to Nicaragua where she is currently living cancer-free.
It was extremely difficult for Danny to make this decision and
is still something that he struggles with internally. Danny made
the decision to help Adriana by truly analyzing both outcomes. He
went with the one that felt right. Danny had obtained legal counsel
from Young Life plus advice from his superiors, friends and family.
When it came down to it, Adriana’s life was more important to him
than risking his job, or endangering relationships if he denied the
same sort of assistance to others in the future. Danny felt it was in-
credibly unfair that just because he was an American worker living
and working in Nicaragua, he was afforded benefits that the local
Nicaraguan employees could not have.
Although I had no role in this process or in the decision making,
I believe Danny made the correct decision and I would hope that,
if placed in that situation, I would have done the same. Danny had
the resources to make a life-saving difference and used them to do
just that. Although not always appropriate, I believe it was extreme-
ly bold of Danny to go against the advice of his organization and
pursue an outcome that he felt was right. Danny went about this
situation logically and thoughtfully and did not make a quick, rash
decision based on emotion. There’s nothing I would have changed
about Danny’s part. I understand the liability that Young Life would
have taken on if they had advised Danny to intervene in the situa-
tion, however, I wish that Young Life had aided him in formulating
alternative plans to help Adriana.
Learning about this firsthand from Danny has given me a great
lesson if I am faced with similar situations in the future. Medical
missions are something that I am passionate about and hope to
pursue greatly in my career as a physician. This scenario has direct
links to global health and especially to the field of medical mis-
sions. “Can do” vs. “should do” vs. “must do” situations like Danny’s
confront other workers daily worldwide. There is a constant battle
between what can be done with local resources, and what ethically
should be done. When traveling abroad on medical missions, we
purchase travel insurance that will enable us to be helicoptered
out and flown back to the US in dire health situations, yet the very
people we are there to help are stuck with what little resources they
have. If I break my leg in rural Haiti, I can travel stateside to have
an orthopedic surgeon put me back together. However, if our host
in Haiti breaks his leg, he might be on crutches or limp the rest of
his life. Of course not everyone the US gets the care they need, but
I believe there are certain situations where the rulebook should be
set aside and exceptions made.
T HE 2018 RICHARD SPEAR, MD,
MEMORIAL ESSAY CONTEST
GUIDELINES
To enter, you must be a GLMS physician member (practicing or
retired), GLMS in-training member or University of Louisville
medical student.
THEMED ESSAY CONTEST: All entries must be original,
unpublished writing intended solely for publishing in
Louisville Medicine. Essays must be pertinent to the following
theme.
“What Have You Sacrificed to Become a
Physician?”
LENGTH: 800 to 2,000 words
DEADLINE: Monday, March 5, 2018
PRIZE: $1,500 for practicing and retired
$750 for physicians-in-training
FORMAT: Do not put your name on your essay! Judges
are blinded to authors. Instead, include a separate cover
letter with name, entry category, essay title and contact
information.
SUBMISSION: Send via email as an attachment to
Aaron Burch at [email protected].
Randall Beaupre is a 3rd year medical student at the UofL School of
Medicine.
FEBRUARY 2018
19