Saturday morning, we loaded up the Tacoma and headed for Canilla. And we were VERY thankful to have the Tacoma. The rainy season is trying to go out with a bang and it's been raining day and night for the past few days. So the "road" to Canilla was pretty bad. The Mazda probably could have handled the road okay, but the Nissan wouldn't have had a chance. The Tacoma was great and we never wondered whether we'd make it across a river or not.
You may remember that we didn't have clinic last weekend, so we expected to be flooded this weekend. We were right. Thankfully, some friends of the Fickers were here to help. Don and Lori and their four kids are here for nearly a month. Don is a physicians assistant, is experienced in Guatemalan medicine, and was a huge help in clinic. Lori offered to watch Isaac for us so Matt could help in clinic. It was our first time to do clinic without Isaac since he was born. He cooperated by being a good little boy and Lori was fabulous with him. It helped a BUNCH because we had over 80 patients (a normal load in this clinic is 40-50). We finally finished mid-afternoon and got to eat lunch.
This morning, Don and Lori and their kids packed up to move to the orphanage in San Andres for a few weeks. David took everyone to clinic in the big Ford, then rode his 4-wheeler home (that big truck is a handful on these roads - too much for Leslie or Heidi to drive). Isaac and Matt stayed in Canilla where Isaac continued his recent streak of "good-boy" days.
In San Andres, 40-50 used to be a normal load. Lately the number has crept up to around 80. Today was 108 plus stragglers. Luckily, though, with Don's help, they finished up around 3pm.
You know how things seem to go in streaks? For a few weeks last year, it seemed like we picked up a cleft lip patient every other day. These last few weeks, we've been flooded with moms wanting free milk and malnourished kids - but seldom in the same visit.
We at Agape In Action do not have a milk program, but most of our partner ministries do. For a couple reasons, though, we only give milk to malnourished kids. For one reason, it's too expensive to be giving to everyone. Most of our partners struggle just to buy milk for the kids who really need it. And we don't want to encourage mothers to give up on breastfeeding. It's better for the kids, it's safer (most people here do not understand the importance of ultra-clean bottles and diarrhea is one of the most common causes of death for babies here), and it helps keep Mom in a less fertile condition for a little longer (they SURE can't afford to have five kids in five years!).
We've probably had a half dozen women in the last week come in asking for free milk - mostly because the moms with underweight kids are mentioning that they're getting free milk from us - and they all claim to not have any milk. Every time, Heidi will ask them to demonstrate and nearly every time, milk gets sprayed all over the room. Then it's a long discussion about how breast feeding is better. We are so fortunate to be able to breast feed Isaac - not just because it's better for him and more convenient (most of our clinic sites don't exactly have microwaves or hot water), but because we get to be a good example to our patients.
And we've also had a half dozen moms come into clinic with numbers for themselves and we've noticed that their babies were knocking on death's door. (Case in point: little Roy in Chinique). Today was no different. Number 100 is pictured below. She doesn't look so bad in the pictures, but she was in really bad shape. She was basically panting she was so dehydrated. The family has been buying milk because Mom feels like the baby isn't getting any from the breast (even though they're completely engorged). Well, the baby probably isn't getting any now - she's too weak to eat. As of 3pm, she had eaten once today. She doesn't cry. She's too weak.
Heidi and Leslie worked together to get some formula into the baby using a syringe. She couldn't even suck on a nipple. Leslie offered to give Mom a place to live for a few days and get the baby fed. Mom refused and said that she would just try with the syringe. Leslie stressed that if she changes her mind, the door is always open at their house. Please pray for this baby and for all babies here that are in trouble. It seems to be so common for babies to die here simply because moms are not educated enough to know about proper nutrition for them.
Anyway, tomorrow is our bi-weekly clinic in Chicabracan. Last week was pretty thin, so this week might be crazy. Luckily, Tuesday should be a bonified day off. Our days off have had a way of getting filled lately, though, so we'll see!
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