The week begins in Montellano!!

Sarah, Juan and I drove early this morning to Clinica Ezell in Montellano to begin our week there. The only problem we had in the roads were the excessive number of speed-bumps or tumulos we had to encounter.

It is great to see many people that have returned and it is always good to meet new ones. Rick and Julie are both on this trip and will do their best to see that everyone has a safe and productive week.

The worship was great with enthusiastic singing. Carlos led the congregation in both Spanish and English songs. Afterwards ,we met for a brief meeting to review information, we ate lunch and then the surgeries began.

Two patients were not done today because one has a fever and the other one is hypertensive. The gentleman with the fever is from our area, a community called Mactzul III. He is sad because he has traveled for 4 hours and was told he may have to wait to have his hernia repaired in April. Tonight after our devotional, Rosario and I prayed with him. Dr. Erik came by the bed and we began asking Manuel about other problems or symptoms and he turned out positive for a urinary tract infection. He has been started on the appropriate medicine and we will see how he responds.

We had 5 hernia repairs today and 2 hysterectomies. It was a short day but a good day to get everyone oriented to the clinic.

This is Bonnie and Shawn with a patient in the recovery area from the Santa Cruz. Bonnie is from Sch'dy, NY and has been coming down for clinics since 1993. This is Shawn' s first trip and she is from Florida.

This photo is of Lindsey, Emily and Tina. This is Lindsey's second trip and she is from Oklahoma. Emily came with Bonnie from NY and this is her first trip. This is also the first trip for Tina and she is from West Virgina.

This is the autoclave area and the HOT spot of the clinic. Leslie, Todd and Vicki assure that the instruments are sterilized and ready for the next case. Leslie has been coming down since 1998 with her husband Danny, who is a surgeon. Vicki has been involved with HTI since 1984 and for many years served on the board. Todd is her son and he has also made several trips.
We ended the evening with a devotional and prayed for each patient by name. Rick encouraged us to continue this practice, asking us to pause by the board with names and remember them in prayer each day. We also prayed for our families back at home and for our government as it transitiona into new leadership.

Today was the beginning of a great week. I hope that the pap clinic that starts tomorrow also goes well.