El Progreso, Honduras, is about 2,000 miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and a world away.
"The need is different there," said Dr. Joshua Trussell. "We could do 30 patients a week and just take out gallbladders and not even catch up on their needs."
Trussell is a general surgeon with Methodist Mansfield Medical Center and part of a medical team that went on the mission trip to Honduras, working out of the Rearick Surgical Center.
"They were extremely grateful and thankful for every bit of care," registered nurse Tabitha Bourgeois said. "To be able to help somebody that is truly in need, it brings joy to me."
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The surgical center is in an area that serves about 1 million people with a budget of just $30,000. It relies on medical mission volunteers.
"If you get a bowel obstruction there, it's probably going to kill you," Trussell said. "Problems that are almost always fixable and manageable here are not there, because of access."
The team did 27 surgeries over four days, seeing patients for everything from gallbladders and hernias, to bumps and bruises.
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"We weren't just helping provide medical care, but we were able to provide spiritual care as well," registered nurse Anais Torres said. "It just brings you joy knowing that you're using your talents, your abilities, to make someone's life just a little better."
This is the second year a team from Methodist Mansfield has volunteered in Honduras. The team's trip was organized through Medical Missions Outreach.
