A bitter-SWEET Return to Reu
The second surgical team to return to Guatemala arrives on June 5, 2021, in only 17 days! It will also be the first surgical team to travel beyond the urban hub of Antigua for the first time in more than a year.
The destination is Retalhuleu (known as “Reu” by locals) and is located along the Pacific Slope in southwestern Guatemala. Although it is one of the larger towns there, today’s visitors to Guatemala remain much less aware of the Reu area when compared with the country’s main tourist attractions.
But the purpose of this trip is not tourism or leisure. (FYI, It’s passion!) The 2021 Bullard Surgical Team will work long days at Hospital Hilario Galindo in Retalhuleu.
Here is some physical evidence of their overwhelming passion for working at the hospital in Reu. Several members of this Bullard Surgical Team got packed and ready to go more than 21 days before departure!
This innate passion is now, more than ever, critical to successfully realizing Faith In Practice’s mission. Before moving on, a brief look at the new challenges faced shows just how deep that (com)passion really is.
Dealing with the unexpected…
A lot has changed since the last Faith In Practice surgical team (The Hartz/Hecht Crew 655) traveled to Reu in late February of 2020. And unfortunately, much of that change has made both the work of Faith In Practice and, more generally, satisfying the basic needs of Guatemalans significantly more challenging and urgent. But not impossible.
In spite of undergoing major changes in 2020, Faith In Practice has managed to find new ways to make a difference in the health and lives of Guatemalans. For example, on top of continuing its case management for current patients, Faith In Practice successfully redirected its resources to provide food to remote villages, medical supplies to local health care sites in need, and telehealth technology with volunteer physicians in the United States guiding care in Guatemala. (For more information about these efforts, I encourage you to read the organization’s Mission Blog and/or subscribe to its monthly newsletter.)
In Reu, many sacrifices were forced upon everyone this past year. For instance, many former smiling faces are missing. Hugs are banned between Faith In Practice (FIP) volunteers and patients. Interactions between Guatemalans and FIP team members might be more limited than in the pre-pandemic age.
But just like the first team to return on May 1, 2021, these annoying changes will not deter the Bullard Surgical Team 692 in 2021. That is because they know an adventure is something that is not easy to go through but wonderful to talk about afterwards. For all of them, this trip will be another great adventure they get to enjoy during their lives.
A new adventure…
To begin with, the entire 2021 Bullard Surgical team of 22 people must travel to Guatemala on the same flight. Never have they had to all board the exact same plane in Los Angeles and depart from the exact same plane in Guatemala City. Furthermore, as soon as everyone gets off that plane, special personnel from Guatemala’s Ministry of Health will put them through a mandatory, maybe even FBI-like screening for COVID-19. If anyone on the team even gives them slight cause for concern (e.g. temperature elevation, cough, or other symptoms), then that team member will most likely be shipped off to an isolated COVID-19 rapid testing site, which apparently is now a permanent fixture in Guatemala’s busiest airport.
Next up, one long bus ride through the countryside! This year, as a necessary safety precaution, the team will travel directly from the airport in Guatemala City to Reu. Fortunately, the trip should not take any longer than its usual pre-pandemic four to five hours. It will also be just as scenic as ever. So, that’s a piece of cake for this lively group. I have no doubt they will fill the bus with some sort of witty banter, laughter, and other “entertainment”. I cannot wait to see what they come up with this bus ride! Also, I do have one suggestion for them. Please, please hold a “Stickiest Feet Contest!” That is where everyone on the bus takes off their shoes at the same time and then votes to see whose feet/ shoes overpower the rest the most.
Due to the need to provide additional spacing of patients (to maintain COVID-19 safety practices), interactions with locals on triage day will be restricted. It is uncertain if, upon entering the hospital on that first day, these volunteers will even get to see the usual Guatemalan smiles patiently lined up.
In the evenings, the team will live quarantined in their solo hotel rooms. (The bonus prize here is that most of the volunteers will not have to worry about getting stuck with a snoring roommate! There will no dinners out. No late walks on the hotel premises. However, whether or not team members will be able to socialize at the hotel bar at the end of the workday, I have no doubt that this group will still find a fun way to relax and laugh together in their safety bubble. Again, I cannot wait to see how they adapt creatively this year!
Now, I have saved what I believe is the worst news for last.
Due to that big, black cloud lingering over all our heads like an annoying relative who just won’t go home (Thank you, COVID-19!), this surgical team anticipates it will only be able to treat between 50 and 55 patients over the course one triage day and three operating days. That will translate into about half as many cases as they performed in 2019, and it is due to the need for keeping patients completely safe in this virus-run world. Nevertheless, there is a very probable silver lining to this smaller case load. This team will probably get extra time to spend engaging with patients, families, and local staff, which is one of my favorite parts.
But all the necessary safety changes being implemented are not in vain. Faith In Practice, in coordination with Guatemalan officials, has designed the trip, so that it accomplishes two overarching objectives. The first (arguably, the more minor one) is keeping the team in a safety bubble for their own protection. The second, which in my completely subjective view, is the benefits the Guatemalans in Reu will receive.
In an email exchange with one of the Bullard Surgical Team 692’s leaders, Katherine remarked: “It will be especially different to go with such a small team, and that will likely change the experience for all of us. Most have been on previous trips, so this will strengthen those bonds that develop among us,” share one of the leaders of the Bullard Surgical team 692.” In other words, they’ve got this!
So, who are these faithful souls up for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure?! Let’s meet SEVEN of them now! (There pictures can be seen in the photogallery above.)
- Joanne C., Registered Nurse and Our Operating Room Circulator
- Nancy R., Registered Nurse and Our Operating Room Director
- Angela A., Registered Nurse in Our Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
- Anita A., Our Ward Registered Nurse
- Madeline L., Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist for Anesthesiology
- Donald and Katherine Bullard, Team Leaders
Unfortunately, I will have to introduce the team in thirds, since, as of posting this blog, I am still waiting on the full team roster I requested more than a week ago. To be fair, the team leaders decide to enjoy a week off to catch up on some ZZ’s before departing for Guatemala.
And lastly, a bit of sweet news!
The team will get the chance to use all three, large, and recently renovated, operating rooms at Hospital Hilario Galindo in Reu, Guatemala. Plus, all these rooms are even equipped for laparoscopy surgery!
Additionally, medical supplies will not be a hot commodity during this team’s week in Reu! Faith In Practice (FIP) has gone above and beyond and is providing nearly all the team’s supplies. And that is not it. FIP topped these supplies off with the “whip cream and cherries” needed for safe, fully functional operating rooms with… two more trunks packed full of medications. Amazing!
And still, that is not all of it! This team has successfully gathered two additional trunks of supplies: one filled with OR and other medical “goody bags and toys” as well as a second one containing still more medications. Hooyah, there will no shortage of the special hernia mesh this time!
Note: The Bullard Surgical Team’s four “totes” of supplies and medications labeled, inventoried, sealed, and ready to go.
Finally, 12 members of the 2021 Bullard Surgical Team, along with another volunteer from their 2019 team, have raised $23,295 toward the team’s goal of $25,000. This achievement is especially noteworthy, because the greater the involvement of all team members, the bigger the rewards are to our friends in Reu, Guatemala!
You, too, can be an honorary and essential member of the 2021 Bullard Surgical Team (and without even leaving the comfort of your home). It is super simple. All you have to do is share our mission by donating and/or with your friends, family, and social media contacts.
But above all, without the team members’ passion for this mission trip, there would be no return trip. Everyone is so eager to get back to Reu and Hospital Hilario Galindo. What matters the most is not the size of the team or additional safety protocols in place but being able to finally help people who have had to wait an extraordinary amount of time for surgical care.
