Oklahoma Medical Specialist Heads to Help Earthquake Victims in Pakistan

One group of Oklahoma doctors is joining in the earthquake relief effort.<br/><br/>Nine doctors and medical professionals from the Oklahoma Baptist Medical Disaster relief team left for Pakistan today.<br/><br/>News

Wednesday, October 19th 2005, 3:51 pm

By: News On 6

One group of Oklahoma doctors is joining in the earthquake relief effort.

Nine doctors and medical professionals from the Oklahoma Baptist Medical Disaster relief team left for Pakistan today.

News on Six reporter Ashli Sims caught up with one of the volunteers from Osage County.

Ashli says the Oklahoma Baptist disaster relief team was called up just last year, for the Asian tsunami. Now, they're bringing their expertise to Pakistan.

Marcus Sizemore has the essentials are packed and loaded, but he says he isn't quite sure he's ready for the mission ahead.

"I don't know that I'm completely prepared," Sizemore says. "All I can say is that I will do my best when I get there."

Sizemore is a physician's assistant in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, but he's leaving his clinic, his family, and his rural home for a disaster zone.

Soon he'll be in Islamabad, Pakistan, near the epicenter of the earthquake that's killed so many people.

Sizemore says, "It's a great opportunity to go an help people there are really suffering. The people have been through a lot, we'll do what we can. We may not be able to fix all of their problems, but we'll do what we can."

This is not Sizemore's first experience with a major natural disaster.

After the waters receded from the Asian tsunami, Sizemore was there helping bring much needed health care to the victims of Indonesia. Now he wants to bring that same kind of help and compassion to Pakistan."

Sizemore: "I care about those people, God loves those people, and we are going to share our hearts with them by giving them some health care that they really need, I think."

Sizemore's faith fuels his desire to help.
And its that faith and prayer that he believes will protect him on this journey.
He says it's hard leaving his family, but the help he'll give is worth the sacrifice.

"Here in America we are blessed so much," says Sizemore. "So I'm happy to go and share a small part of what we have with people who are hurting so badly."

Marcus Sizemore says part of the disaster relief team will be working in a hospital in Islamabad, and the rest will be working triage at a field clinic.