By Caroline Page

The Michigan State University medical mission, for Angel Notion, was a smashing success!

Dr. Peter LaPine has been leading missions since 2001 to Angel Notion, the free medical clinic in Nic Te Ha, a village just north of Playa del Carmen.  Angel Notion, as you may know, provides education, medical aid, and opportunities to Mexican people of “lesser means and special needs”. “Dr. Peter”, as he is often called, is an Associate Professor of Audiology & Speech Sciences at Michigan State University, where his work includes voice and vocal pathology, resonance characteristics of the aging voice, surgical voice restoration and prosthetic vocal devices.  When he hops a plane to Playa del Carmen, he doesn’t come for the bars and beaches.  Instead, he leads a group of medical professionals on a working holiday to help the poor of Quintana Roo.

The March 2005 mission was comprised of four students, eight nurses, four medical specialists and six doctors.   Professionally, the team includes surgeons and anesthesiologists, rehabilitation specialists, audiologists, and speech language pathologists.  During the 10 days of the mission, this dedicated group saw between 700 to 1,000 patients, through triage to the end.

Patients are evaluated and non-surgical procedures are done in Nic Te Ha, while surgeries (under local and general aesthetic) are performed at the Sante Fe Clinic on Constituyentes in Playa del Carmen.  Dr. Peter says patients, who are invariably poor and have very few resources, sometimes travel 300-400 kilometers from different parts of the Yucatan.  About 25% of the patients they see have been helped through a mission in at least one of the preceding years.

The focus of this amazing group is to do work that is not being provided elsewhere, for people who have no other resources available.  So, they do no elective or cosmetic work, nor do they provide any medical care for pay.  And, since a team is here only once a year, and the patients have no other medical recourse, they try to put care in place that requires no follow up - and that’s just as challenging as it sounds.

When asked which members of the team get the most from the work, Dr. Peter says it’s definitely the students, typically graduates or undergraduates studying audiology and speech sciences.  When he first considered whether students should be included in missions, Dr. Peter felt they would not be tough enough and “would just not be prepared for it”. After being persuaded by the first student to allow her to attend, he has reversed that position and now says, “ What they learn here I can not teach them in the classroom”.  

He also acknowledges something all of the participants have come to realize: “We recognize there’s so much to do, you can’t make a dent in it, but we try to help who we can”.  On the other hand, it’s students who always say, “there’s so much to be done - can’t we do something more?”   The feedback from those who follow their hearts to Quintana Roo is consistent: they are so excited to be here helping people who need them so much.

To illustrate how much people want the treatment the team provides, Dr. Peter talks about a young Mayan woman in his care, who has a repaired cleft lip, but a damaged cleft palate.  Because of specific difficulties of the case, Dr. Peter wanted to explore obtaining a “speech prosthesis”, a device to fill the palate, rather than surgically closing it. 

To this end, he took measurements and many photographs of her mouth, hoping it might be possible to have a device made; then they could try to adjust it to fit on the next mission in 2006.  He was astonished and thrilled when this shy woman returned to see him, because on her own initiative, with awesome trust in the help the mission offered, she had persuaded a local dentist to take a mold of her mouth.  Now when he comes back, he knows he’ll have a perfect prosthesis for her mouth, making it possible for her to speak normally, eat and drink more easily, and gain weight and strength, things most of us take completely for granted. 

Some of the challenges the team faces are caused by cultural and language differences.  Sometimes the translators have to find ways to explain medical terminology for which they know no Spanish equivalent.  Superstition and lack of education can also cause difficulties.The doctors also have to come to grips with the impact of things we take for granted.  In one case, due to unavailability of medicines, they were mixing antibiotics to be taken over several days, when they realized the patient had no way to keep the medicine refrigerated.  The plan had to be revised to have the patient return daily for the antibiotic dose: on-the-spot problem solving.

A constant irritant in the mission’s work is the lack of resources: medicines, equipment and support taken for granted in North America’s medical systems.  Even a child’s ability to develop strong motor skills can be compromised because the child has no access to constructive play equipment or strengthening play devices. Dr. Peter would like to see Nic Te Ha have an exceptional playground, with sturdy equipment to provide constructive play exercise for the children who live there.  He’d welcome bats and balls and educational toys being donated in the local community. As well, Angel Notion needs donations and sponsorship for the women who are learning to run the Angel Notion community clinic, as well as funding for medical tables, construction projects, supplies such as massage oils, tables and chairs, as well as money to pay the telephone bill and improve the garden. 

In his earlier missions, Dr. Peter’s team commenced work at 7 a.m. and didn’t stop until 9 p.m.  Now, to avoid burn-out, days are a bit shorter and Angel Notion arranges a fun activity during each mission.  This week, the team was offered the choice of a day at Xpu Ha or Xcaret, to relax and recharge.  Still, at the end of his 10-day stint each year, Peter arrives home physically exhausted and mentally drained.  But still, “… feeling pretty darned good about what we do down here”.

When Peter LaPine wants to put together a team for his next mission, he won’t have any trouble finding willing volunteers.  He maintains a record of health care professionals who have asked to be put on the waiting list and right now, it has whopping 92 names on it.

In May, Dr. Peter will lead another team on an educational mission, where 60% of the patients have returned on an annual basis.  During the May missions, the group focuses on speech and language development.  There is also a great deal of parent counseling, teaching local parents how to care for their children with physical or mental impairments.  Playa Maya News is planning to cover that mission as well, so watch these pages for details.

Angel Notion is dedicated, with love and kindness, to helping change lives, and to giving people with greater needs and lesser means the tools to help themselves.  Lavonna Redman, Founder and Director, can be contacted for donations through the website: http://www.angelnotion.com/ 

The following photos were taken at the Mission Wrap Party at Byblos Restaurant, thank you Sylvia for all of the wonderful food!

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