Sadly, today is our last day volunteering at the Hilario Galindo Hospital, but we leave knowing that we have changed the lives of many patients this week. The last surgery that we did today was Dr. Glenn’s laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The size of the gallbladder was about the size of my closed hand and this patient had been having pain for a very long time. In America, this patient would have had surgery right away, but here, patients have to wait a long time. In the recovery room, she was so happy that the surgery was over and quickly asked when she could eat something. A sign that she was feeling pretty good.
At the beginning of this trip, Dr. Pogo brought a whole chest filled with stuffed animals to give to all the patients. This is a part of a tradition that his father, Pogo Grande, would do when he would come down on these mission trips. Even though he was unable to make it this time, we were able to carry on the tradition and gave out all of the stuffed animals. We even took Polaroids of the patients in post-op so they would have something to remember us by. In the end, I am very happy I decided to come on this mission trip. All that my mother said about how wonderful of an experience this trip is, is true. I met many wonderful people that I will never forget and it even sparked my interest to possibly look at professions in the medical field. What makes me very happy about this trip is that we were able to make a huge difference in the lives of many Guatemalans.
Taylor Foss
To support this team and their commitment to our patients visit https://donate.faithinpractice.org/team/373499
