Medics save lives in Paraguay

  • Published
  • By Col. William Bobbitt
  • 916th Air Refueling Wing
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. --  Paraguay is definitely not at the top of tourist destinations, for 23 reservists from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, four reservists from across the country and an active duty member from the 4th Medical Group and a chaplain, it became home for more than two weeks. The advance team departed on Feb. 28th for Asuncion (the capital) with the bulk of cargo, while the main body arrived in country on March 4th.

After a five hour bus ride, military personnel came to Santa Rosa, a small town nestled in the mid-section of Paraguay and a “major metropolitan center” for Department San Pedro. Their home base was a small agricultural high school about six miles from town, with dorms, common bathrooms and a large open dining hall. Each day was a veritable feast consisting of meat sprinkled with fresh fruit and mandioca, a starchy vegetable prepared one way only – boiling until limp. They shared their bunkhouses with various insects – none very nasty or threatening. A few individuals lived under mosquito netting and survived on Meals Ready to Eat the entire time.

In this South American nation it was the end of summer so daytime temperatures rose to a high of 110 while nighttime lows dipped to 75 degrees. There was generally little breeze. True to form, though, the Paraguayans played “fútbol” (soccer) regardless of temperature, or darkness for that matter.

During this Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDRETE), medical personnel held three-day clinics in Lima, Santa Barbara and Santa Rosa, working out of local schools there with great assistance from school and other local personnel. After initial intake interviews and triage, individuals were sent to a preventive health briefing, following which they could be seen in dermatology, pediatrics, gynecology, medicine, optometry, or dentistry. Any medications needed could be dispensed in the clinical areas or by the central pharmacy, staffed by a nurse, technicians and with yeoman’s assistance from Capt. (Chaplain) Nealy Brown.

“Our work was not only to treat their present problems,” said Chaplain Brown, “but to teach them how to care for themselves and their families, along with how to prevent illness and disease.”

The word busy doesn’t even begin to describe a typical day for the 29 members deployed. Thy day started at 5am and ended around 10pm. In nine and half days of work, they saw 11,038 patients and dispensed 13,328 individual prescriptions. This was about 50% more folks than they’d expected. By the third or fourth day, it was clear that they would run out of many supplies and medicines well before the end of the MEDRETE. Through cleverness, ingenuity, personal sacrifice, the help of US Embassy personnel, including Ambassador Cason and Lt. Col. "Bear" Daughtry, by the grace of God, re-supply came in the nick of time.

The medical team treated everything from dental extractions to parasites to malnutrition.

Chaplain Brown relayed a touching story of a new mom that brought her month-old baby in for treatment. “The mother's milk had not come in and she had been feeding the baby water,” said Chaplain Brown. “He was down to 2 pounds. They hooked the baby up to an IV, re-hydrated, and gave nourishment. Mom was taught how to care for him and given continued supplement to nurse him back to care. This precious little one would not have made it many more days. He was literally starving to death.”

The team’s only major loss came early on, when Chief Master Sgt. Joyce Fromm, 916th AMDF, developed peritonitis (a life-threatening abdominal inflammation) and had to be taken by UH-60 to Asuncion for surgery. The chief is doing fine and for the rest of team this medical humanitarian mission left them with new friends, wonderful memories, fatigue, and a much better appreciation for their blessings and the United States.