Oasis of Hope for Leprosy Victims (Heather Smith, Reporter) In 1908, Dr. James McKean, an American missionary doctor in Chiang Mai, was concerned for the plight of lepers who, rejected by their families, sought shelter under the bridge by the Mae Ping River. As in many other countries, leprosy was feared in Thailand, and victims of the disease often became outcasts. Although there was no known cure in those days, Dr. McKean asked for the use of a tract of land eight kilometers downriver and began a settlement where lepers could live together and receive compassion and care. Small bamboo shelters were succeeded by sturdy cottages, and eventually two villages, one for men and one for women, were established. In the early days of the settlement, when leprosy was contagious, patients were discouraged from marrying and having children.
I practice the healing arts. I diagnose and treat patients’ illnesses. I also prescribe treatment and drugs for patients.
My specialty is pregnancy and the care of newborns. I give care to expectant mothers, help deliver babies, and instruct mothers on proper care for babies.
I take x-rays and interpret them for doctors. I assist physicians in their diagnosis of a patient’s problems by reading the photographs of the body taken with x-rays.
My specialty is pregnancy and the care of newborns. I give care to expectant mothers, help deliver babies, and instruct mothers on proper care for babies.
I prepare and dispense drugs prescribed by physicians. I know about the properties and effects of drugs and herbs.
Name:_____________________________________________Student ID__________________
Gradually, more solid clinics and some dormitory-style hospital wards were built. There, special
care was provided by missionaries and a group of patients trained to be nurse aids. Chaulmoogra oil was
thought to be helpful in treating leprosy and many trees were planted along the river’s edge to provide
this oil.
By the late 1960s, nearly 1,000 patients inhibited the 65-hectare island property, bound on one
side by the Mae Ping River, and on the other by a canal. After World War II, dapsone, the hoped-for cure for
leprosy, had been discovered. It was used at the center, and many of the patients’ conditions improved.
Once it was recognized that leprosy could be cured and patients became non-infectious,
leprosy sufferers no longer needed to be segregated from their families. By the 1970s, integrated clinics
were set up in various areas, allowing patients to live at home while receiving regular treatment. But much
public education was needed to overcome old fears and misunderstandings about the disease. Both
society and the patients had to learn that leprosy is not an incurable curse; it is caused by a
mycobacterium, and can be cured with appropriate multi-drug therapy.
Today, some 117 elderly leprosy victims have been unable to return to society due to physical
disabilities or complete loss of family. They live together in Buraphaniwet Village at the northern end of
McKean Island. About 50 of them require hostel care because of blindness, extreme ole age, or severe
deformities; but they also enjoy the activities and fellowship of the community.
Leprosy victims are not the only disabled people in need of rehabilitation services – those who
have been disabled by road accidents or diseases affecting the spinal or nervous system also require
therapy. In March 1994, a new rehabilitation therapy building was opened with facilities for wheelchairs,
tricycles, prosthetics, and shoes hop workrooms where aids and appliances can be custom-made for each
patient.
The patients now include people who have been disabled by cerebral palsy motorcycle
accidents, spinal tumors or infections, burns, electrical or gunshot injuries, encephalitis, and polio as well as
by leprosy. They are receiving the extended rehabilitation therapy needed to help them achieve their
maximum physical potential and return to society as independent, productive members.
Even today, leprosy still claims victims. But unlike in previous decades, they now receive
treatment as normal members of society – and have the hope of a more active life.
The McKean Center’s island setting its old and new buildings, the differing ages and physical
conditions of its 220 residents, all tell the story of its century-long mission.