MILL CREEK — He does some of his most meaningful work while he’s on vacation.
Michael Mallahan travels abroad to help children hear. The audiologist at Mill Creek’s Hearing and Balance Lab led nearly 30 volunteers on a medical mission to Guatemala earlier this month.
Most of the people on the trip were medical professionals from Snohomish County. Local doctors traveling alongside Mallahan included Jeff Adams of Everett, Jack Stephens of Edmonds and Ron Krueger of Mukilteo.
A few students from area high schools were also part of the team.
For more than a decade, Mallahan has been organizing medical missions twice a year with the local chapter of the national nonprofit Healing the Children. The organization provides medical care to children around the world.
Mallahan and other volunteers donate their time and effort. They pay for their own travel expenses. They spend their vacation time doing the work.
Ann Anderst, the director for the local Healing the Children chapter in Mukilteo, said watching the volunteers set up medical suites to help people in Guatemala was impressive.
“It was really fascinating to see,” Anderst said. “These guys are adept, skilled and talented.”
The volunteers hauled surgical tools, equipment and medication into the country. Mallahan said they often have to talk their way past customs officials.
“Literally, we sneak most of it through,” he said.
Meanwhile, families waited in long lines overnight for their chance to see the doctors. Mallahan’s team did pediatric examinations for 390 children in one week. Some were fitted with hearing aids while others had to have surgeries.
Mallahan, who is involved with Everett’s Irish Soccer Club, brought 100 soccer balls to give to those who were recovering from painful surgeries. He also brought shoes and uniforms.
“It’s like, ‘Whoo-hoo!’” Anderst said. “Those soccer balls are the greatest pick-me-up after a surgery.”
The medical team also provided follow-up care to children who were seen on previous visits.
Mallahan first went to Guatemala in 2003. He has since recruited volunteers to join his mission, traveling twice a year to the Central American country.
He has established three hearing clinics in Guatemala. He helped train local technicians to test patients, fit hearing aids and identify surgical candidates.
Eventually, he hopes to have the technicians trained well enough to handle patients on their own, enabling him to establish three more clinics elsewhere.
Unlike other medical teams, Mallahan tries to avoid Guatemala City.
“In order to serve the poorest of the poor, you have to get out into the country,” he said.
This year, his team worked in Morales, in the eastern part of the country, and in San Benito, in the north. They also provided services in other locations.
The Mill Creek Rotary Club helped the team with $25,000 to buy hearing aids, computers and equipment for the clinics, including three ear lights that can send data, pictures and videos to doctors in the U.S. The technology enables Guatemalan technicians to consult with the American specialists year-round.
“The funny thing is there were three audiologists on the trip who were jealous because they don’t have equipment that nice in their offices,” Mallahan said.
The team focuses their work in Guatemala because more people experience hearing loss there than in other parts of the world, Mallahan said. The cause can be genetic or environmental.
The longer it takes for a person to get treatment, the more severe the hearing problems can become. That’s why Mallahan focuses on helping children.
“The younger we find them and get a hearing aid on them, the better they do,” he said.
Over the past decade, Mallahan has been able to see the difference he has made in the lives of his patients and their families. On his first trip, he treated a young girl who had severe hearing loss. Her parents told Mallahan that other doctors said there was nothing they could do to help her.
Mallahan fitted her with a hearing aid. For the first time, she was able to hear.
The audiologist has continued to see her during follow-up visits through the years. This year, he learned of her future plans.
“She just graduated from school as a teacher for children with disabilities,” he said. “Now that’s a success story.”
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
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