On Tuesdays, clinic is held in a Chiminisijuan, a small remote village. My GPS says it is a mere 8.24 miles "as the crow flies" from Canillá. The elevation of Canillá is about 4000 ft. The elevation goes up to almost 7000 ft. in Chiminisijuan. This last Tuesday, the trip took us just over an hour. The first half of the trip consisted of driving the Toyota pickup, with the new 4-wheeler in tow, as close to the clinic as the roads allow. Yesterday, we drove for about 40 minutes and walked for 30. Here is a picture of the 4-wheeler being towed to clinic.
Duane and Tomás (the translator) loaded up the supplies onto the 4-wheeler.
The other five of us started walking. We took the 'short-cut', a narrow walking path that cuts a little distance off of the trek.
The view of the valley below from the shortcut is unbelievable!
Here we are back on the road nearing the clinic. Armondo is trying to knock down some dirt to fill in the road for the 4-wheeler.
Before clinic starts, Leslie brings Atol, a Guatemalan rice drink/soup, to share with the patients. Armondo, a local pastor and gifted speaker, shares a message about Christ.
The people in Chiminisijuan are poor, malnourished, and isolated. Here is Katie seeing the first patient of the day.
Leslie and I saw a five-year-old girl with pneumonia. We started her on an antibiotic and gave her ibuprofen and fluids. We told the mother that she needed to go to the hospital, but the mother refused. There are many barriers for the Mayan people to go the hospital. In addition to a lack of access to transportation and inability to pay, they face racism and are often treated poorly. We prayed over her after seeing her initially and again at the end of clinic. We have to trust that the Lord will watch over her, there are no other options.
The young man on the right had a ear infection. The mother was asking for worm medicine for the young man on the left. I asked what his symptoms were. He was complaining of nausea, diarrhea, a bloated stomach and decreased appetite.... and, oh yeah, he had vomited up worms. So, with all of my training and experience, I concluded that he should, in fact, receive worm medicine.
2 comments:
Thanks so much for sharing with us your adventures in Guatemala. I so enjoy hearing about all the goings on down there and you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work and know we are reading even if we don't always comment. God Bless you and yours...Patsi Shaw
Hey Allisons! We are reading along with you and praying over you. Even though I just whipped off my shoe and terminated a flying cockroach inside our cabina here in Costa Rica, it still feels like Disney Land compared to your post about the Quiche village clinic. God's strength and provision over all he calls you to do!
Kris Gnuse
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