Kon Tum, 1969-1970. The Minh Quy hospital there was founded in 1959 by Dr Patricia Smith.
Her concern for the Montagnard hill tribesmen inhabiting the area, grew following a year spent in the lepresarium outside Kon Tum.
From Seattle, Washington, Pat was a force of nature. Her powerhouse of energy cut through 20 years of warfare to bring health care to the tribes of this beautiful mountain area.
Here I nursed every manner of war injury; a variety of tropical diseases and twice saw outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague. The lessons I learned from Dr Smith and her staff have served as a template for my life.
No one who visited Minh Quy will ever forget her or the gentle people she cared for.
