Day Four: Writer’s Block.
It’s the fourth day of the Lima/Wagen Surgery 836 Medical team. I spent the morning with Brooke, our co-leader, translator, and ward physician, who took some time to translate as I talked to two patients about the circumstances that brought them to Faith in Practice this week. Between all of us, there were MANY tears.
During the trip, I try to listen for stories, and members of our team share anecdotes about patients and procedures. When I hear something particularly compelling, I find a translator who approaches the patients with me and explains why I want a photo, and what I will do with their story.
But today, I’m overloaded with information and emotions. I wanted to approach today talking about the importance of family in Guatemala, and how our team doesn’t just help patients, but entire families and communities, but I’m stuck.
It’s nearly 4 p.m., and I’m sitting in the quiet chapel at Hospital Hilario Galindo, struggling for direction, and I think, “Why DO we tell these stories?”
My job is to paint a picture of life in Guatemala: What is it like to live here? What do people have, or don’t have? What does it mean to Guatemalans that Faith in Practice medical teams return year after year, helping hundreds (thousands?) of Guatemalans in need?
To say that lives depend on our coming is 100% accurate. One woman I interviewed today, Zulma, would likely have died had her condition not been treated. She is a 35-year-old single mother of two young children, who had lost hope and was terrified that she would die.
“I’m an evangelical Christian and I’ve been praying to God for so long, and I was so afraid about leaving my kids,” said Zulma as tears streamed down her face. “If I die, what’s going to happen to my two kids? Nobody wants to leave their kids without a mom.”
There was also Louisa, a mother and grandmother who was also a mother figure in her town, feeding the hungry in her church as well as those outside who simply needed a meal. Louisa, her many years on the Earth etched across her face, had lived with a bilateral inguinal hernia for fifteen years. Pain was so much a part of her life, she had nearly lost hope.
“There were two times was in so much pain I wanted to die, it was strangling me,” said Louisa through tears.
When I sat down with her this morning and we began to talk, she asked the same question over and over. “How long until this is better? Six months? A year?” To which Brooke answered, “No, six WEEKS.”
And that’s when Louisa started to cry. Her prayers had finally been answered.
So what do Guatemalans have? Not a lot. Think of the poorest of Americans and take away even more. Most of the country lives in poverty, and the healthcare system is just as bad. There is a broad distrust of healthcare here, with many patients believing the hospitals won’t take care of them.
Zulma sees a healthcare system that failed her when she needed help most.
“They weren’t giving me help or extending a hand to say, ‘let’s figure this out.’ Clearly nobody knew what was actually going on with me, and they didn’t even try.”
Zulma and Louisa are just two patients of the 80 or so Guatemalans who have or will undergo surgery this week. Every story is just as heartbreaking as the next. No one deserves to suffer, and every volunteer who comes and every donor who gives make a difference.
What DO Guatemalans have?
Guatemalans have FAITH. And they have gratitude for everything that God provides for them. If all they have to eat are black beans three times a day, they thank God at every meal for providing those beans. There is no expectation of the bigger, better, faster more mentality that we so often see and experience in the States.
They are a devout and grateful country who value family and community and take care of each other, even when they can barely take care of themselves.
So if you’re wondering whether you should join a mission, or are on the fence about making a donation, don’t hesitate another minute. Know that not only are you saving lives, but participating in a mission will change YOUR life. It sure changed mine.
Susan Orhon
Team Blogger & Photographer
