Congratulations, Lisa!! Adios MET Students :(

First I want to say, Congratulations, Lisa!!!  She passed her boards and we are sooooooo thankful!!  Lisa has taught me so much since I have been here and she always has time for my questions........and a lot of patience with me.  All of the staff applauded you today and we share in your excitement!

Today, was the last clinic that we will have with this group of MET Students.  They have been great and have worked hard!  They never complained and jumped when something needed to be done.  We enjoyed having you and hope that you learned a lot. 

This is Jonas and Jackson.  They stayed with families in Mactzul V and we had clinic today in Mactzul II.

This is Kaylyn and Nathan........they stayed with families in Paxot II.  They had clinic today in Saquilla and were very busy.

Manuel will take the students to Montellano tomorrow morning and they will spend a few weeks with the physicians and dentists there.  There is a lot of difference in the two cultures and a big difference in temperature...............we wish them the best and hope to see them again :)

Bustng Lemoa.......But Great Clinic

 What a day it was!!  

So thankful that we had all hands on deck today, plus the MET Students!  There were at least 150 people at the clinic today.  We had 45 medical patients, 24 dental patients, 9 dental cleanings and I am not sure on how many physical therapy patients.  

We had two babies arrive today from Panajachel.  This young boy is Jefferson and he will have his palate repaired.  We wanted to take him last time but he lacked a few pounds.  Now, he is doing great and ready to go, if his labs are good.

This is Milton and he was in Montellano last year to have his lip repaired. He is doing great and we hope to have his palate repaired in August.

Xavier did not return today with his labs so I was concerned about him.  I called his dad and he said that his wife just had another baby so that is why they were not able to be there. I gave him one more date and he said that they will be able to make that appointment.

One lady returned today that has a very dense cataract in her right eye and we did her paperwork for surgery in July.  She was in Montellano about 6 years ago with a cataract in her left eye.  She had great results and therefore wants to return again.  Her name is Josefa and we pray that this surgery also goes well.

This patient presented today with a leg ulcer that she has had for over a year.  She has been to the national hospital a few times but does not improve.  They told her that she is not a diabetic but her glucose was a little high.  I started her on some meds and sent her for some labs so we will see what happens.  I hope we have as good results with her, as we have had with a gentleman that Lisa has been seeing.

So, we saw plastic patients, an opthamology patient, wound care................and then I had time to toss in a PAP patient. 

It was a good day and everyone worked hard......................thank you!!

Meet Victor

Today we had clinic in Chuchipaca and the patients were waiting for us as we arrived :)

Last week, Lisa called me and told me that she had met this family so today I saw them in Chuchipaca.  Sebastian, from Chutzurob brought them today and I could tell that this family is very special to him.

Victor is 4 months old and has a cleft lip and palate.  Hopefully, he will gain a few pounds by August and be able to make the trip with us.  This is his dad, Edwin and his mom, Isabela.

Here, Victor is thinking, "Why can you just not leave me alone?"  Monday, Victors parents are going to come to Lemoa and I will give them a specialty bottle that will help with Victor's nutrition.  These bottles are given to us by Jane and Joe that started, Evelyn's Baskets of Love and Life.  Thank you Jane and Joe!

We finished seeing 33 medical and 9 dental patients today.  It rained most of the day and we saw very little of the sun.  It was a good evening to rest and catch up on some Netflix.

Monday, I also hope to see two other babies for surgery in August.

Clinic in Chichi

This morning we all met at the Church of Christ in Chichi and started clinic.  Tomas brought Jackson and Jonas, 2 of the MET students with him. Andrea and Maria met us there. We quickly set up clinic and started.

We had a great turn out of patients and I was pleased with the number that usually go to Lemoa that came to see us instead.  The first five patients usually are seen in Lemoa but that clinic is growing so fast that we are trying to have people go to the clinic that is closer to their home.

We finished with twenty-four medical patients and nine dental patients.

When it came time to clean up, Jackson and Jonas decided to try their arms at wrapping the electrical cords.  They knew that we had some fun with Nathan last week in Chajbal so they played along two.  All of the MET students have been real troupers these two weeks.  They have pitched in and worked hard. I hope they have enjoyed their time with us and have learned a few things.

Today we had a patient with a very dense cataract.  Four years ago she had surgery in her  left eye and now she has developed one in her right eye.  At this point we do not have a lot of time to waste but need to get her seen quickly. I called Jennifer, a physical therapist at ASELSI and she put me in contact with Sandra.  Sandra called me in about 30 minutes and gave me an appointment for this lady on the 7th of July at 11 am.  I am so excited for her!  I look forward to seeing her in a few weeks hearing about her improvement.

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Mactzul I and on Saturday in Chuchipaca.

Clinic in Panajxit

Today we had medical and dental clinic in Panajxit, the community where Enrique lives.  I picked up Martina and Aura on the way and Tomas brought Jackson and Jonas with him.  We had a busy clinic and it was good. There are usually many more dental patients than medical but we held our own with eleven patients.

When we were finished, we were invited to eat at Enrique's house.  Louisa is a wonderful cook and we had chicken, rice and tortillas.

These were some flowers that Louisa  had on her patio.  They were very pretty and colorful.

When we finished with lunch, I headed to Quiche to visit Magda.  She was probably one of the first people that I met when I lived in Santa Cruz.  Every afternoon after clinic, I would stop by my house, change my backpack and walk to town.  It was a good way to learn my way around Quiche and find different things.

Magna would always be sweeping in front of her house in the afternoon and I would wave to her.  I never had very much confidence in my Spanish so I was too nervous to go and talk to her.  We continued doing this every day for months.  Finally, I had enough nerve to cross the street and say, "Good afternoon." to her.  Soon after that, she would invite me in for coffee and bread and we would just spend time chatting.  She liked to tell me about her family and I knew that she was lonely.

The last year, her health has been declining and she has been hospitalized a few times with some bad falls.  When she would walk me to the door, I would hug and kiss her goodbye and then she would watch me walk down the street.  At half a block, I would turn around and she would start smiling and waving at me with both arms!  Then at the end of the block, I would turn around one more time, she would continue waving and then go back into her house.  The last two times that I was there, she did not have the energy to walk me to the door so I knew that she felt very bad.

Today, she was in good spirits but can not be left alone.  Her niece is staying with her now.

When I left Quiche, it started raining.  The motorcycle rider opened up her umbrella to help guard against the rain.

Tomorrow, I will stay home and wash clothes, go to the bank and clean my house..........my kind of day!

Busting Lemoa

Well, we all had a busting day in Lemoa..........not a silent moment but it was good. 

The first patient of the day was the diabetic gentleman that Lisa had seen and then I followed-up with on May 15th.  This first photo is the one I took about 2 weeks ago when I saw him. 

This is the foot today and we were so excited at his progress!

Lisa continued to trim away the callus and we were so pleased.

In trying to control the amount of patients that we are seeing in Lemoa, I have asked some to go to clinics that are closer to where they live.  Today, we had four patients who came from a town called Chimaltenango. That is about 90 minutes from here toward the capital.  When I asked how they heard about us, he said,"We have heard about the care that people receive here so that is why we came.  We left our house at 4 am to arrive in time!"

I saw one lady who spent a lot of time talking about her family situation. It is very sad when people are hurting so bad.  When we finished, she said she would like to talk to Gaspar so she spent about 45 minutes with him.  She felt much better when she left the clinic so we will see what happens in the next few weeks.

The four MET Students had a busy day delivering and checking out water filters.  They went with Tomas and Manuel to some areas about 2.5 hours from here.  They were pleased with the results that they found.

Tomorrow, we will head to Panajxit, near Enrique's home...........................to see what we can see!