Part V Final

Wednesday, October 19th: Dushanbe This was one of the busiest days yet. I was a part of a small team of Academy officials and two pharmaceutical company executives who spent the day visiting several of our project sites and making some official “protocol” visits. We traveled about an hour and a half out of town to Yevan, where the children’s project team had completely remodeled several parts of a large orphanage. Back in the capital city, we made a stop at the Maternity Hospital, where one of the medical teams was teaching the Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course. It was amazing to see our medical team in action, with Tajik docs working in small groups to learn various obstetric procedures.

We were invited to meet privately with the Minister of Health, who expressed his appreciation for our work, and gave each of us a special silver commemorative coin celebrating Tajikistan’s independence. Later, we went to the US Embassy and met with Ambassador Hoagland. Tonight, the Ambassador invited the whole delegation to his home for a reception. Afterwards, delegation leaders were invited to a special dinner with the Minister of Health.

A small group of us skipped out on the evening’s festivities and attended a meeting of the Tajikistan Christian Doctors Association. Though Tajikistan is a Muslim country, there appears to be quite a bit of religious freedom, with several large churches in Dushanbe. We had a wonderful evening with this group of Tajik doctors. We closed the evening with a time of sharing and prayer. One young female Tajik doctor broke down in tears as she shared the difficulties she was having as a Christian working in a hospital where the chief doctor was corrupt. Tajik doctors are paid only about $15 per month, and thus resort to asking patients for money before treating them. A portion of what is collected is to be paid to the head doctors. Because she refused to pressure patients into giving her money, she was being ridiculed and mistreated by her superiors. It is heart breaking to see what these caring doctors are facing in this very poor nation. Once again, we’re so glad we’re here to support them!

Friday, October 21st: Flight from Dushanbe to Moscow The days have gone by in a blur, and our project has come to an end. We’re heading home! Yesterday our teams led a National Symposium on Family Medicine. Several hundred physicians had come from around the country for this medical education program. We closed the day with a special banquet where we honored the leaders of the Tajik organizations we’d worked with, as well as the 10 or 15 translators who’d done a terrific job keeping up with all of us fast talking Americans. After the banquet, I’d arranged a unique adventure for about half the group---the brave half!

There are saunas, and then there’s the Russian sauna! A Russian sauna is a unique experience, to say the least. Of course, you have the sauna. In addition, there is a pool of ice cold water, which you jump into from the sauna, and then repeat, over and over again. There’s also a masseuse, who gives a Russian massage, which is a heavy, deep-tissue massage. But there is more! The most important part of the Russian sauna is the beating with eucalyptus branches. A “beater” takes one person at a time into the sauna, and strikes them from the bottom of their feet up to their neck, front and back. And remember, this is happening in 130 degree heat! As each of the survivors finished, we’d share our pain numbers. Doctors use a pain scale of 1-10 to try to quantify pain, asking patients to rate their pain with a number. Last night, the docs became patients, and got to rate their pain!

Today, our last day in the country, was much less hectic. The students of the Advanced Obstetric course had their graduation ceremony, a celebration was held at one of the orphanages, and our volunteers got to do a little souvenir shopping.

Tonight was our last night together as a full team. As we always do, we close with a final wrap up session where we ask our volunteers to bring an object that symbolizes what the week has meant to them. One at a time, each person sets their object on a table set up in the middle of the room, and shares what the week has meant to them. This is always a tremendously meaningful time, and tonight was no different. There were moving stories, transparent hearts, laughter, and lots of tears. No doubt, this project has changed the lives of everyone who participated!

Saturday, October 22nd: Moscow, Russia Once again, we spent the night on an airplane, departing Dushanbe about 2 AM, arriving in Moscow about 6 AM. Our plane was an old Russian Tupelov, with no leg room and minimal overhead storage. It made for a long, cramped flight.

Though we had only one day in Moscow, we packed it full, walking through Red Square, touring St. Basil’s Cathedral, and window shopping at the hundreds of designer stores at one of the world’s largest shopping centers, the “Gum,” just off Red Square. We visited one of the most magnificent cathedrals I’ve ever seen, Christ the Savior Cathedral, built beginning in 1991 after the fall of Communism. The original cathedral had been demolished by the Communists, who’d begun building a huge monument to Lenin which would have been taller than the Empire State Building. World War II interrupted their plans, and the monument was never finished. When the USSR collapsed, the Russian Orthodox Church took their land back, building a brand new cathedral that is a replica of the original.

We ended our day doing something I’ve always dreamed of. Perhaps the most famous cultural treasure of Moscow is the Bolshoi Ballet. Fortunately for us, there was a performance tonight. Unfortunately, it was sold out. However, we were able to find a ticket scalper who sold us tickets! Of course, if you have tickets to the ballet, you must go to dinner at a fine restaurant. The fine restaurant we chose? None other than McDonald’s!

Tonight’s performance was “La Bayadere.” Though few of us are ballet aficionados, we were all awestruck by the beauty of what we saw. The number of dancers must have been nearly a hundred, and often they were all on stage together. The grace and beauty of some of the world’s best ballerinas, the costumes, the set, the orchestra, the ambiance of the historic building--- it made for one of the most memorable evenings ever.

Sunday, October 23rd: Flight from Moscow to New York No matter how exciting and memorable the project, that final international flight home is always a highpoint of every mission. And when you’re flying one of the US flagships, stepping onto the airplane is almost as good as stepping onto to US soil. We’re flying Delta, so, in a sense, we’re already home, even though we’ve got a ten hour flight ahead. Our delegation is down to about 15 now, and we’ve really become family. Several of our delegates have been on many other Heart to Heart missions, and they’ve all said the same thing--- this has been our best mission yet!

As I’ve replayed the events of this past week in my mind, I can hardly comprehend the incredible impact our team has made on this small nation. Our group has traveled throughout the country, visited dozens of hospitals, worked in orphanages, taught medical courses, and, of course, interacted one-on-one with thousands of Tajiks. This project has demonstrated once again the tremendous power of partnerships. Thanks to our partnership with the American Academy of Family Physicians, we have once again changed one corner of the world!

---
To subscribe to Dr. Morsch's Journal visit http://www.hearttoheart.org/moreinfo.html.

Back to Journal