Dr. Michael Thompson helped treat 727 patients during a five-day medical mission in Thailand.

THAILAND – After more than 20 medical missions and thousands of patients, one woman finally stumped Dr. Michael Thompson.

"She came to me saying she had pain in her shoulder, arms, back, legs and knees," Thompson said. "She thought they were all related but she had not been able to find any relief in years."

Thompson talked to the woman with the help of a translator and that’s when he learned she had one pain he didn’t have medicine to treat.

"She pointed to her chest and said the worst pains she had were in her soul," Thompson said.

The 45-year-old Buddhist nun was attending a medical mission in Thailand – one of five missions in five days supported by Operation Blessing and AmeriCares as well as church members from Virginia Beach Kempsville Presbyterian Church.

The most common problems treated were joint pain, upper respiratory and sinus infections as well as hypertension, diabetes and gastritis.

"I gave her pain medication for her joints and I prayed with her," Thompson said. "That’s the only relief I know of for the soul."

Thompson is the medical director at the city jail in Portsmouth, Virginia, as well as a doctor at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail. He also works as a physician at a local urgent care center in Chesapeake, Va.

The 44-year-old has been working with Operation Blessing since the mid 1980s. His wife, who is a nurse, sometimes accompanies him on medical mission trips. She went to Thailand with the group of 10 people.

While there, 727 patients were served and an additional 457 people received glasses. The most common problems treated were joint pain, upper respiratory and sinus infections as well as hypertension, diabetes and gastritis.

"People all around the world have the same pressures and hurts as any one else," Thompson said. "They just don’t have access to medical care like we do in the United States. This gives them that chance."

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