NumBum - Colca river rafting outing Southern Peru

Care for All

I love to travel. My first adventure came at an early age when I just had to get to the top of that cottonwood tree outside our kitchen. Mom attempted to strongly discourage further adventures but I was hooked. My favorite memories which persist from childhood are of those two week summer vacations. I was very lucky as a child. The sights I have of other countries leads me to believe the world is just as full of unlucky children. In this century, in our time, the leading cause of death in the world is from infectious disease. Seeing so many people suffer when the source of their suffering could be prevented hurts my heart. The world offers so much care to so many, yet many still receive no care. The average person goes untreated. There are so few doctors. Today, in this world, on this earth, 22,000 people will die from infectious diseases. Diseases which I could buy a cure for in a local store. Help for me is easy and at times I take so much of what I have for granted. But what about everybody else? After all, if it's not good for everybody it's not good for anybody. Right? What can I do? How can I help? Why even care?

Ten years ago I was involved in a terrible accident. I spent four months in a hospital, ten days in intensive care. Had 20 surgeries. Spent over a year getting back on my feet and learning to walk again. I was lucky to have insurance. I was lucky there were doctors. But I was broke, without work, unable to work and deeply in debt. I spent time living in my car. I had friends who cared and a family which loves me and in time life was rolling along again. If I had not had access to so many things I would not be writing this now and surely would not even be alive. Life is so fragile and we teeter on the edge of disaster everyday. Without doctors, care and timely effort my story would be very different.

Because of what I have seen and experienced I had long dreamed of creating a system of health aid for the Third World Community. Finally I am closer to this goal and now dream of what can come. I have a developing organization named "Care For All" and this year I will coordinate efforts to send a number of medical residents/interns to less fortunate countries. The medical student learns and the local people increase their level of healthcare. I love win-win situations. We start with 30 medical students in 3 countries and hope things can grow every year. More people with healthier, happier lives who have access to care which can make all the difference in their lives. If you have any comments or ideas or would like to volunteer, then I would love to hear from you. I think everyone should be able to live their life to the fullest.