Simply waiting

One of the things we've learned here in Guatemala is that time doesn't operate on the same scale as it does in the U.S. You go to the bank to pick up a check card on the day they tell you to and they smile and say to come back tomorrow. You get the same smile and advice the next day, too... You can't be too concerned about WHEN anything happens.

When it's hard, though, is when you realize that health care has the same issue. There is a young boy from Leslie Fickers's clinic who has a colostomy. He's had it essentially since birth and he's 2. The family has done a tremendous job of keeping it clean (even though there are no bags for that here) and has patiently waited for a team to repair the colostomy. When the team arrived last week and began the surgery, it became apparent that the actual problem was different from what was expected and that we did not have what we needed to fix it. So he waits another year.

This morning, we got a knock at our door from a family from here in Quiché along with 2 of their American friends. They were looking for a specific doctor from Houston who they had heard was here with a hand team. Obviously, if a hand team is here, they aren't staying with us. The friends had flown in from the US to ensure that there wouldn't be a language barrier problem with getting a surgery. The prospective patient is a 3 year old boy who was born with only four fingers on each hand. Actually, on his left hand, the middle and ring finger were grown together and on his right hand, there was no ring finger. He is a special needs child who is not really walking or talking yet. He was told as an infant that they couldn't operate on him due to a heart condition. Unfortunately, we had no good answers for them. We don't have a hand team coming, the boy's medical records are two years old (which is a long time for a 3 year old!), and even though the American couple hoped they could take him back to the US for surgery, we've found that that is a VERY difficult (and expensive) proposition.

So we took down their information, told them that they'll need an up-to-date diagnostic series run, and that we'd spread the word. Sadly, his name has now been added to a very long list of people who are waiting. Unlike the 2 year old we talked about before, this little boy doesn't even have a target date to wait for. He could be a teenager before he has a chance at some surgery, if ever.

Please pray for both of these boys and their families, as well as the innumerable people here in Guatemala who simply wait.