Lady Tiger alum Becca Hayes changing lives on medical mission trip
COACH STARKEY: The following comes from Becca Hayes, a Lady Tiger alum that is about to share a truly inspiring story with us:
Thanks Bob, for the opportunity to share my medical mission trip experience with you and the Lady Tiger family. For those who don’t know me, I played for the Lady Tigers from 1987-1990. The legendary Coach Sue Gunter recruited and coached me. What a privilege it is to be able to say that.
Fast forward 20 years…I am a pediatric intensive care nurse currently working at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. I work primarily with post-operative congenital heart defect babies and children. That is my specialty, and my passion is serving others through mission work. So, when I was asked to join a very talented group of medical professionals to go to South America and combine those two things, I jumped at the opportunity.
On September 2, 2010, a group from both children’s hospitals in Houston (Children’s Memorial Hermann and Texas Children’s) traveled to Santa Cruz, Bolivia to do heart surgery for kids with congenital heart defects. We performed 11 cardiac caths and 12 open-heart surgeries over a 6-day period. Together we helped change 23 children’s lives as well as their families. It only took $27,000 to put this mission trip together. In the USA, that would cover the surgeon’s cost for one surgery in the average hospital.
There are no pediatric cardiovascular surgeons in Bolivia. Our team consisted of 1 surgeon, 2 perfusionists, 3 anesthesiologists, 1 physician assistant, 1 scrub tech, 5 nurses, 2 cardiologists, 1 respiratory therapist, and 1 biomedical engineer. We partnered with a private hospital in Santa Cruz called Incor, which gave up one week of paying patients to allow this to happen. They donated their staff to assist us, their ICU beds and one of their surgical suites as well. We brought all of our supplies and equipment, except a few major items. Otherwise, it was a collaborative effort through and through. The team was awesome. I only knew 2 out of the 17 people before we departed Houston. There was an instant bond with each and every one of the people. It was much like being on a basketball team. We all brought different skills to the court. We had different roles to play, each one important and vital to the team’s success. I know that my experience as a Lady Tiger prepared me for the work I do today. I will always be grateful and proud to be a LSU Tiger.
The families were so appreciative of the work we did. They gave us many hugs and kisses. To know that the children would now have the opportunity to live relatively healthy lives with a normal life expectancy because of this surgery made it all worthwhile for me. The Bolivians were the most gracious hosts. We never had the opportunity to get hungry. They fed us well and constantly. We were able to jog/run every morning, thank goodness! (Side bar: One of the anesthesiologists was an Olympic miler for Spain in 1990. He still runs and competes at a world-class level. Let’s just say we all met at the same time every morning and some of us went farther and faster than others!) Also, they gave us incredible accommodations. The Hotel Yotau’ was as nice as it gets in Santa Cruz. President Clinton stayed there early in his presidency when he traveled to Bolivia for diplomatic reasons. They had many celebrations for us and we were treated like royalty. It was pretty cool. I haven’t felt like that since I was wearing the purple and gold!
In conclusion, I can say that it was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had!