They Came by Water

They Came by Water

Saratoga County couple travel far from home to satisfy desire to improve healthcare of impoverished people

When Dr. Marc Johnson transferred ownership of Smiles For Life Dental Care in Saratoga Springs, it wasn’t to enjoy a leisure-filled retirement. Rather, for Dr. Johnson and his wife, Angie, who left her employment as a CPA, that’s when they really got to work, on Dr. Johnson’s long-held goal “to give back to those who didn’t have access to dental care.”

The Johnsons set sail, literally, in search of a non-governmental organization they could connect with that would help them satisfy their ambition of providing dental services in remote locations. They hoped to treat patients using the full, portable dental clinic they had assembled aboard their catamaran “Side Two.”

The Johnsons were no strangers to the water. They had taken up sailing early in their married life, first on small sailboats, finally settling on their first live-aboard catamaran, “Side by Side.” In 2006, the couple sold their first dental practice, Saratoga Smiles, and set out with their two children, Parker and Sabrina, on a four-year exploration of the Caribbean. They visited 27 countries, Angie Johnson related, and “boat schooled” their children, using the Calvert curriculum.

Most of communities visited by volunteers with Floating Doctors lack running water, electricity or sanitation.

Nor were they newcomers to volunteer dental missions. Marc Johnson and son, Parker, now a senior at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, previously worked with Mission of Mercy. They also went to Antigua, Guatemala, for a week with the Open Wide Foundation and provided free dentistry.

The couple’s search for a sponsor brought them to Floating Doctors (www.floatingdoctors.com), a humanitarian organization headquartered in Bocas del Toro, Panama, and dedicated to reducing “the present and future burden of disease in the developing world, and to promote improvements in health care delivery.” The couple found it to be the perfect fit and in July of this year, began their fellowship. They were anchored and working near Bocas del Toro, a province of Panama that is situated in the Caribbean, next to the border of Costa Rica, and home to an indigenous population known as Ngäbe-Buglé.

Dr. Marc Johnson, lead dental provider during his time with Floating Doctors, treats patient in makeshift site.

Ninety percent of these individuals, aged 5 to 75, suffer from dental caries and oral disease, according to Marc Johnson. They lack running water, electricity or sanitation, suffer from poor oral hygiene and diet, and lack preventive education. Their primary means of transportation is paddling in a dugout canoe or walking. Reaching them meant Floating Doctors volunteers often traveled hours in their own 48-foot dugout canoe, Dr. Blue, powered by an outboard motor.

Once they arrived onshore, they hand carried all of their supplies, equipment, food and drinking water and set up temporary sites in “ranchos,” common to all communities. The medical team used the large rancho, an open-air pavilion, Angie Johnson explained, and the dental team would find another site, many times outside of a school.

The Johnsons visited 25 indigenous communities on a 12-week rotation, sometimes for a day, or if longer travel time was required, for a week. Sleeping in jungle hammocks to the sounds of roosters and stray dogs was not an unusual occurrence. “Both of us were working in the harshest, most difficult conditions of our lives, and we loved it,” Marc Johnson said. This past summer they were joined by their daughter, Sabrina, a second-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine.

Angie Johnson engages young Panamanians in lesson on proper oral healthcare. Mrs. Johnson also appears on page one with young member of Nagabe-Bugle population.

The Johnsons, who signed up for four months with Floating Doctors, completed their volunteer mission in November. They’re now back in the states visiting family and friends for the holidays. In January, they plan to head back to Panama, take their boat through the Panama Canal and sail to the South Pacific. They expect to be away for several years and plan to post pictures and stories of their boat life on their Facebook page, “Side Two.”

But remaining prominent in their thoughts is their time spent with Floating Doctors and the care they rendered to communities of people who might never receive dental treatment if not for volunteers like the Johnsons. They urge others to enlist in the cause. “Retiring like us? Before you get bored, come and volunteer with Floating Doctors. Have a child thinking about healthcare and wanting to volunteer? Floating Doctors provides them an experience they will never forget,” Marc Johnson urged.

He suggested anyone interested in learning more about Floating Doctors and/or volunteering, write to: Brianna at Volunteerinfo@FloatingDoctors.com.

Marc and Angie Johnson sailed to their humanitarian outreach venture aboard their catamaran “Side Two.”