Dalton native, a pre-med student, on a mission to Africa

Published 10:51 pm Wednesday, July 16, 2008

As an aspiring medical school student, Adam Smitherman could have spent the summer before his senior year at the University of Georgia interning at a hospital.

But due to strict — and essential — requirements for doctors and other medical professionals, he wouldn’t have gained much real world experience to prepare for his career.

“If you go and work at a hospital, you’ll be moving bed pans pretty much,” said Smitherman, a Dalton native and 2005 graduate of Dalton High School. “You wouldn’t have any real patient interaction. There’s no way you would be able to help deliver a baby here or even take blood pressure because you have to be certified different ways.”

So Smitherman, a 21-year-old pre-medicine major, looked east. All the way to the African country of Nigeria, where he spent two weeks with 15 others on a Christian medical mission sponsored by Charlotte-based Pro-Health International. There, he participated in several of those real world situations, including consulting, pharmacy, surgery, dental and HIV screenings. He even helped deliver a baby.

“It was definitely an eye-opening experience for him,” said his mother, Susan Smitherman.

In those two weeks the organization treated several thousand patients, many of whom had never seen a doctor before. Many Nigerians are treated by tribe members who use traditional herbal medicine that often “ended up doing more harm than good,” Smitherman said.

Smitherman checked out several medical mission programs, but discovered they only lasted one week. Thinking two of the seven days would be spent traveling, Smitherman kept searching for a two-week program. He heard positive accounts from people at UGA about Pro-Health International.

The trip totaled a few thousand dollars (the ticket alone was $2,000) but donations from people in the community and from members of the First Baptist Church of Dalton helped offset the cost. He also received medical supply donations from several local doctors which he took to Nigeria.

So why Africa? Smitherman was aware of the dire need for medical care, and he thought it would be an interesting trip.

“And as a Christian organization, it was a chance to spread the gospel,” Smitherman said.

Smitherman left the U.S. on June 8. After the 12-hour flight to Nigeria, the group spent the first week in Benin City. The group stayed in more rural Ile Oluji during the second week.

Each day, Smitherman would rise at 5 a.m. for breakfast and devotions. The group arrived at the work site at 8 a.m. where they stayed until 8 p.m. or later. The food was surprisingly good, the hotels were nice but the beds felt like a “cinderblock with a sheet on it.” Smitherman said he “was prepared for a lot worse than it was,” envisioning sleeping under netting every night and constantly wearing mosquito repellent.

“It turned out to be a lot nicer than I was expecting,” Smitherman said.

One part of the trip he couldn’t prepare for was the throngs of people who lined up in front of the clinics in the early morning hours. When the Pro-Health International group arrived the first morning, Smitherman was shocked.

“It was absolutely intimidating,” Smitherman said. “I wasn’t expecting crowds that big. We got out of the car and all of the sudden everybody’s staring at us, excited that we’re there. It usually worked out fine. Everybody was lined up and everything. There were a few times that the crowds got out of hand and ended up breaking down some doors trying to get to the medical clinics.”

Despite the madness at some clinics, Smitherman felt safe. Many Nigerians had never seen a white person before and ran up to touch the visitors from the U.S. The Nigerians were grateful for the group’s help.

The local chiefs in each town invited the group to their homes for evening parties. Smitherman also received tailor-made African clothes as a gesture of their appreciation. In the clinics, Nigerian doctors donating their time supervised Smitherman and the rest of the group. English is the official language in Nigeria, so there wasn’t too large of a communication barrier.

After graduating college in spring 2009, Smitherman hopes to attend either the Medical College of Georgia or the Mercer University School of Medicine the following fall. He may study cardiology, but he hasn’t decided. He does want medical missions to be a part of his life.

“I really want to be able to have the opportunity to take a few months off, a few weeks or whatever it may be and go to Third World countries to be able to offer free medical care,” Smitherman said. “We pretty much have it made in the U.S. Even though a lot of people don’t have health insurance, there is still that option in an emergency room and things like that.”