Colorado Doctor Travels To Nepal In Aftermath Of Earthquake
DENVER (CBS4)- A Colorado doctor is traveling to Nepal to help in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. The death toll has topped 5,000 people and the country is desperate for medical help, food and water.
Dr. Dave Young is an emergency room physician at the University of Colorado Hospital.
"I've never seen anything like this," said Young when looking at pictures of the devastation in Nepal after Saturday's earthquake.
He is traveling to Nepal with a medical group dedicated to take action where people are suffering the most.
The latest death toll has exceeded 5,200. More than 10,000 were hurt. The U.N. estimates that 2.8 million have lost their homes.
Young is no stranger to trauma. He helped carry a stretcher as a volunteer at the finish line of the Boston Marathon during the deadly bombing in 2013.
"That was chaotic, that was a terrible day," said Young.
He can only imagine what he'll encounter in Nepal, "A lot of trauma, of course. A lot of lacerations, wounds, broken bones, head injuries, things like that."
Young is headed to New York and then Kathmandu and then wherever he is needed the most.
"I anticipate us going to a region that is difficult to reach," said Young.
Once there, he will join members of NYC Medics, 10 medical professionals driven by the need to help.
"It's like a no-brainer, when opportunity arose I jumped at the opportunity to help these people," said Young.
This will be a return trip to Nepal for Young, but a much different one. He was there last fall on a research project near Mt. Everest.
He admits, this time, he's nervous, but things of the thousands who have died and the thousands who are suffering.
"Doing whatever we can to prevent that number from getting any larger would be my main goal," said Young.
Young will be in Nepal for two weeks. He estimated he'll be providing care for 24-hour stretches at a time, sleeping for four hours and then returning to help those in need.
