Hi All,
Today we did 1/2 day in the clinic and saw 74 patients. The afternoon was spent at a party for the Orphanage. They sang to us and then the village children were invited to share and they gave away some of their toys to the village poor. It was moving to see but playing with the kids who live at the orphanage was the best!! They are so happy and playful and loving. Best of all though, I got to see my lil Andy!! He melted my heart the first time I saw a picture of him and then he had some renal problems and the nurse here was emailing me for advice. They found out one of his siblings died at the age of seven due to some renal problem. But he is happy and healthy and I couldn't wait to meet him in person and today I finally did!! His mother was a prostitute and deserted he and his 3 siblings and they are all living here now.
Also, I have found Chelsey's husband and am bringing him home with me! He has been one of our translators this week and is the sweetest young man. All of the nurses are in love with him, but he likes me best and already calls me his mom-in-law. (Of course this is after I showed him the picture of Chelsey! heehee) His brother is the administrator of the orphanage and I broke the news to him today. He took it pretty well, as he himself married a Canadian! heehee
Jake's funeral may not be until Mon/Tues. so I may be traveling to Cincinnati the minute I get home. I miss you all very much and am ready to come home to my safety zone and all the comforts of home--namely a hot shower!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Day 4--Mamma Carmen's
Hello family and friends,
Today has been such a hard day here. We spent the day at Mamma Carmen's house in Guatemala City. She has been rescuing kids off the streets here for 20-30 years with only slight assistance from Ivan Tait's ministries. (founder of Casa Angelina) She has 82 kids in what started as a 4 bedroom house! They built a second floor and opened walls to create space. The kids are remarkably well cared for considering the conditions.....but it was hard to watch 20-40 toddlers running around with NO supervision at all. They run themselves ragged until they drop to the tile floor and fall asleep and that is where they stay. The other kids step on them and jump over them---all very hard to watch. The sadness in their eyes at times is palpable. Make sure I tell you the story about my trip to the bathroom there when I get home!
The hardest part came at lunch time when I called Eric to say hi. His (our) nephew Jake was killed in a car wreck in Cincinnati last night. He was 19 and the details are bad. Eric is taking Peyton with him and may not be home when I return. I have never felt so guilty--I should be there with him. I have had such an emotional week with the poverty and kids we have seen. If I cry any more--I will go blind! I love you all and am feeling a million miles away in a very bad way. Keep checking on Eric for me you all!
Today has been such a hard day here. We spent the day at Mamma Carmen's house in Guatemala City. She has been rescuing kids off the streets here for 20-30 years with only slight assistance from Ivan Tait's ministries. (founder of Casa Angelina) She has 82 kids in what started as a 4 bedroom house! They built a second floor and opened walls to create space. The kids are remarkably well cared for considering the conditions.....but it was hard to watch 20-40 toddlers running around with NO supervision at all. They run themselves ragged until they drop to the tile floor and fall asleep and that is where they stay. The other kids step on them and jump over them---all very hard to watch. The sadness in their eyes at times is palpable. Make sure I tell you the story about my trip to the bathroom there when I get home!
The hardest part came at lunch time when I called Eric to say hi. His (our) nephew Jake was killed in a car wreck in Cincinnati last night. He was 19 and the details are bad. Eric is taking Peyton with him and may not be home when I return. I have never felt so guilty--I should be there with him. I have had such an emotional week with the poverty and kids we have seen. If I cry any more--I will go blind! I love you all and am feeling a million miles away in a very bad way. Keep checking on Eric for me you all!
Day 3
Hola!! What a day......we saw 113 patients in the clinic today. It was rainy this morning and most of them walk, so we saw most of them in the afternoon when the rain ceased. That is hopping for 1 doc and 3 exam rooms. Plus we lose time with the language barrier and are the pharmacy as well! I have been trying to keep the flow going so no one gets turned away. But it's funny, the same things happen in Guatemala as in MMC ER. People still take smoke breaks, ect....but all in all everyone is getting along well. There have been tears---one mom begged us to help her with her baby who has a cleft palate and was turned away from the hospitals because she didn't have the $15,000 to pay for the surgery. Our doc even cried with that mom. Then another mom broke down in the treatment room and told our nurses that her husband left her and her 2 small children and she had no money for food or clothing. The little girl was wearing shoes that were so small she could not walk and were deforming her toes. The nurses gave her money out of their own pocket. The men amaze me--I used to think Grandpa Craig's hands were rugged, with his crooked fingers from unplugging the corn picker while running, but these men's hands are as worn as leather over wood. They have the toughest calluses and thick arthritic fingers I have ever seen. They are true cowboys and most always have a hat on but an even bigger smile. One came today with his horses...so of course I was distracted from the clinic for a bit--but even the livestock appear malnourished, as do the dogs! The hugs, kisses and appreciation is so incredible--I can't even put the effect on my soul into words right now. Love you all and I have never loved my life and family in the States more than right now. Eric...look at the pic of the old woman doing laundry in the sink at the orphanage and hanging it all out to dry---I will not complain about my dryer any more--ok? Goodnight all!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Guatemala Day 2
WOW!!!!! What an amazing, exhausting, amazing day! Got on the bus for more fun time on the Guatemala roadways at 7:30am and headed to Casa Angelina. There were people lined up to see us already--approx 30 by the time we opened the doors! We met the orphanage founder, Ivan Tait and had morning devotional then started our clinic day. Saw 72 patients total on the first day and had to ask 16 people back tomorrow as we ran out of antibiotics already. Made a trip to town to purchase more--you don't need a prescription to get any meds here except narcotics. I went into town and tried to purchase 500 Amoxicillin tabs, 500 doxycycline tabs and some parasite meds and it would have been $700. We are looking for cheaper meds tonight! Saw a woman who was 100 years old with severe arthritis pain--imagine that! Saw men with abd/chest pain, women with abdominal pain, lots of rashes, and some totally disgusting things we wont mention here! We are pooped and heading back for tomorrow to do it all again!!!
Day 1
Ola!! Our flight left OHare on time and all went well through out our travel day. Jeremy and Melisa picked us up at the airport and drove us to the hotel to check in. Can I just say that the driving is INSANE here!!!! No rules apply, no speed limits, people pass on hills and curves and the pedestrians are right on the road side. We saw a family of 4 on one motorcycle--child on the front, dad driving and mom on back with a baby tied to her back! Jeremy and Melisa took us into Antigua and took us out to eat. Freaky night as it was raining lightly and the power went out to the entire town. We returned to the hotel and had power, but no wireless or cell phones working. Off to bed for an early morning!!
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