Clinic in Mactzul V

Today Mauri, Gaspar and I drove to Mactzul. Juan usually goes with us but his sister is getting married on Monday so he and Mauri traded days of work. He called me last night to ask if they could and I told him I thought it was great. I do not mind at all if they want to trade days.

We had 15 patients in Mactzul today. When we first arrived I thought it would be a real slow day but things changed a little......ok, first, how many people can fit into a truck already loaded with medicine and dental equipment? I will let you know by the end of the blog:)

Our first patient had tonsils the size of apples. She told me that she has not been able to eat for a month. So, I gave her some medicine and asked her to follow-up with us in Lemoa.

We had a sick young man come to the clinic today. His name is Jeremias and his family practically carried him in. They said he had been having problems with his stomach for a month and for 2 days he has had a lot of pain. He was dehydrated and obviously very ill. I asked the family to think about going to the hospital when we were ready to leave.

They talked about it and then decided to take him to the hospital in Chichi. We loaded the truck with all of our equipment and I knew that we did not have very much room for riders. Within a few minutes, many more people arrived and wanted to go. The father was distraught and asked us to pray for his son. We all bowed for a few minutes of prayer and the 18 year old man leaned on his wife for support.

As we started loading the truck I realized everyone was going. Every family member thought there was room for one more. We piled 15 people into that truck! We gave the family the phone number of the clinic so we hope that they will call us on Tuesday to let us know how he is doing.

When I got home, I wanted to go and check on the little lady that fell. I had taken her some ibuprofen and it helped her hand so I wanted to take her some more. When I got close to her house, I saw her outside sweeping! I had not seen her sweeping since December so I knew she was feeling better. I gave her the medicine and some small cakes I brought from the States. She asked me if I liked chocolate and then invited me inside her home!

Her terrace is beautiful! She has over 50 flowering plants and everything is so well manicured. She walked me though and told me the name of everyone and what colors they are when they have flowers on them. We went into her kitchen and she gave me some chocolate wafers to make hot chocolate with! She said that she had bought them special for Semana Santa, their Holy Week. She then reached under a table and uncovered huge loaves of bread. She packed one for me with my chocolate as she continued to thank me for the medicine. It was one of those special moments!

OK, home for the UNC ball game.........Go Heels!