HOPE BRISBANE MEDICAL MISSION TO VIETNAM
Hope Brisbane sent a team to Vietnam for medical mission from 14th September 2013 to 21st September 2013. The team consisted of 2 General Practitioners, 1 Orthopaedic Surgeon, 1 Pharmacist, 1 Physiotherapist and 2 Registered Nurses.
This is the second team from Brisbane to be sent to Vietnam. Dr Luke Soong’s team who went last year helped prepare the way and assisted us with our preparations. May Cheung (Missions Coordinator) and Chen Chee Foo (Team Leader) got us ready to beat with one heart beat. As a result, our team worked tremendously well together as we cared for each other and our patients. Great company all round!
Fundraising for medicine
The team raised over AUD10,000 from friends, family, colleagues, medical businesses, professional networks and patients. This was mainly through direct giving and our “Spring Roll Drive” which sold 1170 spring rolls.
The medications bought include: Paracetamol, multivitamins (both adults and children), vitamin C, band-aids, antibiotics, deworming tablets, and many others. Some generic items were put into the gift packs for the villagers. A total of 1300 gift packs were given away. Each gift pack had 9 band-aids, a sheet of 10 Paracetamol, a sheet of Multivitamins, and Vitamins C for both adults and children. Milk was also given to the children with the children's gift pack.
Places in which the Medical Clinics were held over the four days included:-
1. Phước Mỹ Trung, Mỏ Cày Bắc in Bến Tre, total number of patients seen were 245.
2. Châu Thành District in Bến Tre Province - 242 patients were treated.
3. Gò Công Đông (Tiền Giang Province) - 217 patients were seen.
4. Cù Lao Đất Island, An Hiệp, Bến Tre, total of 307 patients were seen.
In total 1011 people were treated, with the majority of them being adults. Over the 4 days, 385 tests for blood glucose were done. Some new cases of diabetes were diagnosed, some less than optimal control of glucose levels were detected. 1 pregnancy test was done, and a suspected pregnancy was confirmed. A few Urinary Tract Infections were confirmed by the urinalysis strips.
The medical team received 4 appreciation awards
The Team received 4 appreciation awards from different locations, appeared on the local TV news, and newspaper. At the last location, the Regional Pastor, Pastor Dung, was asked to address the crowd at the opening ceremony of the clinic, with the presence of the government officers. This had not happened before. The team was told that they were wanted back in the future!Our team of seven people were supported by eight local Vietnamese people who provided logistic support, networking, security, interpreter services, and hard manual labour as we loaded and unloaded patient gift packs and medications. Best of all, they knew where to find delicious Vietnamese food! Great friendships were developed as we served the Lord together.
"The trip exceeded our expectations as God answered prayers every day, from the small stuff like the weather to the huge stuff like Pastor Dung being allowed to welcome the patients on Day Four. It was completely exhausting emotionally, spiritually and physically. We had feasting as well as famine. We had scary toilets. We had green urine. We had a severe drenching on the ferry. We had complex medical needs where we felt totally inadequate. We had sweet elderly patients thanking us. What an adventure!!! We hope that God continues to stir in our hearts and your hearts this desire to reach out and share the love of God in this practical way'. Testimony by Dr Linh Cheung 
Report by Bin Sim Law (Register Nurse)
