Born with his intestines lying outside his abdomen, death was imminent for a baby in West Africa. His grandmother gathered up the newborn, scrambling with hope that someone could save her grandson. Lisa Mohrman, surgeon on watch at Ghana’s Baptist Medical Center, received the baby and in the operating room repaired his abdominal deformity. “A month later,” recounts Lisa, “his abdomen has healed, he’s gaining weight, and seems to be developing normally. I am glad that I was the one to touch this baby’s life.”
Lisa responded to a call, a call to die to herself – to her comforts, her entertainment, her material prosperity. She chooses to live simply, so that others may simply live. Coming to embody this virtue was a process for Lisa. “I was first inspired by the service of Dr. Tom Dooley to the underprivileged of Laos. INMED gave me the opportunity to explore this desire as a medical student through the International Medicine & Public Health Diploma program at Banso Baptist Hospital in Cameroon. I spent the next 5 years of my surgical residency yearning to return to Africa.”
“Today, I am serving in Ghana as the INMED International Medicine Fellow. Over the past months working at the hospital I have gained a new understanding of dying to myself. Working here can be overwhelming, with so many patients in need and so many that I cannot possibly help, no matter how great my desire is to make them well. But then I remember that I touched at least one little baby, a baby who is alive today in part because I am here.”
Dying to self. Living simply so that others may simply live. INMED is committed to enabling healthcare students and professionals to do just this. Are you looking for inspiration or simply need to take the next step towards your calling? Join us at the annual Exploring Medical Missions Conference and be among those who discover that a call to die can actually mean living in the fullest.