Fernando Popking was found on a beach in Guatemala in 2010 by Dr. Allen Barber, a retired dentist and chairman of True North Missions, who was there with residents from
Synergy Medical Education Alliance. Popking wasn't hard to spot--he had a cancerous bone tumor that was the size of a basketball on his hip.
"He saw that my health was poor," Popking says through his volunteer translator, Claudia Arellano, director of alumni relations at Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance. "Dr. Allen said, 'You have to fight.'"
Popking is from El Cedro, a Guatemalan village made up of displaced Mayan ancestors. The villagers speak a Mayan dialect called Q'eqchi', as well as Spanish.
To get to El Cedro, visitors must take a six-hour plane ride to Rio Dulce, a river in Guatemala. That is followed by a hour or two of traveling by boat along the shoreline, and a 45-minute hike through the jungle. There is no health care in the remote village of farmers and fishermen, so the people rely on doctors who visit during mission trips.
"I was worried because I knew it was a sickness you have to get taken care of," Popking says. "I felt satisfied when Dr. Allen (Barber) arrived. He said he had to look for other doctors to help me. It took several months until they returned to the village."
Barber met with Popking again in January 2011 when he took him to a Guatemalan hospital for X-rays. The tumor had been growing on his hip for about 12 years.
When the tumor's growth began to accelerate, about two years ago, Popking could no longer farm or fish. By the time he arrived in the U.S. for surgery, he could not sit or lay down. He had been sleeping in a hammock and was using a broomstick to help him stand.
"After the X-ray, they told me it could be taken care of," he says. "Dr. Allen asked if I was willing to come to the U.S. I said yes because I wanted to get well."
Meanwhile, Anthony Taylor, medical education manager at Synergy Medical, began the process to help bring Popking to the U.S., including obtaining a birth certificate and passport for Popking. Taylor attended his first mission trip to Popking's village last March.
"It was my first taste of real third-world lifestyle," he says. "It was very humbling. This is the proudest thing I've ever done in my entire career. It's a life changing experience."
Popking arrived to the U.S. with the clothes on his back, a broomstick to help him stand and $20 given to him by Barber. Throughout the process, Popking was accompanied by Taylor and Arellano. The three have formed close bonds and there is a lot of trust and comfort, despite the language barrier.
Dr. Anthony de Bari, a Covenant HealthCare orthopedic surgeon, performed the surgery to remove the tumor once Popking arrived.
"My first thought was, 'How in the world am I going to get this out?' I had a pre-operative plan that I had to modify because it was so huge," de Bari said. "I had never before performed an internal hemipelvectomy. This was bigger than what you read about in textbooks."
Dr. de Bari has participated in a total of 13 mission trips since 2004.
"I especially like to help those people who have little or no access to medical care, especially orthopedics," de Bari says. "Taking care of patients is a ministry for me, something that I feel God has given me the talent to do. I have been fortunate to be able to do these cases because of the generosity of Covenant HealthCare, specifically the CEO, Spence Maidlow. Without the cooperation of the hospital who donates their services as well, I would not be able to help these unfortunate people."
Dr. de Bari says he doesn't know if the tumor will recur. But, Popking will be pain-free, able to participate in family activities and sleep comfortably.
"The pain was just excruciating," Popking says. "Now I have no pain. I'll go back to my country with my heart very happy. I'm very grateful for the doctors and everyone who was there."
When Taylor and Arellano told Popking he would be returning to his village, he was overwhelmed with emotion. Popking said that 'God will repay all of you.'
Before heading back to Guatemala, Popking wanted to do three things: visit a market, purchase a watch and go to a park. With the help of the
Great Lakes Loons, Popking was able to fully experience visiting a park. He even pitched the first ball at a Loons game in July.
"He was very nervous at first because he couldn't believe how many people were at the stadium," says Taylor. "However, as soon as he got to the pitching mound, I had never seen him get out of the wheelchair so quickly and onto his crutches to pitch."
Afterward, Popking says he felt 'fuerte,' or strong.
"He had a smile from ear to ear and was so excited that he was able to throw the first pitch," Taylor says. "He had an incredible time at the Loons game and enjoyed everything from throwing the first pitch to eating a hot dog and Dippin' Dots for the first time."
Rachel Esterline is a freelance writer in mid-Michigan. She also works full-time as an account executive and social media specialist at AGP & Associates. Find her on Twitter or learn more at her website.Photos from Loons minor league baseball team courtesy of photographer Nick Anderson.