HPIC at Work

Five stars for the PTP

Allan and Patsy Myshrall of Pokiok, New Brunswick have been on 40 international mission trips and to hear them talk, they're just getting started.

On a recent medical mission to the Dominican Republic, the Myshralls and their 11-member team worked with a local doctor to run mobile clinics in seven remote areas. "These people have little or no access to doctors and even when they do see a doctor, they cannot afford medication," says Allan, who ensured that the team carried three Physician Travel Packs with them on their trip.

"They told us we would see maybe 50 patients a day," he reports, "but the first day we opened, 400 people came looking for care. We saw and treated somewhere between 1,400 and 2,000 patients in the two weeks we were there."

The Dominican doctor did the assessment of the patients and then the nurses from the team dispensed the medications he prescribed. According to Myshrall, the doctor was thrilled with the contents of the PTPs. "He said that for quality and variety, the PTPs were worth five stars."

The team treated patients with fungal infections, malnourishment, pain and infection, as well as several cases of tuberculosis. The multivitamins for pregnant women and malnourished seniors were especially appreciated.

One 14-year-old girl suffering from malnutrition and infection came to the clinic for help. She was pregnant, and already had a two-year-old son. An 84-year-old man in another community that had never had health services came to consult a doctor for the first time in his life.

The team also visited a hospital where patients had to pay for their own medicine. Myshrall reports, "We were able to help one seven-year-old who had kidney infection and was dying by the day, because his mother could not buy the meds he needed. She heard through one of the cooks in the hotel that we had medicine and asked if we could help. When our doctor heard what type of medication he required, he found it in the PTP and took it to the hospital so the boy could be treated. Several days later the boy was able to eat and go home."

Having seen the difference free medicine makes for these isolated and underprivileged communities, Myshrall is a fan of the Physician Travel Pack, and of the companies who contribute the medicine that makes the packs possible. "I just want to thank the companies that have donated drugs," he says. "They have helped a lot of people."