Trudy (Univ. Sydney)

Hi will,

just a quick one to say that courtney and i have been here for 1 week

now. have been with dr Vra at the eye clinic for that time. having a

great time. have met wendy, sean and dave. going to siem reap this

weekend and then swap to work with dr sarom after that.

will be in touch,

Trudy

Luke. Univ.Adelaide

Hi Will,

I have finished my elective and left Cambodia already (im in vietnam). The elective was great and Dr Sarom seemed happy with us, especially with the accounting and patient record systems anne set up.

We had a great time in Cambodia, did a lot of travel too. We are now working our way up the coast of vietnam.

thanks for helping me sort out the elective, and if you ever want me to get in touch with other students or write something for you id be happy to

thanks again

Luke

Malcom. Univ. Oxford UK

See www.studentbmj.com/issues/01/07/life/243.php for full article.. excerpt below..

.....Dr Sarom, the ROSE surgeon, taught and performed surgical procedures in the basic, but adequate, operating theatre. We would often have to be the scrub nurse and assist at the same time; as time went on we were able to help more and more. After we had seen and assisted at several of the cleft lip operations, Dr Sarom declared, "Next time you be surgeon!" Dr Sarom supervised me closely as I operated, his stepwise teaching paid off and the results were impressive. The buzz from completing my first operation was heightened when the little girl thanked me a week later. "Now I am pretty," she said.

I became familiar with the tropical diseases that I had previously heard about only in lecture theatres. Though the medical ward was an incredible learning environment, with late stage everything and full of florid clinical signs, it was hard not to get frustrated by the lack of resources. The country ran out of insulin during our stay, the strongest analgesic available was pentazocine, and the availability of x ray equipment was a luxury. The variation in the training of the medical staff was more difficult to cope with. The concept of ensuring the airway and protecting the cervical spine after trauma was alien to most doctors, and it was unsettling to see patients' lives put at risk from such simple oversights.

We went on several outreach visits to regional hospitals. In an Italian run emergency hospital near the Thai border, I gained first hand experience of the horror of landmine injuries. A demining truck had driven over an antitank mine after being told that the route was clear of mines. We treated the two passengers, one whose spleen had shattered, the other with several broken bones. The driver had been killed instantly. The wards of these rural hospitals were full of the limbless......

Debbie. Univ. Brisbane. Australia

...

Cambodia is a
beautiful country. During a trip out into the one of the villages with
Dr Sarom I had the chance to see some most amazing sights... nothing
likie anything I would ever encounter back home.
I've also had the chance to see some of the sadder sights of the
country, including many amputee cambodians. A constant reminder of the
tragic history of the nation
There are many differences between the medical procedures here and
those I have observed back in Brisbane. It is interesting to see the
application of limited resources in very ingenious ways.

I am very much looking forward to the Operation Rainbow Mission. I
believe I will get to see a lot, and have an enormous potential to
learn...

Helene. McGill University. Montreal. QuebecHi Will and Josephine!

Hi Will and Josephine!

We left Cambodia two days ago, we had an amazing time over there, working with Dr Sarom. He found a place for us to stay near the hospital which was really great.

Wwe did go do some drawings with the kids in the mental health center nearby.

As for the shopping for the auction, we bought some very nice silk scarves, about 20. The shipping was kind of complicated, so we did not buy anything more, it would have been too big or too heavy. Let me know when and where you want me to send them once we come back to Canada.

Thanks a lot for everything, Helene

Kate. Univ. Otago. NZ

Hi Will,

Just wanted to write an let you know all is going really well here in

Phnom Pehn. I've been working with Nous Sarom for the last couple of

weeks and he has been really fantastic to me and the other students (Tom

and Emily ). Nous has gone out of his way to help us and has been very

generous with his time. I've been able to do a bit of surgery with Nous

as well as visit other NGOs at Chey Chumneas like Children's Mental Health

service and HIV/AIDs ward which I've found really interesting (or should I

say eye-opening!?). I'll hopefully join Dr Vra at his clinic next week and

then spend some more time at Chey Chumneas.

Just to keep you in the loop, I've had to change my flight back to NZ so

unfortunately I won't be here for the Rainbow mission (I was going to be

present for the first 2 days). My medical school elective administrator

has informed me that, despite writing the that my elective quater finished

on the 19th of November, I'm actually required to be back in NZ on the

13th of November to sit distinction examinations and be present for prize

giving. I'm disappointed not to have the extra time here but

unfortunatly that's the way things have worked out.

So all going well here and a big thanks for co-ordinating things here for

me!

Cheers,

Kate Romeril

Emily. Univ. Bristol. UK

Hi Will,

Tom and I arrived in Cambodia a week ago Saturday.

Sarom very kindly picked us up from the airport and

settled us into a guest house in the city for the

weekend. We had a great time exploring and then on

Monday morning we went with Sarom to Siem Reap. He was

going up there to take part in a Operation Smile

mission and we went along to see how it all worked and

to assist in theatre. It was a shame we missed

operation rainbow, but at least this was on similar

lines. It was a realy interesting week.

Sarom was very keen for us to see the temples, so we

took the Friday off and stayed the weekend to do it

all properly - absolutely amazing!

We've just had our first day at Chey Chumnas - some

surgery and then attending a funeral party with

Sarom(apparently they have parties for people at set

years after they have died - very sureal!)

So all in all it is going brilliantly and I just

wanted to thank you for all your time and effort.

Also, I won one of the six royal college of surgeons

elective prizes, so thank you for your input with

that. Very chuffed, and the money will come in handy!

Sarom is going to organise for me to see a few post-op

patients.

Anyway, I hope all is well in Canada (if you are

there!). I will send an update soon

Best wishes

Emily

Olivia. Univ.Liverpool.UK

Dear Will,

I just wanted to write to say thankyou so much for enabling me & Christina to have such a fabulous time on our elective in Cambodia this summer. We had fantastic experiences with Dr Vra & Dr Sarom. It didn't matter that the New Zealanders were there when we were there as it actually meant that we could see more and Dr Vra could see more patients whilst Dr Sabiston could explain a few things to us. I only wish we had arranged to spend more time at the eye clinic & Chey Chumneas!

I have sent a donation to Rose Charities UK, which I hope will be useful and can be spent on the brilliant work done in Cambodia.

I know that you have forwarded a few requests for information from other students to Christina & I would be happy to do the same if that is helpful.

Again, thankyou so much.

Regards,

Olivia Mort

4th year medical student

Liverpool University

Wendy. Univ. Sydney

Hi Will and Theresa,

Thank you both for your replies.

I hope my initial email was not too dramatic. The first few days here

were quite emotional as this is my first real experience of a

developing country and there was so much of the unfamiliar to adjust to.

I should add to my initial observations that the section of Chey

Chumneas dedicated to Operation FIRST shows obvious benefits from the

contributions and linkage with ROSE charities. Dr Sarom's ward and

operating theatre are in much better condition than those of the

general surgery dept. He was pleased to show me the newly renovated

operating theatre and ward, the anaesthetics and monitoring equipment

which had recently been sent from Hong Kong as well as the TV in the

ward which was recently donated from New Zealand.

Dr Sarom gave me a quick tour of the Operation FIRST facilities but I

actually spent my first morning mostly in the general surgery dept.

And while their wards are extremely run down, their operating theatre

did seemed reasonably well equipped.

I have spent the past two days with Dr Vra and his staff at the Kien

Khleang Rehab Center. It has been such a privilege to watch them work.

In the morning Dr Vra's consultation room is bustling with a steady

stream of patients, with up to four or five consultations occurring

simultaneaously in the same room. But there is distinct order to the

ebb and flow of people. A basic test of visual acuity is performed

outside before the patients are sent to see Dr Vra or one of his

medical assistants. After the initial consultation the patient may be

sent to another side of the room to pick up medications, to be

measured for artificial lenses or to receive other pre-operative care.

Dr Vra has a very warm and easy manner with his patients. He also

remembered to give me explanatory asides now and again as I watched

him perform his examinations.

The afternoons at the Rose Eye Clinic are dedicated to surgery. It was

amazing to watch Dr Vra's deft and steady skill up close as he

performed a series of lens replacements for patients with cataracts.

This was the first time I'd ever seen someone getting stitches on his

eyeball!

Even more extraordinary was watching a removal of a pterygium (tumour

of the conjunctiva). The operation involved a graft of the conjunctiva

from one region of the eyeball to another to cover the excised area.

An unbelievably delicate and precise procedure! I never would have

though it possible.

Tomorrow I'll finally get a chance to explore Phnom Penh. Though Dr

Vra's staff have already taken me to a couple of lovely restaurants by

the Mekong River for lunch.

I'm having a wonderful time here.

All the best,

Wendy