VA: Remote Area Medical 5

Eddie Sturgill, Pound, Va.

Will Mays and Eddie Sturgill hang around their car late in the evening. Danny Sturgill was sleeping "like a chainsaw" making it tough for Eddie to sleep in the reclined passenger seat. Early this year Eddie had a triple bypass. With no insurance it cost him more than $300,000. Will quipped "he'll be dead before he pays that off." Eddie said his only option is to declare total bankruptcy.

VA: Remote Area Medical 4

Sheri Wittaker (standing)
"Look at these people," Sherri said as a woman drove by with curlers in her hair, "they are so desperate, somethings got to be done, they come from all over, do you see these people? I can't begin to tell you, you just gotta sit and watch them." Sherri and her extended family set up camp near the National Guardsmen ushering potential patients to parking spots late into the night.

VA: Remote Area Medical 3

Jacob Reese, 5
Jacob came to RAM with his sister Emily, his grandparents, aunt, uncle and infant cousin. The goose egg above his right eye is the result of a head on collision with a parked car while playing in the fairground campground/parking lot. "Will you take a picture of me and my Nana," he asked, "I love my Nana so much." The next day he would cry in his Nana's lap while getting his oozing ear checked by a volunteer physician.

VA: Remote Area Medical 2

Stella Barr & Montana Mccall, 21, Gladsprings, Va.
Last year, Stella's daughter, and Montana's girlfriend, Andrea had both her wisdom teeth pulled, this year it's Stella's son Tommy's turn. The Barrs and company arrived the day before the clinic began and all received numbers in the single digits and teens. Tommy arrived after his shift that night and received a number in the 700's. The following day he decided not to wait in line for hours on end, despite the pleas of his mother and girlfriend.

VA: Remote Area Medical 1

Mitchell Boggs, Pennington Gap, Va.
Last year Mitchell had all of his teeth pulled. The first day we met he said they would be mailing his dentures to him the next week. The day after he had been entered into a lottery and wasn't sure if he would receive his dentures or not. After an entire year without teeth Bogg's friend Ralph said he had lost a lot of weight and I relied on Ralph to translate Mitchell's garbled speech.

I spent this past weekend in Wise, Va. photographing a Remote Area Medical expedition for NPR. The gallery follows one woman through her experience over the course of the weekend but along the way I encountered many touching, heart breaking, and even infuriating stories. It was such an honor and pleasure to work side by side with a reporter and producer, their sound really captured the essence of the place and people and our photo editor complemented the piece beautifully with stunning portraits of patients and doctors. It's the type of story that reminds me time and time again why NPR is such a remarkable place.

I wish I had collected some of my own tape to give these other people a voice. Next time...