First Solo Clinic

Well, today was our first solo clinic and we didn't manage to kill anyone. We did diagnose a case of mumps, a case of pre-eclampsia, saw a guy who had been badly injured in a wreck in Houston (and spent two months in Ben Taub hospital), looked at some very fun rashes, and a couple of yeast infections. Add to that a few diabetics and seizure patients and it was a full day.

Then we went into Quetzaltenango (a.k.a. Xela) and shopped in a real grocery store for the first time in a month. We spent $200, which is hard to do on food in Guatemala. But we have a freezer full of meat, which makes our carnivorous friend Matt very happy!!!!

So we thought we'd share a few pictures. Only one is from today, but they're fun anyway. The first one is of a Guatemalan traffic jam. We were headed down a mountain when we suddenly got stopped by traffic. We later found out that a semi-trailer had nearly fallen off the road, closing one lane. You'll note that the vehicle directly in front of us is a Suburu Brat with the tailgate tied on with a rope. There are six little girls in the back, eating apples, and passing a kitchen knife around. When they saw us, they yelled, "GRINGOS!!!!" The vehicle in front of them is a chicken truck. Which is funny because the vehicle driving southbound on the northbound shoulder is called a Chicken Bus (think, Guatemalan Greyhound). Chicken buses stop for NO ONE! Our lane is stationary. You can see that there's a northbound car coming - it's their turn to use the one open lane. But don't tell that to the chicken bus. He's driving down the shoulder and his spotter (who rides in the open door) is yelling at the northbound traffic!

Anyway, the second picture is at the Ficker's house. Why we took that picture, I don't know. But Rachel and Joseph are sitting on one of their tractors while David, Aaron, and their dad are fixing the four wheel drive system on their F-350 so they can drive it to Guatemala City in the morning.

The third picture is Matt, getting ready for clinic this morning in Nueva Santa Catarina. You can see the Toughbook (donated by David Dickson) with the custom software (donated by Rob Emanuel) and the two tubs we're carrying (with meds donated in large part by the Wichita Falls team that just left). Yes, we're a walking repository for donated stuff. Keep it coming, though, the people need it!!!!

Anyway, we have some patients to look after here in Santa Cruz tomorrow - follow-up patients from the Wichita Falls team. Hopefully we'll have a quiet afternoon so Heidi can get some sleep and rest. She's a little under the weather herself. Just a case of the creeping crud. So keep her in your prayers.

Thanks so much for all your notes, thoughts, prayers and emails. They really help us feel closer to home. Please keep them coming!!!