CHW Medical Missions Blog

Heart & Mind

Beatrice (Bea) Martinez, RN at St. Mary's Medical Center is a veteran of the Esquipulas Medical Mission.  She and the rest of the team endured two hours bumping and jostling in the back of pick-up trucks over mountain roads that were little more than dry creek beds.  On today's excursion to Timushan, staffing the Mother & Child area, one child in particular resonated with her.

A mother brought in her 3 year-old daughter to be seen at the clinic.  As Bea went through the routine vital signs check, the mom stated how her daughter was unable to play with other children for long periods of time.  She described how, after only a few minutes of exertion, her daughter would squat to rest and catch her breath.

Bea knew that with children, since they are often unable to fully articulate difficulties, observation is the key to diagnosis.  This squatting posture triggered a memory for Bea from 17 years ago in nursing school: this behavior is often associated with a cardiac ailment.  A few seconds with stethoscope to chest confirmed the child had a significant heart murmur likely treatable with daily medication, but could prove fatal.

 

Bea Martinez, RN (please note: patients pictured are not those featured in this post)

Bea knew our doctors could do little today in this remote corner of Guatemala, but she was confident that with the referral resources available to our providers, the child would likely be able to enjoy a full, playful childhood and live to have children of her own.

"I was surprised that squatting business popped into my head," she stated.  "I doubt I've even thought of that since nursing school.  But if I can help one little girl have a more normal childhood, it makes every lump and bruise I took getting here, that much more special."

"It felt as though I'd been here before."

Candy Camarena, RN is a labor and delivery nurse at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. She was our discharge education nurse at Horcones today. Watching her work one can't help but be struck by her kindness. Hers is a kindness that is resolute, not fooled. Here's a little from her about her day:

This is my first mission trip and I am so blessed to be here. I decided to apply after my director, Georgina Manning, came on this mission in 2007 and she told me about how amazing it was. I made it one of my goals to do mission work in developing countries. I knew we would be serving  an underprivledged community but nothing could have prepared me for today. First, we traveled in the back of trucks through the bumpiest dirt road ever for over an hour, which would never happen in the U.S, it was scary and fun at the same time.

I was nervous at first because I was assigned to do all of the discharge education for my site. As the day started, I got into a rhythm and feared nothing. I connected so much with the people of Horcones that I felt as if I had already been here before. The people of Horcones were so appreciative and loving, I found myself hugging them good-bye after I gave them their discharge instructions. I am so grateful to be apart of this amazing work.

Candy develops a warm rapport with all the patients she sees

There a couple of patients that stand out for me. There was one woman who had a bad accident and cut her thumb. I felt really bad for her because it was a really bad cut that didn't heal and she wouldn't let us do anything about it because she was afraid. She felt that God would heal her. There was nothing we could do to convince her otherwise. It made me really sad, but we can only do for people what they'll let us do.

As a contrast, there was another lady who really impressed me. She had high blood pressure, but took really good care of herself. She boils her water (not a lot of people here do that depite our constant education to do so) and knows how to take care of her body. It just goes to show that if people are willing and able to learn they will. Some people it's not clear whether I'm getting through, but then you meet people like this woman and it makes it all worth it.

I'm looking forward to sleep tonight and another great day tomorrow.

Our first clinic day -- Horcones

Flexibility is an asset in life, but on a medical mission it is a necessity. We had anticipated that today would be a day of educating the local health promoters and connecting with the local doctors and nurses to better coordinate ongoing care for the outlying communities. Instead, we loaded up into our trucks at 6:30 and headed out to Timushan and Horcones -- two villages about 2 hours away on some of the windiest, rockiest roads you'll ever find.

We all arrived safely and the Horcones team set up camp in a small health outpost. We were able to see 60+ patients over the course of the day. We're tired, but very grateful to have completed our first day without much fuss. We ran out of a couple of medications but there were alternatives available and we were even able to bring one of our patients back to Esquipulas with us for further treatment at a nearby hospital. All this work to coordinate with the local health outposts is really paying off.

Loaded up on the trucks, ready for a 2-hour drive

Tomorrow we're splitting our day between health promoter education and clinics. We're expecting to see about 125 people and the education will begin at 10am.

Fish-out-of-water but growing lungs

We have arrived, and in one piece, after a (at times) harrowing 5 hour bus trip up and down winding mountain roads with some crazy Guatemalan drivers--I think Tricia has become immune. We had hoped for a day of settling in, orientation, and education tomorrow, but as we were unpacking supplies, it was announced that our first clinic day is tomorrow not Sunday! So it's "wheels up" at 0630 tomorrow for a two hour ride in the back of pick-up trucks to our two remote clinic sites.

Part of me is glad to be diving right in, gasping for breath or not. This is what we're here to do, so saddle up and Let's Ride!

Blessed Arrival

Thank you to all our friends and family for your prayers and well wishes. We successfully navigated customs at the Guatemala City airport (a huge improvement from our experience last year when we almost didn't get our medications out), and had an uneventful, if long, drive up to Esquipulas.

The Basilica de Esquipulas

Our hosts are the Benedictine monks who caretake the Basilica. We're very pleased to be back. It feels just like home. We're working through all our medications and organizing our supplies tonight. Tomorrow is a full day dedicated to education as well as to delivering care to the outlying communities.

More to come to keep checking in. And thank you for your kind messages!

The 2010 Medical Mission is About to Begin

It's hard to believe we're already going back to see our friends in Esquipulas. On Friday, our team of 24 doctors, nurses, and support staff will leave for Guatemala. We look forward to hearing from all of you so please do post comments to our blog. You'll get to hear from each of the members of the team over the course of the 10 days we'll be in-country. And this year we're going to try to post a few video blogs too.

As always, our missions are only a success because of the generous support we receive from our colleagues, friends, and families. Please consider a small donation to our cause.

Dr. Brian Fong lights a candle at the Basilica.

2010 Team Announced

Our 2010 mission to Guatemala is fast approaching and we have selected our team for the mission. We're looking forward to going back to see our friends in Esquipulas and checking in on the progress of our patients!

A Drastic and Humbling Change

Nicole Evans, RN, serves in the emergency room at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals in Nevada. This was her first mission experience.

I was most surprised by how grateful and patient the patients and their families were. Many of them traveled two hours by bus to be seen and waited many hours without a single complaint. This was obviously a drastic change from some of the immediate gratification we are used to in the states, and definitely a humbling act to watch.
 
I’ll remember our first day at Horcones, at the very end of our long day, we saw a brother and sister who both looked very ill. I triaged and assessed both children. The boy was listless and pale, the girl was sad and coughing. Dr. Frank Baudino clinically deemed the patients with probable pneumonia. We gave each an injection of intramuscular antibiotics and vitamins to take home, and arranged for transport to Esquipulas the next day so we could check up on the children at our clinic there. Mom did show up with her two children in tow, both with better color, playful, and acting as children should.

On day two we saw a sick infant. I triaged the baby and knew right a way he was ill. We had mom and the baby jump the line of people and got him to Dr. Frank right away. Dr. Frank ordered medications for possible sepsis, and we sent the baby to the hospital in Chiquimula. We actually saw the baby in the pediatric unit during our tour of the hospital days later. The baby’s mom proudly informed us he was doing much better and was going to be discharged the following day.

My third most memorable experience was the mother who had just given birth in the new birthing suite at the Chiquimula hospital. Our team members visiting the hospital all pooled together money and gave the new mother a donation, wishing her "buenas suerte," good luck, from the American medical team. Even shortly after childbirth the mom put a big smile on her face as she was handed the envelope.
 
I have served the poor before, though in a much different setting. The ER patients in the States for the most part still have a lot more going for them. They have clean water, bathrooms, available resources for low income and/or homeless, and the ability to receive medical care for emergencies 24/7. The work we did in Guatemala definitely makes me grateful for what we have here in the States, and at the same time grateful to be serving the underprivileged and making a genuine difference in their lives.
 
Everyone on our team was amazing. This was my first mission, and first time going with CHW, but our team seemed very fluid and I truly think we made a great team. It felt great to know we all had come together from various hospitals and backgrounds to serve and all had the same purpose in mind, to give our time to help those in need.

Serving Others Cultivates Gratefulness

Today we'll hear from Janet Hoffmeister, PharmD., who works as a pharmacist at French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, CA. The 2009 mission was Janet's second with the CHW Foundation for International Health.

"As I think back on our time in Guatemala, I am left with such appreciation for the experience; from the wonderful group of people that I traveled and worked with to the precious people I met in the country. For me, I don't feel like I was some great person that was serving the poor.

I felt like I was going there to receive. I felt and truly believe that there is a piece of me in every person I interacted with and they in me. This was a co-creative experience where everyone received what they wished for. We were all on the same plane and came together in that moment in time to fulfill some need in each of us: to serve each other.
 
What surprised me on this trip were the expressions of the unruly, violent ways of the society that was not exposed last year – the talk of the weapons that many carry, knowledge of family violence, violence against women, and the circumstances of the street children.
 
Last year I had no chance to get out of the Basilica and see the town. This year, I was able to visit several markets, walk around the streets, climb to the roof of the Basilica, and visit the orphanage. I was very comfortable in the town and in the surroundings. I felt like the community was exposed to me and I was part of it. 
 
That feeling of comfort also translated into the clinics. Since I had knowledge of what was expected or what I could expect, I was more relaxed about the job at hand. The team I worked on was the smaller of the two, but each and every person was wonderful, collaborative, and I feel like I got to know and appreciate each and every one.
 
Since I was tied up in the pharmacy during the clinics, I had very few patient experiences. My favorite was a moment when Adam (one of the students from St. John's University who helped us during our clinic days) was fitting a sweet elderly lady with glasses. When she put on glasses and looked up into his face, she beamed. Her face totally transformed. It was a beautiful moment. I also enjoyed seeing all the rough cowboys with their fancy, designer sunglasses. I will also remember fondly Dr. Willie coming into the pharmacy after every patient he saw and explain something to me, at length. All I could do was nod and agree with all that I wasn't understanding.
 
The only challenge I had was the last clinic day when it was so sweltering hot that we stuck to the paper and plastic bags we touched. But we were so busy that you couldn't give it much of a thought.
 
I wish everyone I know could have a similar experience to the one I had!"

"The gap between life and death is so small here"

More news out of Haiti. An emergency room nurse from CHW's Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Donn Kropp, recently returned from serving in Haiti and shared his story with the Redding Record Searchlight. In addition to the interview, he also shared his story through video:

Kropp was in Kobe, Japan, in the aftermath of the 1995 earthquake, and 10 years later in Pakistan-administered Kashmir after a similar disaster. What's different this time is he and his wife, Dea, have two children, 3-year-old Naava and 1-year-old Jude.

"I just couldn't stop thinking of the kids," he said. "That really struck me the most."

A nurse since 2001, Kropp believes his professional training served him well, along with his own commitment to showing both courage and sensitivity. It wasn't until the trip was over, when he was headed home and listening to his iPod, that the adrenaline wore off.

"And I felt this flood of emotion," he said. He reflected on what he hopes he contributed.

"The gap between life and death is so small there," he said. "(If I did) the little amount I can to widen that gap, I've helped."