Eva Li is a dietetics student at Indiana University. This past summer she traveled to China to help children with congenital heart disease through an organization called China California Heart Watch.
Her Campus: Tell me a little about the trip and what you did on a day to day basis.
Eva Li: The trip started out in Dali, China. We did a two or three day training program to prepare us for the next two weeks. We were taught how to use a stethoscope, find blood pressure, measure heart rate and test oxygen levels. From there, we started traveling to different villages in the Yunnan province. We would wake up each day early in the morning and go to the hospital to train nurses and doctors on how to use certain forms of technology. Another thing we did was provide free health services to families who could not afford it. Dr. Detrano, the founder of the program, was the individual primarily responsible for doing the advanced work for those families.
HC: What moved you or touched you most?
EL: I was moved by how selfless Dr. Detrano was. He could be teaching at a university, but instead he devotes his time helping children in rural China. Even when adults would arrive asking for help, he wouldn’t turn them away. He uses a lot of his own money to fund the trips. I remember one time he ran a clinic out of his own hotel room because a family came to him with a sick son. That boy got the help he needed because of him. It was touching.
HC: Would you encourage other students to do something like this?
EL: Yes, absolutely. I would recommend this to students who would like to go abroad without necessarily studying abroad. I was able to volunteer and do a sort of internship at the same time. Also, I think that anyone interested in medicine should have to see how hospitals in other countries work, especially rural hospitals.
HC: Do you plan on doing something like this again soon?
EL: I would like to do something like this again. I always want to go abroad. That being said, these trips do take a lot of time and commitment. I think I’d like to travel within the country next time before I go abroad again, so I can get that experience too.