We are mid-week in this adventure. Waking up to 5:00 alarms is more difficult, folks are a little slower getting to breakfast, shoulders, backs, legs, feet need stretching and rubbing as we get ready for Day 3 of Surgery. Thank goodness for Cooking team arising at 4:45am to get the Apple Cinnamon Cranberry French Toast heated up and ready to serve to Team at 5:30. I learned last night 3 of our 5 Cooking Team members have medical backgrounds! Art was a Psychiatric Nurse, Vicki a Nurse Practitioner, and Carol a Physical Therapist. Pat, who heads up this wildly talented team, was assistant to Cathie Inglesby for 15 years. When Cathie was not able to come (we miss you, Team Mom!) Pat was promoted. Rounding out our cooking is sweet Dianne who comes with her anesthesiologist husband, Stuart. Ed will shadow our team of Cinderellas and Cinderfella this morning to show you in photos what their morning shopping trip is like!
Morning devotional began with a song…The Chicken Dance? I neglected to mention we were also treated to YMCA and The Macarena (only Fred knew this dance). Jenna did her best to lead us in the Chicken Dance, but it was not pretty…SHE was, Team was not. Steve reiterated that we are half way through our week and to continue caring for ourselves, our Team, and our patients. Two of our group are not able to go to hospital today due to illness, but will be cared for by Cooking Team and will be better tomorrow. Steve reminds us God has a BIG house with many rooms—enough for us all. We are diverse, come from so many places, but all are welcome in God’s home. We listened to Audio Adrenaline’s song, “Big, Big House” which includes:
Come and go with me
To my Father’s house
It’s a big big house
With lots and lots a room
A big big table
With lots and lots of food
A big big yard
Where we can play football
A big big house
It’s my Father’s house
It is worth listening to and we can guarantee you’ll be singing it the rest of the day! The Obras can be seen as part of God’s big house. We show love, smile, use touch to soothe and heal. The relationships we are building this week should continue after we leave—think how magnificent next year’s reunion will be! We thank God for being a God of relationships, always wrapping us in His gentle arms, keeping all of us safe.
We were off to the Obras to check on yesterday’s patients and to meet those who will receive procedures today. Jose helped Bill speak with his patients who had varicose veins removed yesterday. Our dear 83-year-old Jose (who grew up in Argentina and later came to U.S. to become a General Surgeon and now works as our interpreter) leaned in and placed his hand gently on Zoila’s shoulder before asking Bill’s questions. Zoila held Jose’s forearm as she answered that she had a good night’s rest, she was in no pain and was so happy. Bill gave instructions for care, said she would go home today, as Cam carefully rewrapped Zoila’s leg. Before the group left to see next patient, Zoila, still holding Jose’s arm said,” Gracias.” That simple word from her mouth, the love from her touch, and gratefulness in her eyes meant so much more.
A few beds down, David was checking 46-year-old Magdalena. She was looking forward to being pain free after living 2 years with intense abdominal pain and vomiting. David removed her gall bladder which held at least a half cup of pea sized gall stones. She is feeling very well, slept soundly, is happy to go home today and has been treated so well! “Dios de bendiga, gracias!” God bless you, thank you! I asked if Magdalena would like a picture with Kourtney who is acting as interpreter. Si, por favor! I showed Zoila the first photo and she pointed to her lip using words Kourtney did not understand? We took another and Zoila was happier with this one, but still tried to tell us something in her accented Spanish. Finally, we realized she was apologizing, with tears forming in her eyes, for not showing her teeth as she smiled because three front teeth are missing. Magdalena is beautiful, it made us sad to see her so self-conscious about her teeth. We reminded her that, she like us, was made by God and perfect just the way she is. Both Kourtney and I were blessed with a huge, warm hug of gratitude.
In the next bed is 14-year-old, Heidy. She has a stuffed animal Jeff gave her on her bed. Her unhealthy gall bladder contained about 40 cholesterol stones that looked just like kernels of corn. Heidy is happy to be going home today and looks forward to returning to school and seeing her friends. She is learning English and told me, “I say thank you to all the doctors for helping me.”
Doctors finished their rounds, OR rooms were getting ready, so I grabbed Jeff before he was needed in the recovery room. We entered the ward where Neil’s tonsillectomy/adenectomy patients (ranging in age 5-31 years) were sleeping or sucking on blue popsicles to soothe sore throats. We knew better than to ask these folks to talk, but little Edy gave us his signature thumbs up as we tiptoed by. In the back we found BreAnn’s patients who all had hernias repaired yesterday. Jeff introduces us to three gentleman who are happy to have their picture taken and willing to answer my endless stream of questions. Andres is 83 years old, which shows on his handsome, weathered brown face and cloudy deep brown eyes. He is a mountain farmer of milpa (corn) and occasionally has help from his grown children when they can come, but they have other jobs. He was happy his hernia procedure could be done now, after the harvest and before the next planting. He boarded 1 of three 3 trucks last Tuesday carrying a large group of people from his town of San Francisco. Their 10-hour trip to Antigua took 3 days—imagine spending 3 days in the back of a bouncing pick-up truck traveling back roads, unpaved roads, etc with a painful hernia? He tells this matter of factly (because I asked) with not a hint of complaint. He is thrilled and thanks God for His goodness that he will return to his farm without the pain he has suffered since he was 78 years, “I carry many heavy loads!” Rogelio, 49, and Sarvelio, 83, are also mountain plot milpa farmers. All 3 agree Antigua is the farthest they have been from their hometown. Rogelio has 2 small daughters at home, his wife works as a tortilla maker. I demonstrated for them how I tried to make a tortilla last year and the ensuing disaster. Jeff told them my tortillas are worse than my Spanish (maybe true). Rogelio has lived with a large hernia for 12 years. He could not stop farming to have this taken care of, all agreed there are NO doctors anywhere near their town. Even if they had money for transportation and found a hospital, there are no medicines, no supplies, no doctors. “The government does not help us, this is why people are dying.” I ask if they have had loved ones die because they lacked access to doctors, medicine, hospitals. Without hesitation all three nod vigorously, “Si, Si, Si!” They all thank God they found their way to an Faith In Practice Village Team Clinic. Their pain had become absolutely unbearable and they prayed for help. “How can we feed our families if we cannot work?“ Rogelio asks, then continues, “God did everything, He is in control and we listened to Him. Praise God he brought you here to help, gracias.” Jeff agreed and added, “God blesses us with many things. He brings us here to share those blessings and so also we are healed.” It cannot be stated strongly enough how much I appreciate these stoic, hard-working, faithful men sharing such personal thoughts with us. We hugged and thanked them, took more pictures (including one with Andres in which I am wearing a moustache to match his) and accepted their overwhelming thanks and blessings for our entire team.
Having not even processed what I had just been part of, I decided I needed some comic relief…so headed to the GI Clinic. WHAAAT, you say? If you have met Priscilla, General Surgeon, you would understand. As serious, grounded, professional she is in role of surgeon she is equally funny, clever, and entertaining as a person. She has happily been performing colonoscopies and endoscopies alllllll weeeeek—at least 18 a day! With the help of Linda, anesthesiologist, Ruth, Jack of all trades (including circulator, nurse, translator), and Mari and Delila from Obras staff, I think these ladies could set an Obras record! Priscilla takes no credit or praise, but thanks her team and Dr. Castrini who approached Olympus and got the $250,000 worth of new equipment donated. Small polyps found can be removed here, some biopsies have been taken, and there is a Doctor on the Obras staff these patients can see for follow up visits. Again, we at home have colonoscopies as preventative medicine. Here most patients come only when their pain is so great it is unbearable…and they can find their way to a Village Team Clinic who refers them to us. There is no complaining, no grimacing in the waiting area, these folks have come hours and hours and are so glad to be here where they are respected and treated well. Thank God next time you have a colonoscopy!
I was thinking about this Big House where we are blessed to be this week and saw Dr. Perez who is part of the Obras Staff. He helped me with some words while I visited in the wards yesterday. I asked if he would thank the nursing staff for allowing me in the wards to speak with the patients. I feel like I am always in the way as the staff go busily and efficiently about their jobs. His reply was, “No one is ever in the way here. There is room and purpose for everyone. Your medical team brings knowledge and skill and you bring love. We all need more love.” There is room for ecveryone here.
I received great news when I entered the Dental Clinic! Cary had seen 5-year-old Dariany whom I met at the Audiology Clinic. This bright, curious, sweet little girl and I became fast friends, playing games while she and her Mama waited for their turn. Once tested, Kelli found Dariany, who doesn’t speak, had profound hearing loss. No hearing aid would help this beautiful, rambunctious child hear the world around her. The only way she could be helped is with a cochlear implant…which costs $40,000-$50,000. Alexa was not sure such an operation is even available in Guatemala here. Dariany and her family have their own very basic sign language. A law has recently been passed that sign language must be taught in all schools, but no one knows when/if this will be implemented. Here, many things are promised in an election year that never come about. I can’t imagine this child going through life without an ability to express her thoughts, to learn as others do, to achieve her potential? As Alexa has explained, in the States Dariany’s hearing loss would have been identified at birth, she and her family would have received the needed cochlear implant and the services to go with it. As a 5-year-old she would have hearing, speech, and would be on the inside, not pushed to the outside. Dariany looks at me and I know we are communicating without words. I feel her joy, excitement, wonder and I pray she feels my love…I’m sure she does. Our team has evaluated Dariany, determined what she needs, but for now that is as much as we can do. While in the Auditory Clinic, Kelli and Alexa noticed staining and possible decay on this little one’s teeth. They referred her to Cary in the Dental Clinic. Today he cleaned, polished, and removed staining from Dariany’s teeth—he also fell in love! She was thrilled and patient throughout the whole process, loved her new smile, picked a pink toothbrush, blessed everyone with a hug and smile and was gone.
At least 31 procedures were completed successfully in our 5 Operating Rooms today. All of those patients were treated lovingly, as if they were family, by our incredible Team 651. I watched many of them progress from Pre-Op to the OR to the Recovery Room, cared for so gently and with respect every step of the way. Crystal told me of a woman who awoke in the Recovery Room her bed surrounded by the fantastic team. She was confused and thought she hadn’t yet had her procedure. Quietly, Crystal explained the procedure was complete, it was a success, it was all over. The woman’s eyes welled with tears, she could not believe it. Her pain would be gone, all had happened just as it was supposed to in a country where so many promises are broken. She sobbed and sobbed with relief and thanks as the team continued to comfort and care for her.
Come and go with me
To my Father’s house
It’s a big big house
With lots and lots a room
A big big table
With lots and lots of food
A big big yard
Where we can play football
A big big house
It’s my Father’s house
Yes, and we were in that big big house, where everyone is welcome, where everyone is family, where all will be cared for and all will be healed. We were in that big big house….
TOUCHDOWN!
