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Our final day we took a launcha then pickup truck to a very friendly k'chi village called Nueva Jeruselen. We sent the first group in the truck and then it returned for the second group. Unfortunately, the truck broke down so half of us got our steps in doing the 4 km hike to the village. The first half had done a great job of setting up and seeing people while wondering where we went. It was a rough launcha ride home as the wind had picked up and we were all tired. Overall, it was a challenging but great week with the team helping over 750 people. Very interesting day today! We could not pass through a blockade, so we turned around. Within minutes of calling a couple of villages we had gone to before; we got an enthusiastic "yes come to our village today please!" We ended up seeing 125 people including 3 home visits. We assessed a 5-year-old boy who needed urgent surgery which we are arranging and gave a wheelchair to a man who had a stroke. After 3 years in a hammock only he was so excited to get into the wheelchair we could hardly get it in place fast enough. Sometimes we are gently nudged to where we are needed most! We travelled for 2 hours and through 6 creeks/rivers to set up our clinic. We arrived to over 100 people ready and waiting to see the nurses. We saw lots of big families today and even confirmed a few more pregnancies! We were also able to do 3 home visits today for patients that were too unwell to travel to the clinic. Many people were treated for worms and/or fungal infections. Overall, we saw about 180 patients in Creek Maya. Terra y Libertad was the village we visited today. We started the day with a flat tire but was quickly fixed. We saw 125 people and some nurses were sent to do a home visit for an elderly palliative care lady. She had a squamous cell carcinoma behind her ear. We gave her wound care supplies and pain meds. 2 of our donation bags were delayed in Atlanta and didn't make the trip. After some negotiations, they were shipped to us by Delta. We ran into another glitch when the bags were held at the Honduras border and and the police wanted money to let them pass. Delta agreed to pay the money, the equivalent of $400 US! WE GOT THE BAGS! We traveled by cattle truck for about an hour to the village Cimaroncita. We were welcomed by villagers who spoke both Spanish & K'chi We saw 160 people. Most common concerns were aches and pains due to physically demanding lifestyle. We also treated many clients for worms which is common due to the lack of clean drinking water. Everyone left with vitamins to help supplement their diet which often lacks nutrients. Overall, it was a great first day followed by ice cream after dinner. After a long day of travel, the team made it down to Guatemala yesterday. We are still tracking down a couple of bags that did not show up, but that hasn't stopped us. We got the remaining bags organized and the walkers and wheelchairs fixed, so we are ready to go to the villages tomorrow. We enjoyed going to El Boqueron, where we took a canoe ride and then floated back on the river. Some of the girls were adventurous and jumped off the rocks with the locals. Today we started off with a delicious French toast breakfast, we began our travels at 0800h sharp and ventured into our chariot for the last time this trip. We traveled 1 hour (fully paved roads 🤣) to the village of El Bongo. There we all set up outside as it was our first sunny day this week! We almost completely ran out of reading glasses; these are a well-loved and helpful item for the villagers. We registered and saw around 250 pts today. The villagers were very polite and freely gave out hugs to our staff. This was our last clinic day, so bittersweet. On our way home we had the chance to stop at the "Cascada Aqua Caliente" (the hot waterfall) The water comes from a geothermal source and could quite possibly be the only hot water we have felt all week 🤣We will get up for 4AM to start our trek to Honduras to venture back home. Until next time Guatemala, thank you for welcoming us with open arms, all our love. 💕 Day 4 of clinics was a wet one but that did not stop us. We went to Creek Zarco to see 155 people. We gave a donated wheelchair to a very grateful 93-year man. We hardly got his feet on the pedals, and he was wheeling away. We saw more patients with hypertension at this village, likely due to easier access to North American style food. We also had a young Guatemalan doctor in training who came to work as a translator and get some hands-on experience. Our NP Helen spent the day mentoring her. It was a great day! Day 3 clinic was in Lote 6 village. The men had to push a tree off the road and navigate a river, but we made it. We got to treat 165 people in the clinic and do several home visits for those who could not come to the clinic. We gave out a walker to man who was thrilled with the freedom it will give him. We also gave a wheelchair to an 8-year-old boy born with only partial legs. He seemed very excited to be wheeled instead of carried by mom. We really enjoyed the calm and relaxed feel of this village and its gentle people. After getting very wet from the rain on the way home, we went back out to explore the market in Rio Dulce while trying our hand at negotiating for the best prices. Day 2 we found ourselves deep in the Jungle at an Indigenous community called Adelitas. With the help of local translators, we played telephone to get assessments from English to Spanish then to K'chi and back to Spanish then to English. It was a long day, but we saw 195 people. There were some interesting dressings and many ear infections from swimming and bathing in the nearby river. The team shared many giggles while assessing the large families. We had some excitement on the way there when 1 truck would not make it up the slippery hill due to the heavy rain the night before. Fortunately, there was a new road we could take which the locals showed us. An evening of cards followed supper with Susan being the winner! |
