JUPITER COURIER

Jupiter doctor a new person after Haiti Mission of Hope, Christ Fellowship trip

Lori Griffith
SPECIAL TO THE JUPITER COURIER NEWSWEEKLY
Palm Beach Orthopaedic Institute physician Melisa Estes, MD recently returned from Haiti, as part of a team from Christ Fellowship tasked with bringing medical care to the people of Haiti. “It turned out to be something I was meant to do, even though it was so far outside my comfort zone. If someone would describe me, they wouldn’t say I was the type that likes to sweat or go to third world countries or places that are germ-infested,” she says.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and one of the most poverty stricken in the world. 

Human Rights Watch released their summary of conditions in Haiti in January 2018.

It stated: “Political instability in 2017 hindered the Haitian government’s ability to meet the basic needs of its people, resolve long-standing human rights problems, or address continuing humanitarian crises. The United Nations peacekeeping mission operating in Haiti for the past 13 years ended in October.  A smaller mission replaced it.  

"More than 175,000 individuals remained displaced in the aftermath of October 2016’s Hurricane Matthew, and many more faced food insecurity due to widespread damage to crops and livestock.  

"As of September 2017, authorities had failed to assist many of the nearly 38,000 individuals still living in displacement camps since the 2010 earthquake in resettling or returning to their places of origin. The country’s most vulnerable communities continue to face environmental risks, such as widespread deforestation, pollution from industry and limited access to safe water and sanitation. Almost one-third of people live with food insecurity due to the ongoing drought affecting much of the country."

Christ Fellowship Church teamed with Mission of Hope, which builds schools, orphanages and medical clinics. Dr. Melisa Estes of Jupiter was one of three physicians on a mobile clinic vessel traveling to extremely remote areas of Haiti. True North, the vessel that transported Mission of Hope volunteers to different towns around Haiti, is pictured.

Such a trip seemed 'pretty far outside my comfort zone'

Palm Beach Orthopaedic Institute (https://www.pboi.com/) physician Melisa Estes, MD recently returned from the impoverished nation (April 21 to 28) as part of a team from Christ Fellowship tasked with bringing medical care to the people of Haiti.   

Dr. Estes specializes in physical medicine, and rehabilitation and pain management. Her practice includes treating conditions such as back and neck pain, degenerative joint, gait impairment, migraines and sports injuries.  

A Christian, Dr. Estes participates in a women’s Bible Study through Tequesta's First Baptist Church, and was approached by a friend who attends Christ Fellowship Church about medical missions.  “I was thinking that was pretty far outside my comfort zone and probably not anything I would like to do.  It didn’t sound like it was up my alley,” said Estes.

The smile of a satisfied patient

However, as Dr. Estes was approaching her 50th birthday she began thinking more and more about giving back, which coincided with a section on ministry she was leading in Bible study.  

“There was a part about God providing everything you needed,” she said.  “It spoke to me so I went home, filled out an application and amazingly the leader called me the next day." she said.

"I had served with him on the medical team at Christ Fellowship previously and all of the pieces seemed to just be falling into place.  It turned out to be something I was meant to do, even though it was so far outside my comfort zone.  If someone would describe me, they wouldn’t say I was the type that likes to sweat or go to third world countries or places that are germ-infested.”

Christ Fellowship, Mission of Hope

Christ Fellowship Church teamed with Mission of Hope who build schools, orphanages, and medical clinics.  Dr. Estes would be one of three physicians (family practice and ob/gyn) on a mobile clinic (boat) traveling to extremely remote areas of Haiti.

Their team also included EMT paramedics, nurses, a nursing student originally from Haiti and translators.  Dr. Estes recalls how well the team worked together.  

“Before I went I was really scared.  I didn’t know tropical medicine and I haven’t treated kids since medical school, but we all had our strengths and we were all put together for a reason.”   

Dr. Melisa Estes discusses treatment options with one of her 533 patients evaluated over the week-long mission trip.

Their boat took them to tiny fishing villages with no medical care; and upon landing, the team would set up clinics in about 20 to 30 minutes.

The majority of cases they treated were the result of poverty:  malnutrition, malaria, worms, scabies, and high blood pressure.  

'Heartbreaking'

“It was heartbreaking” Dr. Estes said.  “The thing that stays with me the most were the sweet little kids and the smiles on their faces.

"They would sit with their moms being so well-behaved in the blistering heat and were incredibly patient. We did the best we could for them with limited resources.  

"One little girl that really touched me probably had a congenital heart disease.  Her heart murmur was so loud I could almost hear it across the room.  I could feel her tiny little body and her heart beating so hard and knowing what she needed and knowing I couldn’t provide that was so hard.”

A home in one of the towns that Mission of Hope Haiti visited is pictured.

According to the World Bank report of July 11, 2014, “It’s not always easy to get clean water in Haiti’s countryside. In fact, around 40 percent of Haiti’s rural population uses non-protected water sources like rivers or unprotected wells, increasing the risks to contract diseases like cholera.  

"As a contrast, in the cities, those who don’t have access to clean water sources have more possibilities to purchase bottled water, which makes it easier to control disease. Only 11 percent of people in the Haitian countryside have access to energy compared with 63 percent in the island’s cities.  About 16 percent in rural areas have access to improved sanitation, while 48 percent in cities do.”

The team saw 533 patients in just four days, treating 300 patients in one day at a village clinic, where the Haitian doctor typically saw 10 patients per day due to limited resources.

'We had to continue working'

Staying healthy themselves working among deplorable conditions proved challenging to Dr. Estes and her team, with the majority of them succumbing to gastrointestinal sickness.  

"We were very sick and it was tough because we had to continue working and it was so hot.  Conditions were very challenging and sanitation facilities were just a hole in the ground.  But, when you have faith and you did what God wanted you to do, I feel confident I did a good thing and I did the right thing.  When I tell my patients what I did in Haiti and why, its not patting myself on the back.

"I did it because I love God and I did it because I felt it was what God wanted me to do. It comes out of faith and that’s what it’s all about.  It’s not about me being brave or anything. When you have a strong faith and you feel this is what God wants, you just do it.”

The team saw 533 patients in just four days, treating 300 patients in one day at a village clinic where the Haitian doctor typically saw 10 patients per day due to limited resources.

 

School-age children wait for their evaluation by the Mission of Hope medical team.

"The poverty level is so high in Haiti that only 40 percent of children attend school, and of those only 5 percent graduate.  To end the cycle of poverty, Mission of Hope sponsors children by educating and feeding them.  These children have a 95 percent graduation rate.  Mission of Hope is trying to teach Haitians to be more independent and become future leaders. However, they are facing tremendous challenges.  If you don’t have clean water you are going to get sick because of parasites and if you don’t have enough to eat you are gong to get sick," Dr. Estes said.

"The kids don’t have an education, don’t have enough to eat and it’s tough for them to get ahead.  It’s a scrapping lifestyle but they are a very kind people and very appreciative.” 

'God had us there for a reason'

Dr. Estes said she came away from her mission trip a different person.

“It was very emotional.  Initially you feel sad because you thought about all that you could do at home that you can’t do in Haiti, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that God had us there for a reason.

"God had us there for a purpose, and the team I was with was so amazing. We all worked so well together.  

"When I tell my patients what I did in Haiti and why, it's not patting myself on the back," Dr. Melisa Estes says. "I did it because I love God, and I did it because I felt it was what God wanted me to do." Pictured, Estes and a team member confer in Haiti.

"We didn’t know each other before we went, but between the doctors, nurses and paramedics, it was like this amazing puzzle that fit together.  Everyone had their strengths, and it was amazing to see how well things ran."