Clinic in Lemoa

We had clinic in Lemoa today and it was a busy one.  I think that 37 patients checked in with Maury and Manuel.

I had two patients that stayed in my mind through the day.  The first was a lady who has a severe allergy to the sun.  She has just scratched and dug until she has open wounds.  She could not speak very much Spanish, so her sister-in-law came with her.  Her sister-in-law told me that her husband drinks a lot and that many nights the family has to go to sleep without any food, or if anything, drinks hot water.

So, we were almost finished with the consult and then she tells me that she has not menstruated in three months.  Her sister-in-law, looked at me, gasped and said, "I did not know this.  She had not told me!"  So with this new announcement, we confirmed that she is pregnant and changed her medicines.

Another patient told me that she has been a diabetic for many years but does not take any medicine nor has not been to a clinic. When I asked her how she knew, she told me that her urine and blood were sweet. Yes, you are probably guessing what she has done to determine this. Her blood sugar was very high so we started her on medicine and talked about dietary changes that need to take place.

There are not many boring days here in Guatemala.