Clinic in Chuchipaca ***graphic photo***

This morning Teresa and I drove to Chuchipaca.  Cesar met us there and we quickly unloaded the truck and set up clinic. 

To me, there is nothing more humbling, than to kneel in prayer.  I was not use to it before I moved to Guatemala but it still touches my heart.  When I pray with patients, if they kneed, I also kneel.......and it is so special.

This lady came to us with two diabetic ulcers.  She and her husband told me that they started about 21 days ago.  I cleaned them well, taught them how to do wet to dry dressings and they will go see Lisa on Tuesday.  I really wanted to clean and do more but I was afraid it would cause bleeding and I did not have enough supplies with me.

After clinic, we were asked to visit a young man in his home.  They told us that he is a diabetic and can not walk.  I always enjoy doing home visits and as we were planning on what to take, I was thinking that there has to be more to the story than what we heard.

We arrived and park the truck and started the hike down, down and down until we reach the house.  When we arrive, there are about 7 family members around the bed and everything was in chaos.  I start asking questions and everyone responded in K'iche' to Cesar.  I can tell that Cesar is getting different answers so I finally stop everyone and ask that only the mother respond since she seems to know more of the situation.

He had went to a hospital yesterday in Santa Cruz for a stomach problem but did not tell the staff he was a diabetic.  They gave him some IV fluid and sent him home.  Then all through the night and the morning, he had trouble breathing.  At this point he was in ketoacidosis and breathing 50 times a minute. I told the family that he needed to go to the hospital by ambulance and needed to go now.  Four people pulled out their phone but no one had time on their phone to call.  Cesar loaned his phone so they call.  They called a pickup truck to take him.

I climbed back up to the truck with Teresa and wrote the note for them to take to the hospital.  I think Teresa went with me because she was afraid that I was going to have a heart attack from the hike back up to the truck.  In a few minutes, five guys had wrapped the young man in a blanket and were carrying him to the top.  We put him in the back of truck and they left for the hospital.  

He is a very, very sick young man.  Please pray for him. We will see what happens.