Kelowna nurse returns from treating Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Crystal Grymaloski, is slowly adjusting to life back in Kelowna after returning from a whirlwind nursing deployment in Bangladesh where she treated Rohingya refugees for three weeks.

Grymaloski, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, had three days notice to pack, get immunizations, write school finals and board a plane for the hospital, operated by Samaritan's Purse, an international faith-based relief organization.

She received the email for deployment on Dec. 5, 2017 and boarded a plane on Dec. 8.

"People say, 'Yeah you think you'll have more time,' especially as this was my first deployment with them. I didn't think I would be a last-minute pick," said Grymaloski, 34.

The whirlwind didn't slow down either.

The day after arriving, she jumped into nine, 12-hour shifts followed by three days off and she finished her time with 10 back-to-back shifts before returning to Canada.

"It's an interesting experience. You realize you are there for a purpose and for a short time, so you can sustain that pace," she said.

Grymaloski provided post-surgery treatment for patients from refugee camps nearby and received many referrals from the Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Since August, an estimated 650,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in fear of their Government, according to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Many of the refugees are landing in camps near Cox's Bazar - just 45 minutes from the Memorial Christian Hospital where she worked.

According to Grymaloski, many of the refugees were treated for old injuries that had become infected due to improper camp conditions.

"There were some gunshot injuries; So patients who were leaving had been injured in that process, most likely by Myanmar military as they were fleeing villages.

"We heard that some of our patients who lived in rural settings had never seen vehicles before, so there were some injuries associated with that - mostly crossing in front of one and not realizing what it was."

While this was her first trip with Samaritan's Purse, it was her fourth international nursing trip.

"Not too much surprises me anymore," she said. "I still hopefully feel and absorb what is occurring for each person, but I think the shock of other cultures and the realities of the world is lessening the more international work I do."

On the compound, she was well-fed with the help of hired cooks who served up heaps of rice, chicken, fish and homemade bread on any given day.

She lived in a peaceful and scenic area.

“The weather was beautiful. The Rainy season had just finished and it was largely clear and sunny - 10 to 25 degrees I think.”

When her three days off arrived, she had little energy for adventures and instead used them to catch up on sleep and explore the compound.

Now back in Kelowna, she's continuing her studies to become a nurse practitioner. She's also enjoying having time to relax.

In spite of her exhaustion, she hopes to do it all again soon. A self-professed restless soul, she calls her international work a grounding experience.

"I look at people who are happy in other cultures who don't have as many material things I have access to and it helps reset myself for what is important."

Admittedly overwhelmed at times, Grymaloski said the reward outweighed the exhaustion she felt.

"You leave knowing you've done something that hopefully has an impact on people and speaks to the fact that they are loved and they aren't forgotten."

She was also touched by the way the Rohingya people treated each other - even though they had just met.

"It was beautiful to watch the kindness they displayed to each other and to us. It was a really beautiful culture I witnessed."

About 100 refugees a day are entering Bangladesh.

The Memorial Christian Hospital opened in 1966 and has 100 inpatient beds, but often many more patients.

It's a major surgical resource for about 10 million people in a country of 130 to 140 million people and performs about 1,800 surgical cases each year.

For more information about Samaritan's Purse, visit here.