(OK, I will go back and try to re-post the pictures later; for some reason they don't want to upload tonight and I'm getting impatient to go ahead and post this! Sorry...)
Thursday was a very nice “blast from the past” for me this week—I did clinic at ASELSI (read more about their amazing work in Guatemala, if you want, at www.aselsi.org) with Dr. Sherwood Pope, his wife Areli, and my old friend and most excellent of translators, Cecilia or “Ceci” as we have always known her. She is the Quiche to Spanish translator that Matt and I worked with for two years there at ASELSI, and offered a scholarship to when she eventually became interested in going back to nursing school. She now has what is essentially the equivalent of an LPN (Licensed Professional Nurse) degree and has been able to increase her hours and earning potential with it. She is still a great translator, tirelessly educating patients without even being prompted anymore about hygiene, clean water, hydration, proper care of children, and much more.
Ceci and Areli both are showing great interest as well as skill with the ultrasound machine in pregnancy, so I got to be really in my element for a while and do some teaching! Areli has really been helping Dr. Sherwood quite a bit with the prenatals, and is becoming quite handy with the ultrasound machine. That’s something she probably never planned on using her degree in International Studies for, but I am continuously awed by her flexibility and patience. The first two pictures are of ASELSI's main building and one of our first patients and her baby.
In all, we saw about 50 patients between the three of us—I remained worried the whole time that David Ficker would call at any second and say that they were ready to pick me up in Quiche immediately (I was scheduled to ride out with him to Canilla and hated to think about making him wait for me…) Those of you who have ever either been to Guatemala or had many things scheduled on “FST—Ficker Standard Time” are of course now laughing at my seeming naivete in my concern! ;-) It was only after the obligatory seven or eight plan changes that we met up relatively smoothly in Quiche for the long ride over the mountains to Canilla.
I’ll spare you all the details of that trip (we managed to get there having lost only one lug-nut, having stopped only twice to check on the drive shaft, and to re-wire a headlight directly in to the battery so that it would stay on for more than a few seconds at a time after it got dark…), but it was even more adventurous than usual for that trip! Any of you who have known the “adventure” (read: sheer peril and terror) of driving that road during the rainy season in broad daylight will just have to imagine how fun it was after nightfall with no working headlights! David Ficker is truly an amazing mechanic and driver… and even provided for a photo op or two! The next pic is of him and Juanito, a friend of the family, rewiring the headlight—successfully, of course.
Late in to the night Thursday, we greeted a team from Real Life Missions out of Washington state who are there for the week. They are poised to do some great work, teaching and evangelizing in local schools and building a widow a new home out near one of the clinics. Friday was spent helping them settle in and just reconnecting with the Ficker family (check out their new website at adonaiinternationalministries.org). What an amazing opportunity to work with them again! There was even an afternoon beach volleyball game after the usual trek through the river to get to the court… THAT truly felt like home, sweet home again!
This morning we were able to see most of the prenatal patients who were waiting with the help of a local Peace Corps volunteer, Cali, who has also become a great friend over the last two years. My flight out was around ten this morning from Canilla, so we were actually hoping to get through them all before that… but we got of to a late start due to another unexpected change in plans, of course. When we opened the doors to call for the first patient, we were greeted instead by one of the nurses from the Health Center with a patient in her hospital gown that they were asking for help with. They had brought her over in the ambulance because she had reported laboring all night with no baby yet delivered. A quick review of her “prenatal records” (handwritten in the card that she carries with her from the Ficker’s clinic there) revealed that she was full-term and the baby had been in the right position at her last visit, so we hoped for the best as we put the ultrasound on! We were able to confirm a strong heartbeat, head-down or normal position, and about 5 centimeters of cervical dilation before they popped her back in to the ambulance and took her back to the Health Center where there is actually a doctor to attend her delivery. We heard she delivered about an hour later with no problems, so thank God for that.
I am now on the plane headed back to my true home, sweet home—my “boys”!! It has been a long week away from them like it always is, but I am forever thankful for the opportunity to remain connected to Guatemala and her people. Leslie is preparing at least one more patient for us for surgery in November—a lady we have known for a long time with a complete prolapsed of her vagina after a hysterectomy, which re-prolapsed after an attempted surgery many years ago. She has been miserable with this for many years now but has refused further surgery. Leslie mentioned to her that we might be able to help with a different procedure (essentially to close up the vagina completely—reserved for pretty unique cases, of course) and she is now actually considering this, so we pray that she will do well with this surgery in November.
Stay tuned for more updates, we hope, as our November trip draws closer as soon as this one draws to an end… We will continue to pray for Maria and so many others in whom we hope some seeds have been planted this week and over the years, and that God will continue to bless our feeble efforts in His Name in Guatemala and the U.S. Thank you all for your support and prayers over the years and during this week!
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