Sisters dentist works along Brazil's Amazon River

Working in Brazil is like pulling teeth...

Sisters dentist Dr. Mark Francis and a team of 25 American doctors, dentists, nurses and support personnel flew to Belem, the port city of the Amazon River basin, last July.

They joined 27 Brazilian doctors, dentists, missionaries and support staff on a mission to bring medical and dental care to the remote regions of Brazil.

Francis and his co-workers spent the next six days floating down the Amazon River on two specially designed hospital boats, each outfitted with an infirmary, laboratory and dental office.

The boats, The Light of the Amazon II and III, are owned and operated by the Brazilian Bible Society (with the help of international donations). Their mission is to tend to the spiritual and physical needs of the villagers who live scattered along the vast Amazon River.

The trip didn't turn out quite the way Dr. Francis expected, but it was an adventure he'll never forget.

Dr. Francis had planned on providing dental services to the villagers they encountered along the Amazon. He expected to perform at least 100 extractions a day. Because of political tensions, however, the medical staff aboard both hospital boats were limited to hygiene education and social services for most of their trip.

"Brazil is a highly political country," said Francis, "with politicians constantly jockeying for position and power."

A village on the Amazon.

Photo by Mark Francis

The group ran into trouble when a local man running for political office sought their endorsement.

"At one of our first stops, a certain individual tried to use us to further his political career. When we refused, it so angered him that he phoned the authorities and asked that we be removed from the river," Francis said.

Because the Brazilian Bible Society had contacts within the government, the two boats were able to finish their six-day trip. But they were not allowed to do any medical or dental work during the final four days.

"We were still able to treat over 1,000 patients," said Francis. "We gave away more than 2,000 toothbrushes.

"The most prevalent problems we saw were dental," Francis noted. "The most popular drink in Brazil is made from pressed sugar cane. The people drink it all day long."

Francis estimated that 99 percent of the people they encountered had intestinal parasites.

"Hygiene was terrible," he said. "The people don't boil their water, just drink it straight from the river. There would be pipes emptying sewage from the houses into the spot where the kids were swimming. The river was hideously polluted.

"God has done a wonderful thing, however," Francis said. "There is a 10-foot tide twice a day. It's the river's way of flushing itself."

Despite health problems, Francis observed that the natives were a beautiful people.

"They are just gorgeous," he said. "There's a mixture of European, Indian, African, and Asian influence. I saw no signs of racism, but saw the cultures all blended beautifully together. They all speak a Brazilian-Portuguese dialect that wouldn't work in Portugal!"

Many of the natives Francis met supported themselves through harvesting and selling acai, a fruit which is high in iron content. Shrimping and fishing also provided a living.

"Little dug-out canoes would approach the boat all night long," Francis said. "They were filled with live shrimp, which our cook purchased for our meals."

The bugs weren't as bad as Francis and his teammates had anticipated, and they never encountered any cases of malaria.

"We all stopped using bug spray after the first day," said Francis. "We'd immediately sweat it all off. The mosquitoes were actually quite small and not as prolific as we expected."

Besides a 30-foot anaconda, two tarantulas and some monkeys, Francis didn't see much wildlife.

He still finds it difficult to pin point the highlight of his trip.

"There was this adrenaline rush that seemed to go on forever," said Francis.

"We were always going at 110 miles per hour. Something was always going wrong, from equipment breaking down to the boat needing repairs.

"And I'll never forget the people," he said. "I'm planning on going back the summer of 2004."

For more information about the Amazon trip, contact Mark Francis at 549-9486.