They Flew in Blind!

    Several times a year Hospital Misión Tarahumara flies in eye surgeons from the US and Mexico who volunteer their time to perform free cataract eye surgeries. These surgeries are for the people in the surrounding region of the Sierra Tarahumara (this part of the Sierra Madre mountain range). During these outreaches the hospital cares for the patients and their guardians both physically through food and shelter; and spiritually through the ministry of the hospital staff chaplains and medical personnel. This outreach set a new record for surgeries performed during the 2.5 days. The surgical team performed 63 cataract surgeries and 123 consultations with many more shown the love of Jesus during the weekend.

 UIM Aviation has the honor of providing aviation support for this high impact ministry. Due to the short window of time that the surgeons are available to operate and the large number of patients, we usually stage two aircraft and at least two pilots at our Napushis base down the road from the hospital. Preparation for supporting these outreaches begins weeks in advance with staging the fuel we will need for all the flights and preparing the aircraft. This year I was able to bring an airplane down from Chihuahua City and assist our Napuchis based UIMA pilot Brent Dodd and mechanic David Hardin with the flights. My flights started with bringing in the surgical team (some from the USA and some from Chihuahua City) to Napuchis early on Friday morning. Once the surgeons landed they were off to the operating room to begin the surgeries. Many people arrived at the hospital via ground transportation and were already waiting for their surgeries.

For this clinic we had 23 patients and guardians to fly in from two different remote communities. We began flying them in for their surgeries Saturday morning. It takes a whole team to make these flights happen. We really appreciate the help we receive in the communities from the missionaries and community leaders who help us organize, weigh, and load our passengers when we arrive. A big concern for us during this time of year is the weather because it is still monsoon season in the mountains. Foggy mornings and thunderstorms in the afternoon can really impact our operations. Praise the Lord the weather cooperated and we were able to get everyone to the hospital before the afternoon thunderstorms kicked up.

 After the patients receive their surgeries, they have to wait for 24 hours to receive a post-op checkup from the doctors. Once cleared to return home, they are brought up to the airstrip for us to fly back. By Sunday afternoon we were able to get almost everyone back to their communities just as the weather started to turn bad. Praise the Lord! Monday morning Brent flew the surgeons back to Chihuahua City, and I flew the remaining patients back home to their remote community. It is always a really cool experience to fly people who have been blind and are now regaining their vision through these surgeries. While these surgeries are a significant improvement to their life, they pale in comparison to the Gospel message they hear and tangible love of Jesus they receive from the caring hospital staff.

 Please pray for the patients from the Rarámuri (Tarahumara), Tepehuan, and mestizo people who received their surgeries as they recover physically and also that they and their guardians heart's be opened to the gospel message they received. Thank you!

Written by Aaron Varela, UIMA Safety Officer/ Field Pilot