Back in Hot Montellano!

I have been back in Montellano, for about 48 hours.......and it is not any cooler.....but that is ok!

It has been good to see everyone and I can tell that they have been working hard to prepare for the surgical team that will arrive on Saturday.

Some of you may remember a few years ago, when COVID prevented us from returning to Guatemala, we all prayed at 5:15 pm every day. I have never taken that alarm off my phone.......I still pray but it is a prayer of thanksgiving.

I want to share with you another event that deserves our thanksgiving prayers. Several months ago, we stated digging our well here on the property of Ezell. There has been many ups, downs and arounds during these few months but we hit water!  

I remember the day that we made room for the machine to come in. We removed shrubs and some small trees, to make an entrance.

 

We thought we would have to go to 700 feet but we caught a break!

 

 

At 300 feet, we had water!

 

Kemmel with Byron and two of the guys that helped us get to the point.

 

So now, Health Talents has their own water source.  Gracias a Dios!

 

In the evening when I returned, I went down the street to see what what happening. One lady knows that I love the fruit mangosteen or mangostein. It has a very short life here, only about 3 or 4 weeks but she brought me a large bag and it also includes some lichas.

 

 

One of our neighbors burned her legs with hot oil, a couple of weeks ago.  I felt bad that I was not here to help her but she was able to go to a private hospital and get some care.

 

 

Kemmel came and got me today and he showed me where they have planted a tree for my dad.  It is a very appropriate tree because of the name. The fruit that it will produce is called, Jack Fruit.

They planted it hear the apartment where I am staying now.  In a few years or a few decades, it should look like this.

 

I really appreciate the thought of this being done. My dad loved Health Talents and was able to visit Guatemala twice.  His favorite place was Santa Cruz in the Quiche area. He enjoyed walking the streets and visiting the market. He was a great cheerleader for us!

 

Recap of June and July 2024

Again, the months have flown by!  The months of June and July were filled with three surgical trips, staff education, baptism of an employee, two trips to The States and a vacation in Panama, Florida.

We had a day of education on the proper cleaning of the surgical areas and ways to lower the possibilities of infections. The staff attend the classes well and always participate.

 

The nurses and caregivers meet before the surgeries begin on Sunday.

 

The first June team was filled with 12 GYN Surgeries, 30 General surgeries and 9 ENT patients. All of the patients did well and soon it was time to head to Antigua.

I returned to NC between surgical trips and my mom and I hit Panama City for a few days. We had a really good time.  Jodi visited us for a day and we rented a car to have some fun.

 

The second June team was a busy week with 89 Eye Surgeries and 23 General surgeries. Patients are very thankful for the care and healing.

 

There is even some time for a little fun!

 

When the team leaves, it is time to prepare for the next group!

 

In July, we had two CPR Classes provided by Dr. Zack who lives near the clinic. On the first day, he provided education for adult CPR and on the second day, CPR for babies. 

 

 

There was only one student in the class who had ever performed CPR.

 

 

It was a great opportunity and I am thankful that we are able to provide more education for the staff.

 

 

The July team rolled quickly to us and we prepared for general, urology and ocuplasty surgeries.

We kept the ORs busy!

 

I am so proud and thankful for all of the staff that we have at Ezell.  The capabilities and their willingness to learn has expanded. When there are vacancies of team members from the states, for example post-op nurses and translators, we are able to fill those with Guatemalan staff.

 

As I mention above, we are able to fill the gaps of post-op nurses and translators, but I also have a goal of preparing more nurses for the OR and PACU areas. In starting this, Mary Ann CRNA, took Darling and Greysly into the OR and worked with them on airway management.

 

 

I have also talked to Mary Ann and some others about working with the nurses in the future in the PACU area 1:1 to begin some critical care thinking skills. Slowly......but surely.......they will be ready!

 

Yes, the sunrises are still pretty. 

 

After a busy week, it is time to hit Antigua.

 

 

Another special event during this time was the baptism of Sergio. He works with us during the surgical weeks in triage and also helps clean.  Attending the Wednesday afternoon devotionals influenced him and he decided that he wanted to become a Christian.  The three evangelists, Baldemar, Elmer and Victor spend time with him and answered is questions. Baldemar baptized him in Chicacao.

 

Several of the staff members were able to go and share in this special time.

 

 So that is a quick wrap of what was done in June and July........we will see what August has in store.

Run Down of May Surgical Team

As we are preparing for the June teams, I want to give an update on the events of the May trip.

It was a hard working team and they provided a great service.  They completed 72 surgeries and there were no complications......thank you, Lord!

There was also a team in Chichicastenango, so the Dunhams and the nurses were not able to join us.  I missed having them with us.  They are a great addition during a surgical team.  During the week, Lisa helps see patients in consults and Kemmel is always around, which is an additional bonus.

Dr. Walter provided information on Sunday afternoon and Alejandra translated for him. We had a lot of new people on the team.......and that is always nice!

 

After lunch, we had an orientation with the nursing staff, caregivers and translators.

 

As mentioned, during the week, 72 surgeries were done.  We also had two dentists spend their days in the dental area.  We also had a dermatologists and we kept him busy with patient consults during the week.

 

When Friday arrived, it was time to head to Antigua to rest for the day.

 

 One more photo of the dorm that is being constructed. In the middle of the photo, you can see that someone specifically designed a cross and covered it in different plastic.
 

 

When the team left for Antigua, I headed to Chichicastenango with the translators.  I had one night in Chichi and I found my happy place there.  I had dinner with Lisa and Kemmel.....we talked about our week of events and just enjoyed time catching up.  On Monday, I will head to the states and spend a couple of weeks with my parents.

 

The perfect night in Chichi!

 

 

 

Universal Precations and Dormitory Update

By looking at the lack of entries, I struggle keeping the blog up to date.  It is not due to lack of activities or events......but there is so much that I want to share with you.

Before the last surgical trip in, Darling provided a class on Universal Precautions. I really want to increase education and this is one area that is very important.

The class was well attended.  We had our HTI staff, the HTI staff from Chichicastenango, nurses and others that work during our surgical jornadas and also those that help in the laboratory. There was a lot of participation.

Many of you know Greysly, one of the nurses here.

 

Luis David or David Luis also participated.

 

 

I was very pleased with the way that Darling presented the material.

 

Next month, we will have two days of education on CPR.  

 

The construction of the new dormitory is going well.  More work is being done on the interior.

 

We will put it to good use!

More on the May surgical clinic to follow.

 

Happy Birthday, Karla!

Happy Birthday, Karla!  This afternoon, dental celebrated with lunch and we enjoyed one of the new gazebos. This is the one closest to the soccer field. Birthdays are big here and it was fun celebrating.

 

For those who have been down and have worked in dental, you know they are a fun group.  Every morning, they have a devotional time with the patients and pray with them. Every Wednesday, they have lunch together.  Luis is the only full-time male, so I enjoy teasing him about his job and how difficult it is to work with all of these ladies!

 

Karla is from Guatemala City and works with us during the week.  On Friday afternoon, she travels to the capital and returns on Sunday evening or very early on Monday morning. The travel is rough but she has been doing it for a few years now.  We pray that she will continue to do it for many more.  She is a great asset to the dental team.

 

 

What Has Moved In???

If you have been reading the blog, you are aware that there are no dull moments here in HOT Montellano.  Yes, it remains HOT. We have hit 92 degrees a few times, before the afternoon rains start.

 

We had a new visitor arrive yesterday. He arrived in the afternoon.

 

 

Getting him in proper placement required some landscaping rearrangements but they can be replaced at a later time.

 

So what is our friend for??  What do you think??

More news to come!

 

Dental Getting a Face Lift!

As I have mentioned in other posts......alot is happening here in HOT Montellano.  No one knows that more than the guys working outside with the ongoing projects.

Our Prayer/ Meditation Gazebos are completed.  The dormitory continues to get taller each day.

The dental area has been getting a new roof. You can see how nice the new one looks, compared to what they have removed.  It is HOT up there and then in the afternoon when the rains start, it sure gets slippery!

They are making progress every day.  Adding the final coats of paint.

We are looking very good around here.  Maintenance and repairs are costly but necessary to remain functioning. We want patients, volunteers and employees to be happy with their environment and to have what they need to do the best job possible.

Things Continue to Move Fast

When I returned from Antigua a lot of things were happening! The hospital area changes daily with several projects going on.

Then bamboo prayer/ meditation gazebos have been finished and the staff are starting to enjoy them.  The guys did a very nice job on them and I will ask that we put some fruit up in the trees to attract the birds. They will be very nice places for people to enjoy.

 

The dormitory is coming along well and several feet have been added to it. The rains have started but there is still a lot of work to be done. This is from the dental side.

 

This is from the front near the parking lot.

 After the team left, Elena and Zoila were able to start their job of the laundry.

 It is a difficult job of three solid days, but a need to prepare for the next team.

We pray that everyone returned to the states without any problems and that everyone will consider coming again!

The 4th Jornada Down!

Can not believe that we just completed the 4th surgical trip of the year. What a week it was! It was a great combination of people who have been coming down for many years and then we had the added bonus of making new friends! Everyone has an open invitation to return......it was just an incredible week. There were some highs and lows but we made it through.

One special visitor arrived during dinner on Saturday evening.  Everyone was chatting away and all of a sudden, I heard screaming and everyone was diving for the floor. One person was trying to catch it by their hands and knocked it down.  I scooped it up with a surgical towel and tossed it outside. This photo is of his friend, that showed up a few nights later.

Dental had three visitors during the week Bonnie, Dondis and George. George is the first gentleman on the left and he translated.  Dondis is the third person and she is a dental student.  Bonnie is the lady to the far right and she is a dental hygienist. I will tell you a little more about Bonnie later.

 

It was good to have Dr. Grogan back with us after a few years. Lisa, Kemmel and Dr. Grogan catching up. 

 

 

I have told people how early the cooks start in the morning and it is true. They usually get up around 4am and get the corn ground for the tortillas. I can not take credit for this photo but it shows the cooks returning after they have gone to grind the corn.

 

 

The ORs were cranked up by 0800 every morning.  We ran two general rooms and one GYN Room.

 

 

Tuesday was the day of the eclipse. Again, I can not take credit for this photo but someone grabbed it and I stole it!

 

I have decided that I am going to try to take more photos. I use to and now other things prevent me from getting it done.......but I will try to do better.

 

There were some people on this trip that were very encouraging. Maxie is on the left and Brenda is on the right.  They walked with patients every day, sat and chatted with them and also prayed. I am sure that these ladies will be returning.

 

After a full week it was time to head to Antigua.  It took a little longer for us to get the group together, so it gave Dr. Santi a little time to goof around. He decided to create a breeze with the tree branch. It is the first breeze that has ever been, in HOT Montellano.

 

 Finally........

 

That was a Montellano wrap!  Did I tell you what a great week it was?? Everyone worked hard and it came together.

Now, I had mentioned Bonnie......well, she had the opportunity to meet her ABC Child in Antigua.  It was a special couple of hours. We enjoyed the time together and I hope that they will be able to do the same next year!

OK, we are looking for your future trip forms.......you will be so thankful that you submitted one.  Just visit.......www.healthtalents.org and the process is simple.  The trips for 2024 and 2025 are posted!