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!

Return to Guatemala

I took advantage of Semana Santa and went to visit my parents for a couple of weeks.  It was a good visit and all is good in North Carolina.

When I returned to Hospital Ezell, things looked different.  When I left, this is what our new dormitory looked like.

 

 When I returned, we actually have walls!

 

We are making it!

 

Tomorrow, we will start a week of General and  GYN Surgeries.  There are a lot of new people on the team and I look forward to working with them. 

Week of Eye and Ortho Surgeries with Root Canals!

What a wide variety of services provided during this week-----eye and ortho surgeries and root canals!

With a team of about 45 volunteers, plus dental and the Guatemalan staff......we provided about 81 eye surgeries, 11 ortho surgeries and 40 root canals. It was a full week and we had many thankful patients.

Jay preached on Sunday at the Montellano Church of Christ, across the street from the hospital.

 

When we had the meeting with Dr. Walter, I asked Rich to translate for him.  These guys always do a great job and are so helpful.

 

 

With their translating skills and desire to talk and pray with patients, they were a perfect fit to spend time with patients before they went back to the operating room.

 

The ortho team got a quick photo with Sandra.  Sandra is an anesthesiologist that helps us from time-to-time. She is from Nicaragua and it was great to have her with us.

 

 

The University of Tennessee visits us one a year and helps with education and different landscaping and gardening projects.  This year, they worked with a school near Montellano to provide  a street clean up.  Obdulio and Oscar also helped plan the project.

 

The dental team always enjoys having Dr. Bob visit.  They saw about 40 extra patients and provided the service of several root canals.

 

 

The week went fast. There were some rough patches during the week but we survived and we never want to forget to give thanks for that. Each day is new.  Each day is filled with blessings and moments of encouragement.  We just have to remain positive and press on.

 

It seems as soon as we get a team cranked up and running at full-speed, it is time to close shop and go to Antigua. So on Friday morning, it was time to head to Antigua to enjoy one more day.

 

This is my favorite photo of the week.........to me is shows why we are where we are, and why we do what we do.

 

If you would like to join a team, please contact me................you can be a blessing to many.

 

Completion of the Jornada with Harding

The week of clinics with Harding went very quickly in Chichicastenango.  We had two days in Paxot III and two days in Chuchipaca.

After the second day in Paxot III, it was time to pack up, to load up, to unload and then eventually, pack up again. If this makes sense to you, then you have probably been down and worked in a clinic with us.

This is Karla and Vanessa packing up.

 

Evelyn from Rio Mactzul, helped us in Chuchipaca and wanted a phtoto to remember our two days together.

 

On Thursday afternoon, I had a great surprise and two welcomed visitors.  Victor from Xepol came to see us and to get some medicine. The history with Victor is what makes him such a special patient.  When he first started coming to clinics, he would have several seizures a day and would be in fights with the other boys at school.  Slowly, as his seizures decreased in numbers, he was in less fights.

I do not remember the exact story but eventually, I bought him an UNC ball cap when he went a specific number of weeks without a fight. This photo is of Victor in 2010 at 11 years old.

 

This is now Victor with his mom and he is now 27 years old.

 

His mom told me that once or twice a month, his hand may have a tremor and that they are so thankful for the medicine.

 

Soon we will be packing up the trucks to return to the coast.   The eye surgical team will arrived on the 9th with Lipscomb University. It was be a great week of eye and ortho surgeries!