GRATITUDE – today’s word of the day.
It would not be possible to accurately describe the experience of the week without bringing up gratitude. We are all keenly aware the experience is trickling down to its final day and as I reflect back on the week the feeling of gratitude is overwhelming and hard to put into words. Similar to the Thanksgiving holiday, when you are asked to put into a few words what you feel thankful for, you may draw a blank at first but as you think about it there are too many things to give thanks for to even begin to bring them all up.
I know I speak for my fellow volunteers when I say how grateful I am for the experience, the opportunity and blessing to make such an impact. We are thankful for our families and loved ones, that have allowed us to be here and for the lives we have touched.
Maria has two handsome little ones, Juan is 10 and his little brother is 5 and will start school soon in February. She is a high school teacher and a single mom, the latter being a consequence of the first, as she refused to give up her financial independence despite pressures faced at home. This may have come as a blessing in disguise giving her the motivation to visit the clinic today. She had been instructed by a local clinic that a hysterectomy may be necessary, however she struggled to find a way to take time off and still make ends meet. Our team of doctors was able to provide her with additional medical advice to make an informed choice regarding any need (or lack thereof) for surgery. Now that she fully understood her options, Maria had the peace of mind and heart to continue raising her two boys and teaching the next generation of Guatemala.
To different degrees, the lives of every patient coming through the clinics have been touched. This week, a total of 1246 patients were seen, a staggering number, with each patient potentially visiting more than one clinic, for a total of 2858 clinic consults. Astronomical! The team felt that the days were long, but I don’t think anyone was expecting anything like that, the largest volumes seen by an FIP team such as ours since pre-COVID, not that we are bragging or anything.
Some examples of patients seen on the last day include Rosa, Gloria, Lucilia, and Yesmi. Their ailments ranging from masses growing on their throat, acute monthly pain, potential damage/complications post a local surgery, and ovarian cysts (which are not necessarily an ailment). The next steps made possible by the team of volunteers ranged from medication prescribed, referrals for additional exams and potential subsequent surgeries, as well as plain and simple patient education.
Even with such an elevated volume of patients, each one is shown empathy during each examination, no small feat during these long days.
Karla’s Aunt is also back. You may recall Karla, our vision in pink from day 2, who was brought in by her Aunt/caregiver and needed a wheelchair to assist with her mobility due to Cerebral Palsy. She brought Karla in on Monday, before bringing in her own biological children today. I’m grateful to see her smile at the confirmation that the three children she has brought today have no long-lasting ailments.
Some of our patients are not quite as grateful, but the kids are so cute we can forgive them. Our volunteers cannot resist handing out trinkets to them, especially when they have been good (well actually especially to bribe them when they are not being good), but understandably a child may feel the urge to refuse the trinket, throwing it to the ground to then proceed to pursue the gift presented to one’s sister, which is clearly preferable.
We are grateful when our patients hug us after we have helped them, we may even be cheeky enough to ask for a photo as a memento.
While I am listing things, we are grateful for the unbelievable guacamole we were served each day, during the lunch break.
We are grateful for each other, some of us have clearly been partners in crime for (multiple?) decades, not a bad activity to team up on and pursue for years!
While we are sentimental and nostalgic as the experience comes to a close, nobody is blind to the fact that it takes funding for all of this to be made possible. A huge thank you to all of our donors and supporters. We have been able to witness how your hard-earned money has been put to work here in Guatemala and I hope I have been able to make you privy to the impact you have had on so many lives. As I stated in the beginning (it can be hard to put into words), each dollar donated is the sacrifice of a personal gain (or even need) in favor of someone else, each of us want to thank all of you, we hope we made you proud!
In the group photo we are attempting a still version of the sign for “thank you dearly” to further convey the message.
I chose words of the day this week to help describe the events, while words are insufficient, I hope they have helped convey the experience and impact to the readers.
This week and its participants have been Fun, Inspirational, Patient, Altruistic/Grateful. Miss you all already team FIP A/G (Austin/Garcia).
Gracias,
Celestina
Team Blogger
