After clinic on Saturday, we headed to Antigua for a few days before mom and dad flew home. I was looking forward to dad seeing Antigua and places there that I enjoy. We had nice relaxing dinners after I walked their legs off :)
We walked to the top of La Merced and viewed Antigua. It was very clear day and the volcanoes were beautiful. We worshipped with the Antigua Church of Christ for almost 3 hours and then met the girl I sponser in the ABC program. Again, dad got some great photos and I will post them when I get copies.
Their flight left early this morning and then I met Kemmel. We got the truck serviced, went to get a package that my parents congregation had mailed to me and then I headed home.
Many thanks to the ladies of the Morganton Church of Christ for the packages of goodies. I really appreciate your thoughts and kindness.
Tonight I met up with Kim, who will soon be returning home. We had dinner at Mi Taco Express and then walked to the grocery store. It was a cool evening but the sky was beautiful with different shades of pinks.
Mom and dad are home safe and tomorrow we will have clinic in Mactzul VI.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Clinic in Paxot II
With the truck fully loaded, we made our way to Paxot II for clinic and it was a wonderful day! It was a combined medical and dental clinic so with mom and dad, there were 6 of us and our equipment.
We ended up with 13 dental patients and 14 dental patients. Juan's dad translated for me with the K'iche' speaking patients. As you can tell by the photo below, I wore him out :)
Dad got some really nice photos of the ladies cooking lunch. I will post those when I get a copies. It was a good day.
Kim will be arriving this evening to Santa Cruz. She is second year medical resident that will be working with us for a week. She was previously in the MET program so it is encouraging that she is returning. She has reservations in the same hotel as mom and dad are so that will work out well.
We ended up with 13 dental patients and 14 dental patients. Juan's dad translated for me with the K'iche' speaking patients. As you can tell by the photo below, I wore him out :)
Dad got some really nice photos of the ladies cooking lunch. I will post those when I get a copies. It was a good day.Kim will be arriving this evening to Santa Cruz. She is second year medical resident that will be working with us for a week. She was previously in the MET program so it is encouraging that she is returning. She has reservations in the same hotel as mom and dad are so that will work out well.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Clinic in Lemoa
Today we had clinic in Lemoa. We had 10 medical patients and 8 dental patients. Mom and dad finished the painting the green base around the clinic and it looks good. We headed through the corn field when it was time for lunch and enjoyed fried chicken, rice, salad and coke.
The sad patient today was a 11 month old baby that weighed only 9 pounds. We talked about nutrition and hopefully the medicine will help. I asked the mother to bring the baby back in two weeks so we can see if we are making progess on the weight.
Tomorrow we head to Paxot II and it should be a wonderful clinic.
The sad patient today was a 11 month old baby that weighed only 9 pounds. We talked about nutrition and hopefully the medicine will help. I asked the mother to bring the baby back in two weeks so we can see if we are making progess on the weight.Tomorrow we head to Paxot II and it should be a wonderful clinic.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Clinic in Las Trampas
Today we had dental and medical clinics in Las Trampas. Marcos, Aura and I headed for Chichi to pick up Gaspar and Juan. We had to wait about 20 minutes before the road opened but we arrived before 9am. At first we did not see any patients and we were disappointed but they eventually arrived. We had 4 dental patients and 12 medical patients.
The sun was out today and it was almost warm. This is unusual weather for Las Trampas. Usually the clouds roll over us and it is very cold. When clinic was over, I pulled in the first tienda for a Coke......I was very thirsty. The guys counted how many tumalos, speed bumps, we went over to pass the time. They have added 7 more in the Chichi area and they are huge!! Just for your inquiring minds, there are 59 speed bumps between Las Trampas and Chichi :)
Mom and dad went to La Palma today with Josefina, Tomas and Manuel. They wanted to see the ABC child, Noe, that they sponser. They were also able to visit with another little girl, Florencia. Florencia is sponsered by a lady in their home congregation.
Tonight we took chicken from Pollo Campero to the Lux home for dinner. It seems to be the favorite restaurant of many people. We enjoyed a good dinner with the parents Marie and Diego. Josefina, Marcos and Juan Diego helped bridge the gap between Spanish, English and K'iche'.
Before we left, another brother Moses arrived with his wife and two girls for a family photo.
Below, my two sets of parents :)
It was a wonderful day and my parents again commented how comfortable they feel here even with the language barrier. Tomorrow we will be in Lemoa for clinic and hopefully finish painting the clinic.............good night..........
The sun was out today and it was almost warm. This is unusual weather for Las Trampas. Usually the clouds roll over us and it is very cold. When clinic was over, I pulled in the first tienda for a Coke......I was very thirsty. The guys counted how many tumalos, speed bumps, we went over to pass the time. They have added 7 more in the Chichi area and they are huge!! Just for your inquiring minds, there are 59 speed bumps between Las Trampas and Chichi :)
Mom and dad went to La Palma today with Josefina, Tomas and Manuel. They wanted to see the ABC child, Noe, that they sponser. They were also able to visit with another little girl, Florencia. Florencia is sponsered by a lady in their home congregation.
Tonight we took chicken from Pollo Campero to the Lux home for dinner. It seems to be the favorite restaurant of many people. We enjoyed a good dinner with the parents Marie and Diego. Josefina, Marcos and Juan Diego helped bridge the gap between Spanish, English and K'iche'.
Before we left, another brother Moses arrived with his wife and two girls for a family photo.
Below, my two sets of parents :)
It was a wonderful day and my parents again commented how comfortable they feel here even with the language barrier. Tomorrow we will be in Lemoa for clinic and hopefully finish painting the clinic.............good night..........Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Class for the Health Promoters
Today we had class for the Health Promoters that help us in all of our clinics. Nineteen people attended and it was a good day.......but of course, we missed Kemmel and Lisa. We started the morning with Gaspar leading us in some songs and then Manuel gave a devotional in K'iche'. Juan led us in a few more songs and then it was time to start the class.
Josefina taught from the book, Where There is no Doctor. Her class included patients with high temperatures, fractures, abdominal wounds and those who have ingested poisonous substances.
I talked about CPR in adults and gave them time to practice. It was difficult not having mannequins for teaching so I drew outlines of patients on the cement. Everyone had a chance to practice and ask questions. The first photo is of Manuel opening the airway (now use your imagination :) to give two breaths.
They checked for a pulse but there was not one so Tomas began compressions.
The next photo is of Enrique demonstrating the head-tilt, chin-lift procedure. Sebastian is waiting for the approval to start compressions. Enrique is from Panajxit and Sabastian is from Chimente.
Mom helped me as I demonstrated how to properly position a patient for CPR. She was a good patient but I had to remind her not so smile or talk since she was suppose to be unconscious. While we were doing this, Dad was painting the clinic.
We enjoyed a very good lunch of fried chicken, salad, rice, tortillas and peach flavored punch.
Some of the guys grabbed brushes and the rollers and started helping dad paint.....eventually, they were doing the painting and dad was practicing his Spanish with them. We will return on Thursday and should complete the painting then.
Josefina taught from the book, Where There is no Doctor. Her class included patients with high temperatures, fractures, abdominal wounds and those who have ingested poisonous substances.
I talked about CPR in adults and gave them time to practice. It was difficult not having mannequins for teaching so I drew outlines of patients on the cement. Everyone had a chance to practice and ask questions. The first photo is of Manuel opening the airway (now use your imagination :) to give two breaths.
They checked for a pulse but there was not one so Tomas began compressions.
The next photo is of Enrique demonstrating the head-tilt, chin-lift procedure. Sebastian is waiting for the approval to start compressions. Enrique is from Panajxit and Sabastian is from Chimente.
Mom helped me as I demonstrated how to properly position a patient for CPR. She was a good patient but I had to remind her not so smile or talk since she was suppose to be unconscious. While we were doing this, Dad was painting the clinic.We enjoyed a very good lunch of fried chicken, salad, rice, tortillas and peach flavored punch.
Some of the guys grabbed brushes and the rollers and started helping dad paint.....eventually, they were doing the painting and dad was practicing his Spanish with them. We will return on Thursday and should complete the painting then.
It was a good day of class and I hope the guys were encouraged by it and found it interesting.
When I came home tonight, I told the family that I live with that I will be moving. I will be moving to Chichicastenango and staying in Lisa and Kemmel's house for 6 months while they are in The City. It will cut down on the driving that I do, I will be closer to the guys I work with and I will be closer to our clinics. I think it is a good move..........and in during the next 6 months I can be looking for another house in Chichi.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Weekend in Panajachel
On Saturday morning mom, dad and I picked up Gaspar and Juan in Chichi and and traveled to Chuchipaca for our clinic. We only had 13 patients but there was a big wedding going on and we were told this would cause our clinic to be smaller.
Even though it was a small clinic, I felt it was a good one. Gaspar had an opportunity to talk to a lady about baptism. She said that she would return to talk some more to us in a future clinic. We also saw a baby that was only 10 day old and had a severe skin infection. He was covered from head to toe with white pustules. I told the parents that they really needed to take the baby to the hospital. Gaspar also emphasied how important it was for the baby. We can only pray that the parents did this.
After clinic mom, dad and I headed to Panajachel. We spent two nights there and they really enjoyed it. We took a small boat over to Santiago and the photo below is taken from that shoreline.
We had dinner in the late evening on the lake. This photo was taken at sunset.
It was nice to relax for a couple of days but it is time to get back to clinics and work. Tomorrow we will have class in Lemoa and my parents will continue to paint.
Even though it was a small clinic, I felt it was a good one. Gaspar had an opportunity to talk to a lady about baptism. She said that she would return to talk some more to us in a future clinic. We also saw a baby that was only 10 day old and had a severe skin infection. He was covered from head to toe with white pustules. I told the parents that they really needed to take the baby to the hospital. Gaspar also emphasied how important it was for the baby. We can only pray that the parents did this.
After clinic mom, dad and I headed to Panajachel. We spent two nights there and they really enjoyed it. We took a small boat over to Santiago and the photo below is taken from that shoreline.
We had dinner in the late evening on the lake. This photo was taken at sunset.
It was nice to relax for a couple of days but it is time to get back to clinics and work. Tomorrow we will have class in Lemoa and my parents will continue to paint.Friday, January 25, 2008
Painting in Lemoa
This morning dad, mom and I headed to Lemoa ready to paint for the day. We cleared out the storage room and painted some new shelves that we had. If I have the story wrong, Kemmel can correct me..... but I think that Tomas, one of our health promoters, cut down a tree and used a chain saw to build these shelves!
While dad and I painted the shelves, mom painted a table in another room.
In the evening, I took them to one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Cruz. This little lady grills steak on the side of the street and it is wonderful. We also had black beans, tortillas and coffee. She usually is all smiles but she was a little camera shy.
I teased mom about the hat and scarf.........NOT at all a fashion statement but when you are cold, color and fabric do not matter!!
While dad and I painted the shelves, mom painted a table in another room.
In the evening, I took them to one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Cruz. This little lady grills steak on the side of the street and it is wonderful. We also had black beans, tortillas and coffee. She usually is all smiles but she was a little camera shy.I teased mom about the hat and scarf.........NOT at all a fashion statement but when you are cold, color and fabric do not matter!!
I walked them to their hotel tonight and then I was in to study for the rest of the evening. We are packed for a weekend in Pana. We will have a clinic tomorrow in Chuchipaca and I hope for another good group of patients.
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