Picture 4: Alfredo is here with his son. He had a prior surgery in Guatemala City in 2005 and has been waiting for a hip replacement with FiP for 3 years. The FiP team originally planning to take his case was unable to come because of covid. He lives about 7 hours away and has had difficulties getting to Antigua because of the expense of transportation.
Picture 5: Juan is 17 years old. He is here with his dad. He injured his foot in a motorcycle accident and has already had 3 surgeries, one in Kiche and two in San Miguel where he is from, 4 hours from Antigua. They don’t know where they will stay this time, but stayed in Casa de Fe when he was evaluated, the last time they came.
Picture 6: Bernardet is here alone from Baja Verapaz, 5 hours away. He took public transportation (bus) to get here. Fip replaced his left knee in 2022, and he had a good outcome. Now he is here for his right knee.
Picture 7: Merlin is 36 years old. She has congenital problems with her right hip and has had 4 surgeries in Guatemala City. She was evaluated by a village team in Peten and is here to find out if FiP can help her.
Picture 8: Erickson is 23 years old. He is here with his mom, who did the talking because it’s too emotional for him to explain all the difficulties he’s had ever since he first fell as a toddler. He has had problems with his femur, his hip, and now his knee. Three years ago FiP found a tumor in his hip. He has had 5 prior FiP surgeries, the first one at age 12 for a left hip fracture.
Picture 9: Elvy is a former soldier, but there is no VA in Guatemala to provide medical care for veterans. He attributes his bad knees to too much marching with a heavy pack in the mountains. His right elbow is affected by an old bullet wound that marked him with a four inch divot and scar. He also now has a stammer that in the U.S. would probably be classified as PTSD. The combination of bad knees, bad elbow and crutches makes it difficult for him to keep his balance. While waiting at the Obras, he slipped and crashed twice onto the tile floor. He is here alone because he said his wife couldn’t take it anymore and left him. He said he does have help with transportation from a charity.
Picture 10: Carlos is 21 years old and is here with his mom from Quiché, about 4 hours away. He has had problems with his arm for 10 years, ever since an accident when he was a kid. Four years ago a priest told him about FiP, but his treatment was delayed due to the pandemic.
-Courtney Kim
To view Courtney’s personal blog visit: www.courtneyguestkim.com
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