Leprosy Colony

It is one thing to learn about Leprosy in School, through books, pictures, and stories, however seeing the Leprosy disease and its consequences in person solidifies compassion! Vietnam is home to 2 Leprosy Colonies (North and South Vietnam).  Although the worldwide incidence has dramatically decreased, the World Health Organization is still tracking active cases throughout the World. More awareness of the condition, knowledge of the transmission, and more effective drug therapy has all helped in this effort. We visited one of the colonies in South Vietnam to learn more about the disease, the care provided, the consequences, and to offer our humanistic support for these patients.

This colony is home to approximately 200 patients, none of which have active disease. 70-80 of these patients are in the terminal phase of the disease. Patients contract the devastating disease which affects multiple systems of their body. The infection is treatable, but patients suffer the sequelae for the rest of their lives. Disfiguration (Facial and limbs), numbness in the extremities which leads to unnoticed infections, and ultimately to the amputation of one or more limbs to stop the spread of the secondary infection.

Our visit began by meeting with the primary caregiver who explained how the patients ultimately found their place in this colony. We received a tour of the modest medical facilities, which included a diagnostics room, an x-ray room, limb inspection stations, and a make-shift prosthetics lab.

As we interacted with the patients, they still had a amazing zest for life. To the extent they could, they greeted us, talked with us, allowed our inspection of their limbs, and continued to smile the whole visit. As I met the different patients in this colony, it sparked reinforcement of the differences in worldwide prevalence of devastating diseases, and the things that we take for granted with our own modern medical care system.

This was an eye-opening, educational experience for our Pharmacy team, and one that will not soon be forgotten. It is through personal experiences like this one that I know will enrich the knowledge, compassion and awareness of our students and myself not only for rare diseases like Leprosy, but for all  patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions!

Another sincere thank you to those who helped donate to this mission, as we were able to provide a modest financial donation to assist with the amazing work being done to care for these patients.

Thank you to the patients for allowing us the opportunity to grow as Pharmacists but more importantly Human Beings!!