Nurse Travels From Paradise to ‘End of the World'
Ah, Waikiki. It is the stuff dreams are made of. Pacific surf pounding down on sandy shores, magestic volcanic mountains - blanketed in tropical greens - jutting up toward the heavens.
But Joe Niemczura, MSN, RN, was dreaming of another destination when we first chatted by phone - he gazing out to nearby Diamond Head, sipping some Kona java - while I was in sensory overload just listening to him describe the view. "It's everyone's fantasy paradise," said Niemczura as NPR radio played in the background.
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Joe Niemczura, MSN, RN |
From Maine to Hawaii and Way Beyond...
An instructor at the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Niemczura was once about as far from Hawaii as a mainland American could get. Think cold, northern Maine... pines, not palms; critical care nursing, not teaching. Niemczura was active with ANA while there, serving as CE chair, then as CMA President and a delegate to the House of Delegates.
"But things happened, and here I am," said Niemczura. "Things" included a divorce, kids growing up, and a mid-life urge to make a switch.
But relocating to what has been called by some the most remote island chain in the world wasn't enough for Joe. With a three-month hiatus from teaching and a round-trip air ticket to anywhere earned through the university's Office of International Programs, Niemczura decided to volunteer his nursing expertise to the people of Nepal. Yep, Himalayas. Toward that end, Niemczura has now made three summer trips to what he refers to in the title of his newly published book as The Hospital at the End of the World. http://www.plainviewpress.net/zencart/
On the 'Lunatic Fringe'
Traveling there (which, incidentally, takes him four days) under the aegis of a Christian aid organization, Niemczura was confronted by what he calls "...one of the poorest general sets of health outcomes in the world. One out of seven children die before the age of 5; infant mortality is more than 12 times what it is in the U.S.," he told me. "There is human trafficking ... women are sold into brothels in India and come back to Nepal with AIDS. They have multi drug-resistant tuberculosis. That's just the beginning of the picture. Life expectancy is in the 50s."
Why would Niemczura leave "fantasy paradise" for Nepal? "I realize I'm on the lunatic fringe," he said through a laugh, explaining that he simply isn't the beach/cruise/same-place-every-year type of traveler. "Besides, it changed my life."
Next time: How Niemczura became "the snake man" and gained credibility in Nepal.
Answer to question posed last time: Devanagari is the script used in written Nepali, similar to Sanskrit.
Just for fun: Thik cha (Nepali phrase meaning "okay," cited in Niemczura's book.)