Merrill doctors, family plan move to Honduras
By Sallie Bachar
Catholic Herald correspondent
MERRILL -- Christy O'Dea, her husband, James, and their three children are pulling up roots in Merrill, where they have lived for the last five years, and are moving to Santa Lucia, Honduras.
"It's one of those things you just have to do. You are called and can't ignore it," she said.
Both Christy and James are family physicians and have committed the next two years of their lives to improving the health care of the poor in this small Central American country. They will be working with Shoulder to Shoulder, a nonprofit, nongovernmental agency that has been providing health care services in the rural areas of Honduras since 1990. The mission of Shoulder to Shoulder is to develop educational and health programs to help improve the overall health and well-being of Hondurans.
Volunteers from across the United States include physicians, dentists, nurses, lawyers, engineers, builders and students.
These men and women work in the most remote sites, often staying in areas without water or electricity.
The O'Deas will be setting up practice at the clinic in Santa Lucia, which has been in operation since 1997. They will be joined by one other American doctor and his family.
Their living quarters will be simple, consisting of a three-bedroom apartment behind the clinic, which will have running water and electricity but no hot water.
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere and is about the size of Missouri with a population of approximately 5 million.
Most of the people live in substandard conditions with barely enough food to eat and clothing to wear.
High unemployment, rising inflation, and the fact that 75 percent of households are below the poverty level, make it almost impossible for all but the wealthy to obtain medical care.
The infant mortality rate is high, and malnutrition is common among children. Most of them in the rural areas only attend school for three years before they are needed to work in the fields or in the home.
In the remote village of Santa Lucia there is usually only one doctor to serve an area the size of Merrill. Christy and James will see patients six days a week and provide urgent care services 24 hours a day with the other American physician.
In addition to staffing the clinic, they will be required to travel to the outlying communities on a weekly basis.
"Most patients travel by foot," Christy said, "so they don't come to the clinic as often, or they wait until they have more serious problems." Adding to their busy schedule, they will also be hosting American medical students and residents and providing training for Honduran physicians.
Both Christy and James are familiar with the country. After completing medical school, they did residency training in Honduras. They worked in the country twice, but only for a few weeks each time. "We felt it was helpful but also felt like it was a short-term solution -- a Band-Aid solution," said Christy. "We didn't have the care, relationship and continuity of a regular, long-term practice."
"We felt at some point we would like to go back," she said, but she became pregnant and family took precedence.
Because they had not seen the country since 1999, James took their two daughters there in February before making a final commitment to Shoulder to Shoulder. He wanted to make sure this was still something they wanted to do, and both felt it would be important for the children to see the country before moving the family there.
The O'Deas have three children, Marin, 6, Maura, 5, and Jack,1. "Maura is so excited to make new friends and learn a new language," said Christy, "but Marin is sad to leave her friends."
Both girls are students at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School. Since there is no American school in Honduras, the children will have to attend the local school. Classes are only held for a half day, so the other part of the day Christy and James will share in homeschooling them to keep up with their peers in the United States.
Family and friends have had different reactions.
"They are happy for us," said Christy, "but also sorry to see us go."
Some feel there is a lot of value for the O'Deas personally, she said. "The children will be fluent in another language, and we feel it is important for our kids to see not everyone has as much as they do."
During their two-year commitment, they will, however, be coming home every six months to visit family and friends. "That helps," she added.
The O'Deas have been very active members of St. Francis Xavier and will be missed in the community. Both were part of the Marshfield Clinic group in Merrill and founding members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society Free Medical Clinic.
Christy also started a Sunday school program for preschoolers at St. Francis and is active in adult education in the parish.
They have both given up their practices at the Marshfield Clinic, sold their home, and are placing their furniture in storage. They leave July 15 for Guatemala where the whole family will learn the language before beginning their new life in September. Once their commitment is over they don't know what the future will hold, but, said Christy, "Family doctors are needed in lots of places."
Shoulder to Shoulder covers their insurance and airfare expenses, but they are responsible for $30,000 each year for food, language training, childcare and other expenses, and of course, they receive no compensation for their work. The parishioners of St. Francis contributed generously to help them, but the O'Deas are responsible for the rest.
Christy said the problems in Honduras seem overwhelming, "but they do not have to paralyze us. We can do something."
Editor's note: Tax deductible donations, which will go directly to providing health care to some of the world's poorest people, can be made to Shoulder to Shoulder in the O'Dea's name. The address is 2123 Auburn Avenue, Suite 340, Cincinnati, OH 45219, or visit the Web site at www.shouldertoshoulder.org
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2006