The Adventure

by Doug Craighead

Growing up one of six children in a Navy family was adventurous in its own right.

"As I stepped from the modern day chariot that had carried me to this vast land of beauty, I wiped the hours of dust from my tired eyes and gazed towards the mighty Amazon with awe."

A permanent supply of playmates almost always assured my five siblings and me that our fantasy games of pirates and explorers in faraway places would extend for many youthful years. With such a large brood and the restraints of a government paycheck, our clan never took a vacation. Not one trip to Disney World, the Grand Canyon, or some vast green national forest. As I dig deep, there are no memories of that great fishing trip where I could relate the story of "the one that got away" or brag of my encounter with a vicious grizzly bear with six-inch teeth and claws of steel protecting its young. There is however, no deep-rooted regret or disappointment, for the rare jaunts to Grandma's grand old row house in Richmond, Virginia, and blustery sled rides down Raritan Lane were just a few of the adventures that filled our young lives. As my life evolved and memories grew fainter, I yearned for one great adventure of which I could pass the memories to my children.

Time and careers moved gently forward, and in 1991 the warm winds of summer beckoned me to Florida. Assigned to a special operations unit with the military, I was quite apprehensive when my squadron commander approached me with the offer. Unsure of my own abilities to contribute to the mission, I reluctantly accepted this chance of a lifetime. After all, how difficult could it be to interpret a little Spanish for a group of medical specialists performing a humanitarian mission to the fringes of the Amazon jungle in Ecuador? We called it immersion. A way to help me quickly learn a language that was vital to the success of various deployments performed by my unit. The fact that I was an 'A' student in my Spanish class and was also receiving government-funded language tutoring several days a week made the decision no easier.

The spectacular drive from the capital Quito to our base camp at Coca took eight grueling hours through the magnificent Andes over serpent wound roads of milk white dust and untold stories of adventures and tragedy. As I stepped from the modern day chariot that had carried me to this vast land of beauty, I wiped the hours of dust from my tired eyes and gazed towards the mighty Amazon with awe.

"My eyes were sweetened by the sight of wild orchids that danced in the treetops and unbound growths of hibiscus painted red and yellow as we traveled throughout the immense and extraordinary Amazon region."

The lines that first morning were unimaginable. Mothers and children, old and young, weak and strong. Where were they coming from? The sparse counting of small windowless homes of wood and mud could not possibly shelter this number of people. The jungle, I suppose, with its great beauty and vast resources, was their umbrella.

Although I was sent as an interpreter, the team was short of skilled medical technicians and I was quickly trained to clean dental tools. Hours into this first day, working from a small, sparsely furnished classroom in a three-room school, I thought nothing of it when the dentist showed me how to pull a tooth as hundreds waited their turn. Reluctantly, but out of necessity, I quickly grasped the concept of basic dentistry and my newfound skills were put to use.

The soft bronze skin and beautiful smile of my first patient made me nervous. As I pierced her gums with what seemed like a pencil-sized needle I grimaced more than she did. No tears or screams, this six-year-old sitting there in a pretty white dress was the spirit of all these proud and strong people. Hundreds just like this young child patiently waited hours hoping we could lessen their pain before the shadows of dusk pulled us away.

My eyes were sweetened by the sight of wild orchids that danced in the treetops and unbound growths of hibiscus painted red and yellow as we traveled throughout the immense and extraordinary Amazon region. We spent two days at each location, with each new morning mist ushering tens of hundreds of those in need our way.

With only several hours of training I had nervously extracted more than eighty teeth during this two-week trip. From the mother that breast-fed her young child while I reluctantly removed several teeth, to the proud old man who would not accept painkiller, to all the beautiful children whose lives we touched; I realized I had found my great adventure.

Not from thrills, but from the lessons I learned. Lessons about humanity, character, hopes and dreams. I learned that humans are fragile and caring creatures and where we happen to be born into this world doesn't really make the kind of person we become. I learned that, whether we are rich or poor, pain and suffering, joy and happiness, love and kindness are worldwide emotions. I learned that helping others fosters feelings we may not know we had, and I learned the most valuable lesson of all, that there is more to life than what I want or need.

As I pass this story to my own child I hope this will inspire her to seek out and fulfill her own great adventure in the interest of helping others less fortunate than ourselves.

Copyright © Doug Craighead 2003