On the final day of clinics, ReliefWorks team member John Everlove, a paramedic from Ventura, Calif., presented Parisha with her very own stethoscope – the one Everlove brought from home.
Parisha began to cry.
It wasn’t long before the team and members of partner organization IsraAID did as well.
“At the end, we became so connected to her and she became such a friend to us. She was there every day that we were there, and we decided we wanted to give her something special to encourage her on her journey to becoming a doctor. So we presented her as a team with a stethoscope,” Everlove said. “She had the look on her face much like a child does at Christmas getting the perfect gift. She took a deep breath and she didn’t let it out. She became weak in the knees and could hardly stand up. We gave her hugs and thanked her for what she had done.
“By the end, she was crying and we were crying and holding her,” he continued. “We realized that not only were we able to provide care because of her, but we were also able to touch the community in a way that we would have otherwise not been able to imagine because of her participation.”
The team and guide Anuj Mahat of Adventure Thirdpole Treks will also pursue scholarship opportunities for the young girl, who helped ReliefWorks treat the many earthquake-related injuries in Ganeshthan. Other ailments included respiratory issues and cardiac problems.
The team helped transport two elderly women to Kathmandu for intensive treatment – one with a dislocated hip and another with broken ribs which had contributed to her contracting pneumonia.
“We were surprised to learn that many people in these remote areas haven’t received any aid, and weren’t even aware that aid was being distributed,” said Pure Works Vice President and Team Leader Brandon Lindauer. “We’re hearing a lot of stories about how people were injured in the second earthquake, feeling the shaking and jumping out second-story windows to avoid having a house collapse on them. We’re still seeing a lot of broken bones and soft-tissue injuries, some of which will need surgical intervention in the city, which we’ve been able to help arrange as well as provide the necessary transportation.”
The team will spend two days in Phalante for its final deployment in Nepal before beginning its journey back to the United States on Sunday, May 31.