five-year-old daughter in the
tsunami. Broken fishing boats were in pieces scattered across
the rubble. I looked in the distance and could barely see
the ocean. It was at least a quarter mile away.
Although we went to many different refugee camps,
some are the most memorable. On the first day, we drove to
a refugee camp (an old school house). We first saw two hundred
thirteen school children (we were told later of this exact
number), ages four through ten years, having class beneath
some large trees in the schoolyard. As we drove into the site,
the children stood up and clapped. We saw many people of all
ages there. We had nurses to triage and the physicians and
nurse practitioners then assessed and treated. We each had
a list of available medications that had been pre-packaged
by volunteers and labeled both in English and Tamil. Each
physician and nurse practitioner had an interpreter to assist
them. Our pharmacy was staffed and medications distributed
by some of the other volunteers. The hardest part for all
of us was turning people away who had stood in line in the
hot sun to see us when it was time to leave.
One afternoon, we set up our medical unit literally in the
middle of a field under a tin roof for shade. This was located
in the midst of another refugee camp comprised of many small
tents which families were living in. As I was examining a
patient, I remember looking up to see a herd of water buffalo
crossing a river a few yards away. This was the same day we
traveled to three refugee camps, and by the time we reached
the third, it was nearly dark and without electricity, we
knew we would not be able to see many patients. But there
were 350 plus people waiting to see us! We promised to be
back in the early morning.
Our team was becoming proficient at the set up/breakdown
part of our mission. We discovered this could now be done
in 10-15 minutes. As expected, everyone was waiting to see
us the next morning. Our vans were swarmed with children as
we entered the camp. It appeared everyone had "dressed up"
in his or her best for our arrival. Every patient I saw had
lost one or more family members in the tsunami. Many of our
translators had also lost brothers, sisters and parents. Some
had never recovered the bodies.
The most common complaints that we saw were headache, loss
of appetite, gastrointestinal upset, parasites, and "tsunami
wounds" that had not completely healed but were infected.
We also saw people with fractured limbs that for the most
part were "healed" but misaligned. I was told that for most,
these would be permanent reminders of that horrific day, as
cost would prevent any opportunity for corrective surgery.
In all, we saw over 1,600 patients in three days.
For me, the most bothersome were the elderly. Many were now
homeless, and were without an able body to physically work
as they once did. Many of them described the waves as "beating
them." Their bodies seemed so fragile.
In a time when we often hear many countries expressing Anti-American
sentiments, this is not what we encountered in Sri Lanka.
They were overjoyed to see Americans and very appreciative.
The need in Sri Lanka is so massive and will be for several
years to come as they rebuild. They are a kind and resilient
people. I hope that some day I will have the same opportunity
to help in whatever way I can elsewhere…it is on my list.
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