Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
The parish medical mission trip team expresses sincere gratitude to parishioners for the outpouring of prayers, donations and support. The mission team returned home safely from Jamaica on Friday, March 22.
At a Glance:
· $20,000+ was collected from generous parishioners for support of the mission site in Maggotty.
· 1,000+ pounds of donations (medicines, sunglasses, eyeglass frames, PT, OT, podiatry and optometry supplies) were carried to Maggotty in 20 extra large suitcases.
· 230 patients were seen in the Eye Clinic over four days by Drs. Centar and Bartolotta, assisted by Fr. Alan, Betsy Lehman and Lisa Georgiana. Of the 230 patients, approximately 30 patients were referred to the Mandeville Eye Clinic for cataract and glaucoma consults. 130 Jamaicans will receive prescription eyeglasses in May and 250 pairs of sunglasses were distributed to protect eyes from the hot UV rays on the island. Approximately 150 pairs of reader glasses were distributed. Drs. Centar, Bartolotta and Klingbeil attended to an emergency, removing a sliver of metal from a young man’s cornea.
· About 90 patients were treated by podiatrist, Dr. Martha Klingbeil. Dr. Klingbeil helped heal sore and tired feet, along with answering general medical questions. She provided some ankle support braces and orthotics to those in need and distributed antifungal creams and nail clippers.
· 110 patients were seen in the PT and OT Rehab Clinic by physical therapists Dr. Bill Hanlon, Dr. Alyssa Arnold and Ms. Lee Farnan, and occupational therapist Dr. Andrea Wilks. Patients with a variety of problems including low back pain, neck problems, knee and hand arthritis, stroke and women’s health issues and much chronic pain were treated. The Rehab team also treated staff who work year-round at the clinic. They also made a home visit and visited a nursing home run by Mother Teresa’s order, (Missionaries of Charity) where they saw nursing home patients who have no access to rehab services. Dr. Andrea Wilk was the Rehab team’s hand and women’s health expert.
· The group participated in Daily Masses and Stations of the Cross in the Holy Spirit Church.
"I was deeply moved by the mission team who traveled to Maggotty, Jamaica. They were faith filled, professional, and full of life. They represented both St. Mary and St. Michael Parishes and worked together beautifully.
Not only that, but many parishioners from both parishes were also extraordinarily generous in helping with the trip by offering goods, supplies, money, and especially their prayers.
While in Jamaica, I had the chance to work with the pastor of Holy Spirit Mission Parish, Father Marek Bzinkowski. He is ably assisted by a lay woman, Marta Socha, and three Sister Servant of the Sacred Heart nuns. All are natives of Poland and most have been at the parish for over two decades. In an effort to provide hospitality and decent living arrangements for the mission groups who come to Holy Spirit Parish, both Father Marek and Marta do a great deal of repair and maintenance. Father Marek told me that his dad was a plumber in Poland. He certainly makes good use of what his own father taught him about the trade.
I helped with one project, a small water leak. In Maggotty, the water pipes are for the most part plastic PVC basically lying on top of the ground. Father has installed some galvanized water piping at the parish, but this is an exception to the rule. To fix the leak, we had to purchase some PVC glue at the local Maggotty hardware store. Everything in the store was behind a grill, and you had to tell the clerk what you wanted. She proceeded to sell us two tiny cans of PVC glue. I’d never seen cans as small as what we purchased. Father Marek pulled out a wad of Jamaican cash and completed the purchase. On the way back to the parish compound, he told may that these two little cans represented about $20 American. I couldn’t believe how expensive a little glue was! Moreover, he told me that that’s pretty much the total amount he receives for an entire weekend collection.
I’m so grateful that we could do a little something to aid our brothers and sisters who are in need. What we take for granted, folks in Maggotty may never be able to afford or obtain.
Thanks again for your help."
- Fr. Alan Thomas
“This mission trip was the product of many years of patience! I have felt called for a long time to go on a medical mission trip, and was ecstatic the Holy Spirit finally called me to Jamaica!
The therapy department had the honor of getting to know many incredible souls over the course of the week and provided a wide array of treatments from the head down to the foot. As a pelvic floor specialist state side, I was able to speak with some incredible women who have given birth to many children over their lifetimes, and due to the conditions in which they labor and recover was able to start a journey of healing they had never known. We were able to discuss various trauma they had not come to terms with and how that can relate to their current ailments.
One of my favorite women was a beautiful soul who from a young age had been exposed to a very volatile environment (i.e. gun shots around her home). She had various children and was struggling with pelvic pain. We talked about her trauma and relating to her physiological issues as well as working to “give to God” her burdens. She discussed how she enjoyed (when she could get a ride) going down to a local river and just dancing and praying in the water. We discussed how meeting God at the river as well as other solutions would be great drivers on her new journey. She was incredibly appreciative and wanted to spread the knowledge she gained with others suffering as she was. You could tell her shoulders lower and her head was held higher by the end.
Thank you all for your kind words of support and generous offerings that allowed this amazing interaction and many more to occur. You, nor we, will never know how many lives were touched that week and for years to come!”
Dr. Andrea Wilk
“The only word I can use to sum up my time in Maggotty, Jamaica and time spent at Holy Spirit Clinic/Parish is “eye-opening.” This was my first time on a medical mission trip and first time out of the country. That alone was an adventure of seeing how other people live and how different their living conditions are from ours. But for anyone who has been to the resorts of Jamaica, the whole island is not like that. The roads were just barely wide enough for two cars to drive with winding roads and potholes galore. Houses are built but with only the first floor done and uncompleted second floors. There are multiple family members living in houses much smaller than ours. It allows you to become very grateful for what you have.
I wasn’t sure what I would see there as a foot doctor. A lot of things that I see on a day to day basis are not “one time fix” problems or they require x-rays or additional treatments that aren’t readily available down there. Several people I referred out to get imaging or referral to another clinic that has surgical services, but I have no way of knowing if the patient will actually follow through with it.
One encounter really resonated with me:
- Patient has a history of bilateral foot wounds and multiple toe amputations due to diabetes and vascular disease. He was telling me about what has been done, even that a doctor almost cut the whole foot off due to the severity of the infection. None of this comes as a surprise to me since he reminded me of patients that I see weekly in my office. I treated the wounds accordingly and provided some dressing supplies for him until he was able to return to the doctor he previously saw a few towns over. I felt bad there was nothing more I could do. These types of wounds can heal but take several weeks to months and typically require surgery or additional wound care products to get healed. When I was done, I offered to help put his socks back on over the dressings. He stopped me and shook my hand. “In all the years and all the doctors that have treated my feet, you are the first to ever put my socks back on.”
There were several times during the trip that I honestly didn’t feel like I was as helpful as the other parishioners that came. The eye clinic and PT clinic were busy all day long when I would have time to help reorganize drawers or restock the pharmacy. I was honestly humbled by this patient because something so simple can be the nicest gesture that person has had all day.
My long running joke is that Holy Thursday is a podiatrist's favorite holy day, but it really is a lesson of being humble and respectful for others. John 13:14-17. In the fact that this trip happened before Holy Week, I honestly felt like I was seeing Jesus in so many people that week.
Not everyone can go to another country to do mission work. I feel extremely blessed to have had this opportunity and the means with having two small kids at home.
It was truly an experience I’ve never had before and will be excited to return some day. But everyday goodness and kindness can be done in our own backyard. You can make a change in someone's life in a meaningful way and be the face of Jesus for someone who might need to see Him a little bit more. Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31).”
- Dr. Martha Klingbeil
“Frankly I was a little worried about this trip before we traveled to rural Jamaica to serve. I wasn't worried about travel restrictions or safety concerns. I knew it was safe, I had been there many times before. I know the Pastor there Fr. Marek, and Marta [lay missionary in charge of many programs] and Sister Emilia, Sister Rita, and Sr. Scholastica who work in the clinic. They are all wonderful, caring, hardworking missionaries. So what was my worry?... What if our team doesn't gel and work together well.? What if someone on the team gets sick? Many of us going on this trip are not spring chickens anymore. Although we were almost all from St. Mary's/St Michael's, these are big parishes and it's kind of normal not to know everyone well. Before the trip, I didn't really personally know several members of our team. In the past, I knew everyone on the team prior to going. Only a couple on the team besides me had been to Jamaica before.
As we started meeting, one of our team was still waiting for their first passport. We had many meetings to prep and plan before we left, but we never had a meeting where everyone on the team was there at the same time. I get it, it's totally normal; everyone has busy lives. I was supposed to be one of the leaders and I couldn't make all of the meetings.. But despite our busyness, Lisa Georgiana held us all together and always emailed us what we missed.
A couple of our meetings were a frenzied attempt to fit 1500 lbs of donations into 11 suitcases in the Activity building at St. Michaels. So color me a little apprehensive prior to going. In the airport they made us all get out of the regular line and get in the line where they check your bags by visual inspection. They asked me what was in my bag. I told them clothes and donations of PT supplies. "What kind of PT supplies ?" he asked me. I said things like ace wraps and wrist braces. We are donating them to the medical clinic for people I said. "We will have a look he said". The inspector picked out which of my bags he wanted to inspect. "Lay it up there and open it up, I want to see it," the young inspector stated. I anxiously wondered, was this the bag I had thrown my underwear in? Stupid thought I know. I had packed and repacked my bag so many times to fit donations in, I truthfully didn't really remember which bag had what in it. I fervently hoped that this bag was my medical scrubs and ace wraps. The extra inspections of many of our teams' bags delayed us by another 45 minutes. I was worried about the delay....Everyone else from our flight was already through customs. I knew Fr. Marek would be waiting for us with the van just outside the airport exit door. But we were blessed. We all got through customs and got outside and met Fr. Marek. He was more patient than I. He had a great new 15 passenger van waiting for us that he shares with others in the diocese. And he had another driver with a pickup truck with a five foot bed. Our pickup driver, Nathaniel tied 20 of our bags into a great stack, with very skinny rope that looked like twine to me. Our bags were piled high like a Disney cartoon. It was kind of comical. It's amazing that on those narrow winding roads that none of our bags fell off!
But all my fears and worries were quelled once we reached Holy Spirit parish in Maggotty.
The whole team pitched in to get unloaded and we had dinner together. All of our bags made it. All those donations, in all of those 50 lb suitcases made it to Maggotty. The team started to gel with our first meal together. We celebrated a joyful Mass together the next day. Unlike many churches in the US with aging parishioners being the majority, the youngsters dominated most of the pews. The whole Praise band was kids except Marta. They had three drummers in addition to singers and instrumentalists! The music was lively and joyful! We helped Dr. Rick Centar set up hundreds of pounds of optometry equipment.. The equipment was so heavy, we had extra help from a couple of Jamaican men [one young, one old] that Sr. Rita volunteered to help us. We pushed the equipment into place by placing it on cardboard as we could not locate any dollies. Fr. Alan and Dr. Centar blew out a couple of bulbs on the optometry equipment before we figured out that we were plugging the machine into a 220 line. It didn't look like a 220 line to me either. Murphy's law I guess.
I was able to further let my worries go as we drank in the spirituality of the place. God blesses many people in this holy place. You can literally feel the Holy Spirit working here. I am humbled by the fact that I get teary eyed just thinking about it... as I write this. It is totally true that we are blessed more than we know. We go to give our service to others but we end up getting so much more than we give. I think everyone on the trip would agree with me.
Through the week, our team worked together as if they had known each other for years.. We worked very hard in the clinic, but with a fullness of joy not typically experienced in the states. As we served the patients there, the gratefulness was palpable. The joy was visible. Patients recognized the love and caring of our whole team and every one smiled and expressed their thanks, usually multiple times.
I just want to close by thanking everyone in both parishes that supported us in prayer, in donations, and in sponsoring us. I want to thank each member of our team who worked so hard to make the mission a success.
May God Bless each of you in this Easter season,” - Bill Hanlon