Teardrop of India

story by Kimberlee Barbour, photos by David Hilmers

As Dr. David Hilmers flew into Colombo's Bandaramaike International Airport, the only way in and out of Sri Lanka by plane, he saw no indications of the damage caused by the Dec. 26 tsunami. It is only when he drove across the country and approached the eastern coast that the ravages of the storm become apparent.

The waves spared no one; resorts teeming with tourists and two-family huts with thatched roofs were destroyed with equal fury.

Hilmers, an assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, wondered how it could have happened; how one incident could have caused damage that would take lifetimes to mend.

Sri Lanka holds a special place in Hilmers' heart. In 2003 he worked as a consultant with a group from the United Nations on a Food Fortification project looking at the effects of iron and zinc fortification of rice flour in the country to help combat malnutrition and anemia.

While there he met Manjula Hettiarachchi, a Sri Lankan doctor who later came to the United States for six months to train alongside BCM doctors at the Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC), a joint program between BCM, Texas Children's Hospital and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Hilmers learned the extent of the damage through a number of emails from his Sri Lankan friend. These conversations inspired him to board a 30-hour flight to Bombay, and from Bombay to Colombo.

Hilmers and his team lived for two weeks in one of the hundreds of refugee camps organized throughout Sri Lanka by the United Nations. The camps provided shelter, food, medical care and a sense of community for displaced Sri Lankans. Because most camps were only a few miles inland, far enough to escape the destruction left on the beaches, Hilmers and his team traveled several times to the hard-hit coast.

He and his team - volunteers with a group called Mission to the World with the Presbyterian Church of America - slept in tents alongside the rest of the Tamil population they were treating. Hilmers said if he learned anything from being in the Marines for 20 years it was that a good air mattress kept a person dry and sane during a long camping trip.

They lived in tents, with sleeping bags and mosquito nets and set up two large tents for sleeping, a triage and pharmacy tent, an "ICU" and birthing tent, two clinic tents and a counseling tent.

"It was vital that we not only provided medical care for the victims, but counseling for those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as well," said Hilmers. "The post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experts were invaluable and were as important to the camp as any medical help the volunteers could offer."

Hilmers watched and listened to story after story of horrific loss and displacement. Children lost their parents, witnessed their brothers, sisters and friends being carried out to the sea. One woman lost her hearing when her husband was carried away by the waves - the psychogenic deafness caused by the shock of her loss. Diarrhea-related dehydration was rampant among children, but shrapnel injuries were still commonplace in the war torn country. Young girls and boys visited the camp with shards in their hands and legs because they accidentally wandered into a minefield.

"During the day we had clinic hours, but frequently made house or 'tent' calls during the middle of the night - usually a monsoon downpour," said Hilmers. "One night I was called to a tent in a heavy shower when someone was having trouble breathing but by the time I put on my boots and poncho, and searched for the tent, the patient had left."

Hilmers and his team were appalled by the camp's unsanitary conditions where people drank from, and bathed and relieved themselves in the same watering hole resulting in dysentery. Water purifiers soon relieved the problem.

Everyone in the camp received a toothbrush, vitamins and medicine for parasites. Hilmers gave talks about basic health and the importance of clean water. "Their entire world was destroyed, yet keeping clean and well-hydrated was the most important step toward survival," Hilmers said.

Hilmers saw the paradox of mothers dressing their children in their best clothes to visit the American doctors. Parents brought perfectly healthy children to the camp "just for a check-up." Still, many children were truly in need of medical aid.

"We treated over 700 refugees in two weeks," said Hilmers. "By the time our stay was over, another medical team was already there to take our place, schools were back in session and the living conditions seemed a little safer."

In June, Hilmers took another trip to Sri Lanka, this time with colleagues from BCM and TCH, including Dr. Steven Abrams, professor of pediatrics at BCM and a researcher at the CNRC. The BCM/TCH group focused on pediatric patients and helped local healthcare providers at bedside rounds and lectures. The team brought medical equipment to replace those destroyed by the tsunami.

In all, more than $3 billion in aid and debt relief was made available to Sri Lanka to help rebuild the devastated island. Hilmer's team was just one of the countless groups to lend a helping hand following the tsunami. To date, the "Teardrop of India" has a few less tears thanks to the outpouring of international assistance.

Patient Care

A Strength of Heart

Saving Brains

When Executives Become 'Ill-Suited'

Research

Of Mice and Men

The Social Brain

Looking for the Logical

Understanding Behavior

Education

The Responsibilities of Residents

The Sounds of Surgery

Coat Pockets Full of Knowledge

Solving the Patient Puzzle

Community Service

Teardrop of India

How To Eat a Virus

Alumni & Development

Margaret M. Alkek

Doing for Others

A Gift for Helping Others

Conga Line for Cancer Cures

A Rocket Doc's Journey

The Art of Giving and Healing

College News

How'd We Do?

Solutions from Science

Volume 1, Issue 2, Summer 2005

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