Mapleton college student returns from Belize
MAPLETON NEWS
by Jennifer Buzza
Some of us might consider traveling to a foreign country a scary prospect, but not Mapleton resident Melissa McGary. McGary is a senior nursing student at the University of Maine in Orono, with plans to graduate in May of this year.
Photos courtesy of Melissa McGary
Mapleton resident Melissa McGary took a medical missions trip to Belize in March with fellow nursing students from the University of Maine at Orono. Pictured during a medical trail walk, the group interacted with iguanas. In front is Pam Shimmel. Second row left to right: Shannon Gusmini, Rebecca Stanton, Alli Colias and Melissa McGary. Third row left to right: Casey Shalkowski, Josh Hughes, Jennifer Pittis (head turned), Sarah Pressley, Aaron Cyr and Paige Pendarvis. Back row left to right: Alex Libby, Nilda Cravens, Ciara Gordon-Magro, Miss Rita and Miss Juliet.
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Melissa McGary, a nursing student from Mapleton, was part of a medical missions trip to Belize in March. 
Fellow nursing students from the University of Maine at Orono went on a week-long trip to provide free medical care for residents in the local communities. Here, she is pictured with a young child who visited the clinic for a checkup. McGary will graduate next month with a bachelors of science degree in nursing.
During the 2011-12 school year, the nursing program at the college began making plans to take a voluntary-based medical missions trip to Belize. According to Melissa, the goal of the trip was for students “to expand their cultural knowledge while practicing assessment skills learned in nursing school.”
With plans already in place for her spring break that year, Melissa kept the option of taking the trip the following year.
Upon their return in 2012, the first group of students and faculty began the process of making the Belize group into an official University Organization. Once the proper paperwork was filed, the group became known as UMaine Nursing International.
According to Melissa, “The process was long and tedious, but by late fall we had gathered all of the information and paperwork and appeared at the appropriate Student Senate meetings to promote our group. I was elected the vice president of our group and I, along with the treasurer, took charge of the fund-raising.”
The group had some catalog-based fundraisers, along with two bottle drives. Melissa also noted that they tried a couple of fundraisers that “were not so successful.”
Through fund-raising efforts, along with donations received, the group raised around $1,500. Upon becoming an official organization, the group was able to apply for funding through the college’s Student Senate. The Senate decided to provide the group with just under $2,000, which helped the students purchase supplies to take with them on their trip, including: ibuprofen, acetaminophen, vitamins, gauzes, bandages, antacids, creams, etc. Americares also donated over 300 toothbrushes, fungal cream and aspirin for the missions trip.
With funding in place, a group of 13 nursing students, along with various members of the nursing faculty, continued meeting during the next several months to get to know each other, learn about the country’s culture, plan for travel and “brush up” on their Spanish. Early in the morning on March 3 the group of 14 met at Logan International Airport in Boston to fly out. They had a layover in Miami, and then traveled on to Belize City. From Belize City, they moved west to San Ignacio where they spent the next six days.
The students set up clinics in various locations during their trip. On day three, they set up a clinic in the community of Georgeville. Offering free health care, the clinic and volunteers were very busy. After assessing the patients and their chief complaints, they were then seen by one of the doctors at the clinic. In some situations, patients were prescribed medications from the group’s pharmacy. According to the blog that was set up to keep family and friends informed, the most common health issue that day was hypertension, followed by diabetes. They saw a few cases of colds, mostly in children and a woman who likely may have had tuberculosis.
With a preschool nearby, the students walked over to meet the children and handed out the donated toothbrushes. The young students were given a lesson in proper teeth brushing and were excited to have a new toothbrush!
The entire trip was not all work-related. The Maine students did have an opportunity to do some sightseeing. They witnessed the start of “La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge,” which was a canoe race 40 miles long, starting in San Ignacio and ending in Belize City. They also did some shopping in local markets, learned some traditional Belizian dances, visited the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins Archaeological site and took part in an Iguana Project as part of a medicine trial walk.
Melissa recalls, “On the final day of our trip, we headed back to Belize City where we got on a ferry boat to go to the island Caye (pronounced ‘key’) Caulker to have a day of fun.” The day included snorkeling and more shopping! The tired group made the long journey back to Maine on March 11.”
Several of the nursing students that attended this trip were profiled on the UMaine Nursing’s blog. Melissa’s profile reads, in part, “One of my goals in life is to take advantage of every opportunity to learn through experiences and traveling. As a soon-to-be nurse, helping people is a motive behind nearly everything I do and I believe utilizing unique opportunities to grow as a learner, a health-care worker and a person will help me to gain a broader perspective on important aspects of life in general. I hope this trip will be the beginning of a very colorful future career in nursing. I am so excited to be a part of this group and I cannot wait to develop my skills and knowledge about culture, travel and health care and to come home and share my experience!”
Melissa is the daughter of Brent and Duska Boyles of Mapleton. She graduated from Presque Isle High School in 2008 and will graduate from the University of Maine at Orono next month with a bachelor of science degree in nursing. In June she has plans to attend basic training for the National Guard and by the fall will be stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Her future plans include pursuing a career in nursing.
Anyone wishing to read more about this trip and see some amazing photos can visit the blog at: umainenursinginbelize.blogspot.com.
Birthdays/anniversaries
Birthday wishes this week go out to: Dave Steeves, Sam Parker, Ina Hoffses, Laurie Stephenson, Laura McPherson, Macey Currier, Darlene Rafford, Emma Arndt, Marilee Smith, Alex Christie, Daniel Coulstring and Julie Savage.
Happy anniversary this week to: Dana and Louella Dean on the 24th and Sid and Marilee Smith on the 28th.
Jennifer Buzza is the correspondent for Mapleton, Castle Hill and Chapman. She can be reached at 760-9115, or by e-mail at jbuzza@ainop.com.
