One month in India. An international medical elective.

What began for all of us as a simple medical elective turned into a race to save the life of a 13-year old girl, Tenzing. She had been a healthy, normal 13-year old girl from Kargiakh, a small village nestled in the Indian Himalayan Mountain Range. When our team arrived in her village after a 4-day trek over the high pass Shingo-La we received a King’s welcome from the local “Tea Shop” owner. The village came to welcome us at his tent and serve us tea and cookies. It was only after he had ensured our comfort that he asked if we would consider seeing his daughter, Tenzing. She had been wasting away before their eyes for over 6 weeks. Initially treated for worms, she had developed worsening diarrhea, anorexia, oral thrush, and prominent cervical lymphadenopathy. She was dangerously dehydrated and in need of a hospital admission to sort out what was going on. We started her on an IV, using what limited sterile resources that we had, and treated her obvious infections. Once stabilized, the goal became how to transport her over the 4 day trek, reaching a high-pass of 17 000 ft. This was the same pass on which one of our team members developed High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), 2 others developed severe Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), and all three had to be airlifted from Kargiakh (they are now fully recovered). We all wished that they could have taken Tenzing with them on the helicopter, but they could not. On the night before we were to leave, Tenzing developed GI bleeding and required further IV fluids. It was a long night of tough decisions regarding whether her travel would be wise. It was what the family wanted.