Friday through Sunday

Friday was Heidi's last clinic at the Hospital Buen Samaritano before we leave for Christmas. She had a full slate of 12 patients. A couple were prenatals, a couple were post-ops, a couple were not really gynecological, and one was a surgery she'll do in January. One patient showed up demanding her hysterectomy that day. Heidi tried to explain that this was not going to happen, as it was the first time they'd ever even spoken or met (we have no idea where this patient got the idea that you could get a "drive-through" hysterectomy). Upon being denied immediate elective surgery, she got angry and started calling the hospital director (who happened to be in the car with Dr. Hoak). Eventually, she got tired of waiting and left the hospital (in a very nice car, according to the girls at the front desk). Who expected THAT at a mission hospital???

On the way home, Heidi got a chance to stop by and see Sharon Harvey at ASELSI, who just returned from her first real vacation in over 10 years!!!! Sharon and John do such tremendous work here. We really missed them, but were so happy that they got to take an actual vacation.

Saturday was clinic in Canilla. Aaron and Matt spent a lot of time talking about how to make the drive from Texas to Guatemala, in case we are able to purchase a new (to us) vehicle there in December. Aaron and Katie just made the drive within the last month and had some very helpful tips. The group in Houston looked at a possible purchase this week. Please pray that God lets us know if this is the one for us or not.

In clinic, a couple brought in their 8 year old granddaughter who they say has been having three seizures a day for the last 2 1/2 years. This is the first time anyone has sought medical treatment for her. Her mom and dad are both in the United States and haven't tried to do anything for her. We asked if there is an open fire in the house (many families have an open fire in the house for cooking). Yes, there is, they answered. Heidi brought Martina in to show them what can happen to a little girl who seizes and falls face first into a fire. By this time, though, the grandparents were more interested in their consults - tylenol and vitamin variety complaints. Please pray for this little girl that God will protect her even when her own family does not.

Today was our last clinic before our trip. They only sold about 50-60 numbers (roughly 1/2 the normal number), as it's the last day of the town "Feria" and people simply don't seem to get sick when there is drinking and partying to be done. Weird, huh? The first patient of the day was a two week old, 4lb 4oz little boy who was brought in by his great-grandmother. Mom died during childbirth and Dad is either in the United States or at the coast, depending on when you ask. The family has been buying milk but not feeding him properly. They said he didn't eat at all yesterday but he was quite interested in the bottle Leslie gave him. She recognized that, left in the hands he's been in, he's going to die, so she offered to take him in for a few weeks to get him out of immediate danger.

The great-grandmother called the father to ask for permission for her to go stay with Leslie while they help this baby. He said no. Then it came out that he has blood in his stool. Leslie suggested that the best thing for them to do was to bring him here to the hospital in Quiche. The great-grandma then left to go home "to get some clothes" and never came back. Now we're in a quandry. Has the baby been abandoned? Or has great-grandma simply gotten distracted? We certainly don't want to be accused of kidnapping, but we can't just sit and wait for someone to come back who doesn't appear likely to do so. Eventually, we decided that Leslie will take the baby by the orphanage in San Andres and get the paperwork filled out to declare the child "abandoned". This will cover us, legally. Then she was going to try to drive into the village where the lady said she was from and try to find her (it's on her way back home to Canilla). You can see this little boy, named Juan, in the two pictures below.

In the meantime, a woman came in with a pretty nasty cut on her thumb from her machete and our favorite "drunk grandma" came in for her weekly visit and touch-up (she gets drunk and falls down at least once a week and comes in for us to clean up whatever wounds she has this week). This week, "Grandma" had a nasty scrape on her elbow, which she had self-treated by putting a piece of newspaper on it. It was thoroughly soaked and stuck into the wound, making a pretty nasty job of removing it. Her biceps, literally, are about half the size of Matt's wrists. At around 4'6", she probably weighs 70 lbs. Please pray for her, too, that a moment of clarity will help her discover her need for help.

Tomorrow, Paul and Lindsey will come by around 7:30 to get the truck and go to clinic. We will do some last minute things here at the house and go to meet Duane at the local airstrip at 10:30 or so. Then it's a 30 minute flight to Guatemala City and a 3 hour flight back to Houston. We have some business (and pleasure) to take care of there, then it's off to Dallas, St. Louis, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, then back to Texas before we come back to Guatemala. As always, we'll keep you posted!