by Dr. Tom Sullivan ’78
Day One of clinic… Sure didn’t look like Illinois weather here today !! Picture perfect 70’s temp, blue sky and cool wind… We overcame a few obstacles early in the day as we were setting up the clinic… Electricity went out … And the generator had leaked gas… But, a couple of the men in the village went down the mountain and got enough gasoline to finish our day.. ( that was no easy task)..
This was Dr. Mike’s first experience extracting teeth in this type of setting..( by the way, he’s an Endodontist !!)… He was awesome !! Didn’t skip a beat… The Florida Gator girls proved they were up to the task… Sterilization, assisting and language interpretation was seamless !!! I think we may have switched their medical careers to dentistry !!! We’ll see… 
Anyway, the little ones tears turned to smiles ( eventually ).. And we cleaned up a lot of infected mouths… My take on today centers around two virtues: Faith and Hope… Our team has been to this village each of the last three years, and I have witnessed first hand the new construction, and the Faith these people have to build their community… On top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere !!!
What we can give them in the form of medical treatment is Hope… Hope for a better tomorrow without pain, without an itch, without a cough, without lice, whatever… Even if it’s just short lived…Their Faith and their Hope are what drives me
to forget any of my aches or pains and just “man-up”…. Tomorrow we return to a special village in one of the most picturesque places in these mountains… Be well…