Humanitarian mission to Peru part of basketball player’s journey to FGCU
4 – minute read
Some students take a circuitous route before they begin their college journey at Florida Gulf Coast University. For Michael Duax, that path included a stop in Peru on a mission trip to deliver Western medicine to a part of the world that doesn’t have access to consistent medical care or supplies.
The Dubuque, Iowa, native had already made the decision to transfer to FGCU from the University of Northern Iowa to play basketball for the Eagles. While preparing to leave UNI, he heard about International Medical Relief. The non-governmental organization travels around the world to underserved communities to provide medical services, medicines, supplies, training and education. As a pre-med student majoring in biology and minoring in Spanish, a trip to Peru was a perfect fit.
After getting acclimated to FGCU, Duax made the trip in early August. The IMR group flew to Cusco and the Sacred Valley that was once the capital of the Incan empire. From there, it was a bus ride to Puerto Maldonado. According to IMR, there are “high rates of preventable and infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, pneumonia and malaria” in this area due to poor water quality and lack of medical services.
“We drew a big crowd,” Duax said. “People hear that American medicine is coming over, and they think that it can be a cure-all.”
Some of the health issues that were treated by the group were cuts and scrapes; others were more complex. If left untreated, however, those smaller issues could become major infections.
Originally, Duax was supposed to shadow the doctors providing care. Instead, due to the rush of local community members needing treatment, Duax used his linguistic skills to be an interpreter between doctors and patients.
“I’m not 100% fluent, but I was able to get what they were saying. That was actually better for me than shadowing because I was able to work on my Spanish.”
The clinic was open nine hours a day, with patients constantly filling the makeshift office. As they filed in and out, the overwhelming feeling of gratitude enveloped the Iowa native.
“I’ll always remember seeing the appreciation that all of the patients had for us,” Duax said. “We weren’t saving lives. We were just doing what we would consider basic healthcare. A few different times, they’d be ready to leave and when they realized it was free, they would keep saying ‘God bless you.’”
After making an impact in Peru, the redshirt junior forward is now trying to make an impact in the Eagles’ starting lineup. But when life after basketball comes, Duax knows where he’ll be. The trip reaffirmed his decision to pursue a degree in the medical field.
“It confirmed that I want to go into healthcare,” he said. “Their appreciation changed my life. It’s hard to explain the feeling you get about how appreciative and happy they are.”
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