It is month 11 of 11! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone and all that has happened over these past 10 months. There are so many stories to be told and memories to relive when I get home. I am looking forward to hot showers with constant water pressure, dryers, Mexican Food, my bed, and of course seeing family and friends. But I still have one more month. I still have month 11.
This month my team and I are living in La Paz, Bolivia. During our time here will be working with an organization called MedFund. Their purpose is to raise funds for hospital patients who cannot afford their hospital stays and treatments. Many of the cases MedFund takes on are patients who come from poor families, a large majority of them come from the jungle and can’t afford the care that they need. The healthcare system in Bolivia is much different than what I have experienced in the Sates. Because most of these patients come from low-income areas many doctors and hospitals don’t give them the treatment and care they deserve. Many of the patients can’t afford the medicine, visit, treatments, and so on, so a large portion of the time these patients die because they couldn’t afford the proper care they needed. That is where MedFund comes in. Their job is to stand in the gap for the low-income patients here in Bolivia and make sure they get the treatment the deserve form the healthcare system.
This is going to be a difficult month for me and my team. It is going to be emotionally taxing and mentally exhausting. It is not easy seeing people who need help ignored simply because they don’t have money. It seems so unjust and unfair. It just doesn’t seem right!
But, this month my team and I also have a pretty cool opportunity. Not only do we get to help MedFund and visit with patients, but we also get to tell people about what they are doing and ask people such as yourself to donate to their cause.
You may wonder why I am asking you to give towards this organization when there are plenty of people in the U.S. and other parts of the world that need as much help? What makes MedFund different? What makes these patients worth the investment?
The truth… nothing.
Nothing makes these patients more important or more valuable. This cause is not any more important than the ones in the U.S. or in Africa or Europe.
But what is also true is that this is a tangible opportunity for you to get involved and do something! This is an opportunity for you to stand in the gap for people who have need. This is a chance for you to be a solution to a problem.
For the past 3 days I have spent my afternoons and evenings roaming the hospital; talking to patients, hearing their stories and seeing the care they receive. The friends I have made here have come from all different walks of life. Some are old and are trying to spend their last few days in as little pain as possible. Others stay in the hospital for weeks without any family or friends visiting because of how far they have travelled. Still some sell goods on the side of street here in La Paz to raise the money they need to complete the treatment they have started. The bottom line is each person I have met has a story, and each one of them need your help.
Just yesterday a young women (25 years old) stopped us and asked us if we could visit her mom. Her mom is suffering from cancer and is in the process of her second round of chemotherapy. We went with her and talked to the mother and daughter for a little while. As we listened to the mother tell us her story, I couldn’t help but take a special interest in this young woman. This girl, who is my age, is now taking care of her mother trying her very best to make her mother as comfortable as possible during this time. When I looked at her my heart broke. I can’t even imagine what that must be like! Having to go through that in the United States would be difficult enough, but having to face that challenge here is nearly impossible. I can’t imagine the stress, the desperation and fear this young woman must be facing. Knowing that the chances of success are small to begin with, but without the funds to finish the treatment, those chances disappear.
I don’t know if this mother and daughter will get the funds they need. Most likely I will be back in the States without ever knowing what came of this situation. But right now I am here. Right now I am able to visit her and so many others like her. Right now I have the chance to tell you about the things I am seeing and hearing. Right now I have the opportunity to tell you about a way you can get involved and help solve the problem of poor healthcare around the world.
This is what I am asking you to do…. instead of buying your Starbucks coffee this week give it to MedFund. Instead of going to the movies this month, give that ticket money to MedFund. I am asking you to give up one or two small comforts to help save the life of a patient here in Bolivia.
You can give your tax deductible donation @ www.ccwm.org/donation.html *Please specify “MedFund LaPaz” on your donation.
After you have given your donation you can spread the word about what is going on here in Bolivia. Share my blogpost. Share the MedFund Facebook page. Tell anyone and everyone about what is happening and what MedFund is doing.
This is month 11 for me, and my journey on The World Race is coming to an end. The journey for many patients here is just beginning, and you can be a part of helping them!
