Hello everyone! Welcome back to the blog for the Anderson Team!
Today was unfortunately our teams last full day in Antigua, Guatemala. Early tomorrow we will head to the airport in Guatemala City where most everyone will fly to Houston then onto other locations.
I went with Dr. Ignacio’s surgery team early in the morning to start the day with rounding on our patients. It was so great seeing how happy the children were in the convalescence ward. Each patient had a bright smile on their face when we saw them with no complications. Even the family members of the patients were full of gratitude. We were able to take photos with the families which made the morning that much better.
I had the opportunity to go on an amazing walking tour around Antigua by Elizabeth Bell. The group got to see the ruins of a cathedral as well as the crypts down below. The ruins of the church occurred due to earthquakes and has not been restored. High above are beautiful open domes where the sunlight can come through and illuminate the architecture. Then we went walking around the city more and stopped at a museum filled with art done by Guatemalan artists. There was a mix of everything from still life to impressionistic and much more. After we went to a jade museum and learned not only about the Mayan culture but about what Mayan animal protected each of us based on our birthday. The tour ended by walking through the Santo Domingo Hotel, built around old ruins of a convent and a church. Once again, these ruins were stunning with such an interesting story behind them. Our tour guide Elizabeth was spectacular, and everyone learned so much culture about Antigua.
Throughout the Anderson Team’s week, the general surgery team led by Dr. Ignacio completed 17 surgeries and the orthopedic surgery team led by Dr. Anderson completed 12 surgeries. Overall, out of the 40 people we saw in triage, 29 surgeries were completed. Not only did these surgeries benefit the patients, but also their families. We take for granted to the access to medical care we have in the United States. Helping these people in Antigua changes lives. It was so wonderful seeing the impact this team had.
Thank you for following along with us this week and thank you to everyone who has supported and donated to FIP.
Muchas Gracías!
Catherine
To support this team and their commitment to our patients visit https://donate.faithinpractice.org/team/373498
