Medical Clinic Updates

I wanted to write an entry to give you a peak at what has been happening in the medical clinics. We continue to have three scheduled clinics each week, occasional trips (by plane) to the Zona Reina, and the occasional unscheduled walk-in/emergency visit. Overall I would have to say that things are going well. My need for translation into Spanish occurs less and less and my confidence in treating common ailments continues to grow.

A patient that stands out from San Andres clinic this last week, was a man who, in a drunken stupor, fell into an open fire. This happened four months ago and he was badly scarred over roughly 2/3 of his right leg. There were two large and several smaller areas that had THICK infected scab over them and needed to be debrieded. (unfortunatly for my nurse friends on the OHSCU, I did not have my camera with me that day) We asked his wife to change the bandages this next week and I asked him to cut out the drink'in.

This week at the Chiminisijuan clinic, a five year-old girl had a badly burned area on her foot. She had been playing a game where you light a piece of nylon on fire and stomp it out with your bare foot. I again got practice at cleaning out a burn wound. The rest of the patients that day were mostly the normal mix of ear infections, prenatal patients and rashes. We got done with clinic a little early, that is until a young couple approached us. The young woman's sister was in labor and they were very worried about her. After a brisk 20 minute walk (in the mountains at 7000 ft. elevation - Ugh!) we came to a small wooden shack. Inside was a young girl laying on the floor wrapped in blankets. The portable ultrasound showed that the baby was head-down and the heart was beating fine. In talking through the Quiche translator, we found out that this young girl had gone to work at the coast, had a relationship with a man for a month, he left her, and she came back home pregnant. Neither the girl or her mother wanted the baby, and this was part of the reason she had asked for us to come. She felt guilt from what had happened and disconnected from a legalistic evangelical church. We prayed for both her and her baby. The girl recommitted her life to Christ. Leslie asked her to promise not to let her baby die and to bring it to us if she decides that she does not want it.

The medicine we practice here is a door. A door into the lives of the people we serve, a door into their hearts. Sharing a prayer over that young pregnant woman (struggling with guilt and shame as much with the beginings of labor) brings the purpose of why we are here serving into perspective - To share the love of Jesus with the people here in the highlands of Guatemala. Please be praying for young this young girl and her newborn baby.