Mission Medicine Intensive with Equip Inc.

I just got back from the 2 week medical intensive in Victoria, Canada. It was created as a program that medical and non-medical people can take to acquire some medical knowledge to use when medical help is far away while living as missionaries in rural communities.

As Barry liked to remind us, "If you didn't come into this course a nurse, you're not coming out of here a nurse." But when the time comes and their is no one around to diagnose or treat an illness or accident you will be able to do what you can.

We learned how to make splints for broken bones, how to treat dehydration, how to place foleys, how to put in a feeding tube through the nose (NG tubes), how to suture a wound closed, give shots, and many many more skills!

This was such a wonderful course to be taking. I learned a ton and have increased my medical knowledge when in a jam. I would recommend this class to anyone who is moving overseas for any length of time or who plans on going on short term medical trips.

The medical information and classes where great, but I believe I was more blessed by the people who I took the course with. To be living with and surrounded by people that are mission minded, following where God was calling them overseas, was such a wonderful experience. I will forever remember and pray for them. And hopefully I'll be able to visit a couple overseas...

Here is our class of people with Ann, the nurse, who helped teach the course. I believe it was about half Canadians half Americans.

Crystal and Dena working hard on their case studies.

Nurses had to finish 50 case studies and non-medical people had to finish 40. The case studies where scenarios of people who are sick from around the world. We had to figure out what was wrong then decide how to treat them...not as easy as if sounds...sometimes they might have club feet! (That one's for you Tilley...thanks for all your help! ;) Many had worms, vitamin deficiencies, Malaria, and the strangest diseases you've probably never heard of!

Barry and Tilley are the directors of Equip International. Barry did devotions every morning and Tilley, a Nurse Practitioner Midwife, cook amazing meals for us and taught us how to help deliver babies.

Thank you for all that helped to make this trip possible!

Love you all!