Dinner in Winston

Tonight, we had a dinner at the South Fork Church of Christ. We try to do this once a year so people will be able to share some time together and also hear a little of what is taking place in Guatemala. We had a group of about 35 people and enjoyed the evening together.

Here, are the ladies who prepared the evening........Jo, Anne and Lesa. They even included a special cake. Thank you!

There were so many photos of the evening, it is hard to share them all.

Here, are some of the nurses that I use to work with in ICU........Deborah, Kelly, Lisa and Sally.

Nadia came with her parents from Durham. Nadia spent a few weeks with us in Guatemala and her family is very involved in missions in Honduras.

Mary and I before the dinner started.

Sue Ann and Lesa.................

Anita and Ben from Virginia.

Mary and Jim.

Rodney and Rhonda, with the children from Pilot Mountain.

It was a enjoyable evening and good to see many people again. A special thank you to South Fork Church of Christ for continuing to sponsor me in Guatemala. Thank you to the ladies who prepared the meal for the evening. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make the evening special.

Climbing the Beanstalk.......

Today, we met Tom for a Beanstalk Journey and what a journey it was.....................

Tom, my mom and I took the Beanstalk Journey and dad was our photographer. We climbed through ropes and then swung from the zip lines to complete the challenge.

This is a place in Morganton, NC and I was impressed on how safety conscience they are.

Before we started out on the adventure.

We were joined by a family of four from Georgia. The mother did real well until it came to the zip part and then she had to return to the ground. She just could not continue.

Tom starting out on the ropes. He accepted the challenge to climb high.........he did a great job!

Mom as she was almost finished. They both made it look very simple.

There were five lines to complete. The last being the longest. Tom, almost reaching his landing.

Mom, holding on and zipping along.............

After the afternoon of fun, we went home for dinner. Sally came from Winston and spent the night with us. Dad grilled burgers and what fun time it was.

Mom, dad and I with my pudding cake.................

Things continue to be exciting!

Home in North Carolina..............

The flight home was as exciting one yesterday.

We left the hotel very, very early. Rick made sure that we were ready to load and go. It was more than nice of him to do this since their flight left much later in the morning. When we arrived, we hit the coffee area. We were still paying when they started to load the plane.

The flight to Houston was fine........unremarkable. Now, the flight to NC was a little exciting. The pilot had warned us, "There is bad weather in Charlotte but we are going anyway."

The landing in Charlotte could have been worse, obviously since I am writing this but could have been much, smoother............... :) I am not complaining. If I were the pilot, I would have said the same thing. I wanted to get to NC.......

Mom and dad met me at the airport............yes, with a Diet Dr. Pepper! Thank you!

It is a great beginning for a great three weeks!

Thursday in Clinica Ezell

The babies left this morning to return to their homes. All of them looked good and were doing well.

Bartolo left with his dad and brother. I know that his mom will be glad to see them.

Anastacia went home with her mom and dad. Her fever came down and continues to take antibiotics. She will return for the clinic in February and we will also look at her father having his palate repaired.

Wendy, talking with one of the patients.

Some of the clinical staff resting after the day of work.

Monica cares for one of the patients in the recovery area.

It was a busy week. Our patient number hit 70 and everyone did well.

Tonight we had a special dinner of grilled steak. Neva and I wandered around to where we smelled the grilling taking place. They marinated the steak in garlic, mustard and oil and then grilled it on top of a wheel barrow.

Tomorrow, we will head to Antigua. We will have a relaxing day and then fly back to the states.

Wednesday----The surgeries continue

Another day.........many more surgeries!

This afternoon I was asked to translate in surgery. It is not my favorite place to be so it is good that everyone enjoys working in different areas. But I was happy to help and to see what was needed.

This case was a 17 years old male with a small mass in his back. He was as scared as he could be. His blood pressure and pulse had been sky high. When I went back and started talking to him, he opened his hand and said, "Please hold my hand." He came through surgery fine and went home that afternoon.

Marvin's mom walked Marvin around during the morning.

As you can tell from earlier posts, Marvin has grown a lot. He has learned to enjoy being around people and he loves to have his photo taken.

This is Bartolo's brother. He has been very helpful to his dad and brother this week.
This is Antonio before his surgery. His parents have been very patient in waiting for this day.

Antonio sleeping after his surgery. It was hoped that he would not need to lose a finger but it worked better to removed the index finger. His index finger was very deformed and now he will have better mobility of his hand.

Anastacia with her parents. I know her parents were very disappointed when she was not able to have surgery but they have been so helpful to other parents. The mother has sat with other parents during their children's surgery.

This Carlos and Dante. Dante is really growing and is a very happy child. He seems to enjoy having many visitors here at the clinic.

We enjoyed another devotional time together this evening. We continue to pray for each patient by name.

Tomorrow, there will be a few surgeries but several will have the opportunity to visit Lake Atitlan or a waterfall. Please stay tuned and I will have more stories for you.

Tuesday in Clinica Ezell

Bring out the patients!!!

The hall filled quickly with patients this morning.

Lana, PA Student taking a child from the operating room to recovery. The transition can be very over-whelming for the family. The nursing staff help buffer the transition and explain things to the family.

Leslie takes care of a patient as she comes out of the operating room.

Jane, Jason and Marta meet with a patient before surgery. Marta places the IVs in the patients before surgery and then they wait until their turn.

Jennifer measuring out some medicine. Jennifer has been great in teaching the nursing students during the week.

Bartolo enjoys his lunch. He played more with his hand in the cup than he drank it.

Sylvia and Nydia work with a patients in the dental clinic.

In April, I came to Clinica Ezell with Lisa and Kemmel. We did the follow up visit for the medical patients. At that time, Lisa and I met this young lady, Elena. She remembered me and is just very thankful that she had met Lisa and could have surgery here. A.C. sits and talks with Elana after surgery.

Antonio and his parents continue to patiently wait for his surgery on Wednesday.

Anastacia was suppose to have surgery today but when they got her back to the operating room, her temperature was 105.0 degrees. Rosario called a laboratory in Chicacao and asked them stay open for an extra 30 minutes. She got a blood specimen and we took it to the lab. Her WBCs were elevated so she will be started on antibiotics.

Tonight we had a devotional time together. We prayed for each patient by name and know that our God will answer that prayer.

Monday in Clinica Ezell

It will be another exciting day here in Clinica Ezell. Many patients are waiting for surgery.

Claudia and her son, Bryan, are ready to go home. Both have done well and we are thankful for that!

Bryan and his parents will go home and return later to see us in Lemoa.

It is time for Marvin's surgery. Carrie comes to get Marvin and his mom will wait for him. As you can tell from the previous post, Marvin has grown!

Marvin finished his surgery without any problem. Here, his aunt spends some time with him.

Julie Ann spending time with one of the patients and his mom. He previously had 6 toes so that was done last clinic and this time he had surgery on his arm.

Bartolo and his dad before surgery today.

Bartolo with his dad after his surgery.

Bartolo also did well and will go home on Thursday.

This is Antonio and his mom. Antonio will have surgery on his hand on Wednesday.

It was a busy day but it was a god day. We had a special devotional time together tonight and prayed for the patients. We are thankful for the surgeons and nurses who have come down and who are serving this week.

Let the surgeries begin!!

This morning we went to worship with the Montellano Church of Christ this morning. I walked over about 0950 with some of the babies and their parents. After lunch, the surgeries began.

This Claudia and her son, Bryan, waiting for their surgeries. Both need hernia repairs.

This is Bryan after he came out of surgery. He did very well. His mom and his dad sat with me during the surgery to help pass the time. They live in the area of Xepocol and know our Gaspar. Gaspar has been talking to them about the Bible and this gave us a chance to talk to a little. No matter which country you live it, if you wait until your child is older to teach them of Jesus and how they should live their life, you will meet more resistance.

Jodi, working with one of the patients after her surgery.

Kathleen and John Mark praying with patients before they go back for surgery.

Today, 13 surgeries were done. The patients did well and went through recovery without any problems. We are thankful for that and pray that the surgeries will go as well tomorrow.