Though I have visited Romania, I have only begun to see it.

On Sept. 9, along with 70 fellow volunteers from the Medical Missions Foundation, I began a 36-hour trip to the remote province of Botosani, Romania. Our team included doctors, nurses, artists, handymen, a writer and a photographer. As in the previous four years, our goal was to deliver medical aid to some of most vulnerable people in the region.

In visits to state and private orphanages, we exchanged toys and toothbrushes for laughter and smiles. In hospitals, plastic surgeons corrected cleft lips and returned mobility to burn victims whose scars had contracted. In visits to schools, we taught children how to react to a fire and prevent burns. Although most recipients were women and children, we were there for all of Romania.

It was a life-changing experience for us all. Not enough praise can be given to the medical staff who donated their time and talents, or for the loving parents and courageous children who put their trust in us. Tears of gratitude and hope rained each day. Next year, we will return to Romania to continue to build relationships with this country of beauty, integrity and hope.

– The Leawood-based Medical Missions Foundation provides aid to indigent people in developing and economically depressed countries. David McKinney Photography is online at www.dfmphotography.com. In November, visit www.multumesc.com, and see all the photographs from this Romanian trip.

Extended essay

By Nancy Besa – Special to the Journal-World

On Sept. 9, along with 70 fellow volunteers from the Medical Missions Foundation, I began a 36-hour trip to the remote province of Botosani, Romania. Our team included doctors, nurses, artists, handymen, a writer and a photographer. Our goal was to deliver medical aid to some of most vulnerable people in the region.

The majority of rural families live in villages where basic medical services are not available. Most own no means of transportation, except perhaps a horse-drawn cart, and must rely on buses to take them to and from larger towns for medical care. Many times they forgo the journey until treatment is critical.

Members of our team were given one of three clinic assignments: the community hospital in the much smaller town of Dorohoi, about an hour bus ride away; the local women’s hospital; or the local children’s hospital. I would float between them all, but on my first day, I chose the children’s hospital.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it didn’t matter because nothing would have truly prepared me for what I would see. Like the majority of the other buildings in Botosani, the hospital looked industrial and very dated. The barren exterior resembled sandblasted cement, and iron bars covered some of the lower windows. It looked as if it had been closed 50 years ago and just recently reopened.

If the exterior was surprising, the inside was shocking. The hallways were narrow and dingy, packed with parents and children who had been waiting for hours. Despite knowing the doctors would not arrive until the afternoon, many arrived as early as 7 a.m. to secure their spot in line. Those not involved with direct patient care floated through the halls distributing stickers and candy in an attempt to entertain the amazingly patient children.

While I cannot say it was dirty, there was a dusty film that covered almost everything. Once I got past the number of people and the outdated surroundings, what hit me the most was the smell. All hospitals have a certain smell, but this was different. Perhaps it was the combination of heat – it was 85 degrees that day, and the hospital had no air conditioning – and the shear number of people packed into the halls. It certainly was made worse by the fact that the air was stagnant. Romanians have a quirky belief that air and breeze spread germs and disease. Consequently, they overdress their children. I saw babies sweltering in layers of clothing and wool bonnets that well-intentioned, loving parents had piled on to “protect” them. But it was not cool breezes making these children sick; it was lack of quality medical care and education.

Almost every other child I saw had strabismus (crossed eyes). In the U.S., children are screened and treated early for such conditions. Not so in Romania. Some children were just plain sick – ear infections, colds, anemia, etc. Others were actually quite healthy – their parents bringing them in for vitamins (a luxury to many Romanians) and for the opportunity to see an “American doctor.”

But the children whose faces will forever be etched in my memory are the ones whose bodies were twisted and scarred from burns.

In rural Romania, homes are small, many times just one room, and built around the stove. Beds are often adjacent to the stoves to provide warmth on cold nights. Not high off the ground, they offer little protection to playing children and curious hands. One of the youngest burn patients I saw was a 2-year-old who had pulled a pot of hot soup off the stove and onto herself. The burns on her face had healed, but had constricted, pulling the skin so taut around her right eye and ear that it literally hurt to look at her. One of the plastic surgeons on our team assured her mother that he could release the scars and drastically reduce her painful appearance.

Not enough can be said for the medical staff who donated their time and talents, or for the loving parents and courageous children who put their trust in us. Whether they came for vitamins, surgery or simply the opportunity to see an American doctor, they would pay nothing. In the end our team saw 680 patients and performed 121 surgeries. While our services were free, the impact on their lives and ours was priceless.

– Nancy Besa is a Kansas City freelance writer who accompanied the medical team on the trip to Romania. The Leawood-based Medical Missions Foundation provides aid to indigent people of developing and economically depressed countries throughout the world. You can learn more about MMF and opportunities to support its work at mmfworld.org.