Newtown Nurse Takes Wing On A Humanitarian Mission

By Jan Howard

A young Newtown surgical nurse recently combined her love of travel with a desire to make a difference in the lives of people who are less fortunate.

Stephanie Elis, 24, recently returned from Managua, Nicaragua, where she was part of a humanitarian effort known as The Flying Hospital, a volunteer team that brought surgical and medical care to people who otherwise would not receive it.

 “I’ve always wanted to give myself in service, to give something back to someone less fortunate,” Ms Elis said. “You have to have a heart for these people who need our help. They would never get it if we didn’t go there and offer it free.”

Ms Elis is experiencing the feelings of joy and satisfaction that come from bringing not only help and training to people, but hope for a better life as well.

A resident of Newtown her entire life, Ms Elis earned her nursing degree at Messiah College near Harrisburg, Penn. She is employed as a surgical nurse in Danbury by Dr Lionel Brown and Dr John Lunt of The Hand Center, an office-based surgical practice.

She heard about the humanitarian mission through a pamphlet she received in the mail, giving the facts about The Flying Hospital and the date of the mission.

“It sounded kind of cool,” she said. Interested, she e-mailed the person in charge of recruiting volunteers, and was sent an application to fill out.

Once accepted for the humanitarian effort, she was required to get shots and prescriptions to protect her from hazards such malaria. She also had to get a passport. She was also responsible for her plane fare to Virginia where she would meet The Flying Hospital. In mid-August, she and 30 other volunteers were on board the winged hospital on their way to Managua, Nicaragua.

The Flying Hospital has about 20 paid staff members, she said. “They run everything, and set the teams up.” About 140 members of the team were volunteers.

The Flying Hospital, Inc., is a private non-profit charitable humanitarian organization based in Virginia Beach, Va. Its mission is to provide free surgery, medical care, training, and hope to thousands of people in developing countries who have little or no access to even basic healthcare, education, and medicine.

The Flying Hospital relies solely on charitable contributions from the private and public sectors. It operates on donations from sponsors that donate fuel, airplane parts, medical equipment, medicine, supplies, cash, and other necessities. Its corporate office is located at 977 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23463.

The chief tool of the organization for providing medical and same-day surgical services is a hospital with wings, a Lockheed L-1011-50 jet aircraft, the world’s largest fully equipped surgical hospital ever constructed inside an airplane. It contains four surgical beds, a 12-bed pre-op and recovery suite, and a 67-seat educational area. It is a self-contained, state-of-the-art surgical facility.

The plane was purchased in 1994, and after an 18-month reconfiguration process was commissioned in May 1996. It flew its inaugural mission to El Salvador in June 1996.

Flying Hospital missions offer a broad range of healthcare services. These include plastic surgery procedures, orthopedic procedures, ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, general surgery, major lacerations and trauma treatment, and pediatric care.

It also serves as a training center, offering seminars by medical professionals for healthcare professionals of the host nation.

The Flying Hospital completes six to eight missions a year, Ms Elis noted. This was the first mission to Nicaragua. Next month, The Flying Hospital with other volunteers will be on its way to Africa.

From August 19 to September 2, Ms Elis worked along side of doctors, other nurses, and anesthesiologists, performing surgery after surgery, sometimes up to 30 a day. The team members removed cataracts, corrected crossed eyes, and even performed corneal transplants.

People in need of medical care would come from miles away, seeking answers for deformities and pain.

The Flying Hospital can accommodate between 250 and 300 surgeries in a typical eight to ten day mission. A typical medical mission treats between 4,000 and 6,000 patients.

“We would start at 7 am, and we aimed for an eight-hour day, but it never happened,” Ms Elis said. “People would come by the dozens. Ten or 12-hour days were not unusual.

“I was either scrubbing in on surgeries or circulating, doing documentation of the surgery and helping to operate equipment,” she said.

Though she had never been involved with eye surgery before Nicaragua, she noted, “After the first day I had it down pat. After a few, you know what to do.

“We would see the patients a day or two days after the surgery,” she said. At that time, the team would schedule any additional follow-up with a local ophthalmologist. “Everybody was seen once before we left,” she said.

In a nearby hospital, other volunteers of the 140-member team worked with Nicaraguan medical professionals performing other surgical procedures, such as obstetrical/gynecological, cleft lips, or hernias, among others. A clinic near the plane addressed the needs of patients with general dental and medical care, and optical needs, she said.

The Ministry of Health and local medical community screened the patients based on financial and medical basis weeks before The Flying Hospital’s arrival, she said. There were some walk-ins that were screened at the clinic before being treated.

 One of the highlights of her two weeks in Nicaragua was meeting the first lady of the country, Maria Fernanda Flores de Aleman, who praised The Flying Hospital team during a press conference. “She recognized us for coming to her country and helping her people,” Ms Elis said.

The first lady also invited the team members to her beach house, where they were able to spend time on the beach, for dinner, Ms Elis said. The Flying Hospital and its team of medical professionals were also featured in a full-page story in the local newspaper, with photographs of team members in action.

 To offset their heavy schedules during the week, the volunteers did have the weekend off, so Ms Elis was able to see some of the country, including the Masaya Volcano, which is still active, and the lagoon. She also visited several of the local markets and an orphanage.

The poverty was very evident, she said. “There were lots of little kids running around begging. It’s very sad.”

Despite the obvious poverty of many of the people, Ms Elis spoke positively of the difference this humanitarian mission would make in the lives of countless children and adults. She talked about the children whose eyes were no longer crossed, who would learn better and lead better lives because of this operation. She spoke of one child who, upon seeing his eyes following his surgery, was happy that other children would no longer make fun of him and call him names.

“They are very grateful people,” Ms Elis said.

 The benefits of the mission are not only felt by the patients that were helped, but also by those who volunteered their precious time to make it all possible.

“Life is short,” Ms Elis said. “We have to take our opportunities as they come. We’re here to make a difference in someone’s life along the way.”