Hello and welcome to day four! The surgeries today were successes, but our teams had to persevere as the fatigue set in for many.
I’ve been told that when operating in a developing country, there are always some cases that make you think, “how did the patient live with this” Yesterday this happened in April’s OR when she repaired an unbelievably large hernia. Today, everyone was peeking into OR 4 while Allison removed the largest uterus I’ve ever seen (which is now a grand total of three). Guatemala has apparently had a bit of an issue with surgically removed organs being sold in the black market, and as the massive specimen sat on the table, I understood why. The thing looked like a butterball turkey and easily weighed as much as one. Maybe as a bowling ball or possibly as lunch, I could certainly find a use for it.
Today I also got a chance to spend some time in the recovery ward. Most patients stay there until the morning after their surgery, when they return to la Casa de Fe. Patients in beds quietly smiled and waved as we came through the rooms. Their sweet spirit makes it so you never want to leave.
Near the end of the day, Scott ran an errand and came back asking me to show him the way to the recovery ward. Earlier in the day, Donna—one of our lovely PACU nurses—was caring for a patient when he told her that he was having problems with brightness hurting his eyes. She said he should buy some sunglasses, but he didn’t have enough money. Donna saw this need and quickly sent Scott out with a few Quetzales and a mission to find sunglasses for our new friend. As you can see in the photo, he picked very well. It was an honor to deliver those sunglasses with Scott and tell our new friend that Donna had a gift for him. She is a shining exemplar of the caliber of people that fill this team. They are all givers.
-Ben Calvert
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