Greetings from Madagascar - Appalachian Spring Dermatology

Aaron Santmyire, our Nurse Practitioner, spends most of the year in Madagascar with his family as a missionary and medical professional. We are fortunate to have him home for a few months of the year to see our patients and catch us with us, his friends and family. The following is a note I recently received from him as well as some photos from his adventures. We are so proud of the work he is doing and so grateful to have him home soon.

From Aaron:

Greetings from Madagascar,

I am looking forward to coming back to the United States in early June to begin caring for patients on that side of the world.

My family and I have had an eventful and full year since we were last home. I was able to travel to Egypt in early November, which was exciting. It was my first time there, and it is such an interesting place.

Another blessing was getting to see two girls from the orphanage graduate with their degrees as midwives. One of the girls is now working at a clinic that I work at once a month. It puts a smile on my face to see her when I am there.

On the medical front, last year Madagascar experienced an unusually high outbreak of the bubonic and pneumonic plague. Thankfully, that has not been as much of an issue this year, but unfortunately, the measles outbreak has ferociously hit the island.

With the vaccination rates being low and the level of poverty hindering quality healthcare, it has been a challenging year seeing the fear on parent’s faces wondering if their child will be the next to get sick and possibly die due to the illness or complications from it.

I believe that God has gifted me with the ability to care for people and that is what I am endeavoring to do whether that is in Madagascar or the United States.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Aaron

To schedule an appointment to see Aaron in our office this summer, please call the office or use the Healow button on our website. In the meantime, mark your calendars for May 10 when we will have an open house at Appalachian Spring Dermatology when you will be able to visit with our team and learn about the new and exciting technologies we have in the office that are taking the world of dermatology by storm.

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