It was another early morning...the hotel has a nice breakfast buffet but I just cant bring myself to eat beans, rice, tamales and chilitas (quesadillas) for breakfast....luckily they will cook eggs to order :) We got to the hospital & the 1st face I saw was 5 year old Sara who was with her mom & 1st in line for today. I said hello, told her how cute she was & we were instant friends. a I walked around to see other patients she followed me when I sat down she ran over & sat in my lap, when I went inside she followed. Finally I showed her mom where I was & where Sara would be when they started screening. she just melted my heart little #119. She has a small cleft palate that will be repaired so I will see her next week & certainly give her some of the fun things I brought. When she was ready to leave she ran to me & gave me a "beso" (kiss) on my cheek.
There were LOTS of babies today & some were heartbreakers because they were too young or too small to have surgery. #152 was my 2nd love a cute little girl in a pink blanket& her mom was in pink too - she was 4 months old but too small for a lip repair - broke my heart. There was also a 40 day old with a large Bilateral Cleft lip that we couldn't to the criteria for lips is minimum of 6 mos but if well nourished 3to6 month olds can be done as an age deviation with team leaders approval. so the 40 day had no chance - the mom was teary we reinforced the idea of nutrition & reviewed the feeding tools & special bottles & I took a leap & promised her & most of the others that if they came back the next mission their baby would get surgery (which 99% will) she kissed my hands & said Bendiciones - God Bless You
The truly hardest 2 patients were a 2 month old who was a preemie (without any preemie care) #127 with very young patients who themselves had lots of cavities & missing teeth & were under nourished as adults but the baby wasn't getting any formula & instead was getting a diluted powder milk? I asked the coordinator if I could help by giving them $$$ but she suggested we get them food & formula so she had them wait at the shelter & got it for them & gave it to them. I didn't see what they got or when they got it but I was happy to help them. They have no resources, no phone & it just made me realize once again how much we take for granted in the states....I hope somehow what we got them will help for awhile :(
The other super sad case was a 3 month old with several severe birth defects & some sort of a syndrome - it was so sad to me because you could tell the mom was used to people staring at her very deformed baby. There was nothing we could do but the team was trying to connect them to some world health help.
We also had lots of kids who were "tongue tied". At home a little "snip" & its all taken care of - some of these kids were school age & had difficulty talking just because of this simple thing...we will be doing ALL of those cases!
The other thing we didn't realize yesterday was that the "lab" method of getting blood in kids is ARCHAIC...they were taking a needle, breaking of the plastic "hub" trying to insert just the metal needle in the child's vein & then letting the blood drip out into the tube & squeezing the hand or arm to make it drip & if it stopped dripping & they didn't have enough blood they would do it again & again!!! This morning since we started with so many baby's we heard LOTS of crying & asked the volunteer to see what was going on & she told us they were "sticking & sticking the babies" we sent Mary Laura in to check it out & she told us about that practice & we were horrified...I had the idea of getting butterfly needles from the Op Smile Supplies, Rachel went & got them & Mary Laura & 2 other nurses taught the lab people to use those. We were told that even in this private military hospital they didn't think they had supplies to do blood draws on kids any other way...It was eye opening...
There were LOTS & LOTS of other cuties today - I took lots of pictures & I think we will have a full schedule for next week. The OR got set up but since all 3 of us were at the gatekeeper position we didn't get the PACU set up. We were going to have to go tomorrow & set up but Judith our PI convinced the coordinator we could set up quickly early Mon morning so we actually have a free day tomorrow. A few people are going to hike to a volcano but I am going to stay local with others.
We went to the Plaza Fontanella for dinner tonight & ate at an Italian restaurant...yes Italian food in Guatemala. Of interest was that on our bus they have a "policia" hired to ride with us after dark - even though it is our large group & they don't have lights on in the bus so people cant see it is a bus of tourists....puts into perspective a little re the safety here even in nice areas? Wilma a local female doctor told me...if you go out be in a group not just 2, don't wear jewelry or a watch, don't take out your cell phone, don't carry your passport, don't show your money, don't go out after dark even in a group....maybe its just better not to go???? I feel safe but I haven't ventured out of the hotel or the hospital much....as much as I would love to see the sights I am happy to be here just meeting these humble people feeling of their humble spirits and seeing their gratitude for such simple things...again my attitude of gratitude DAY #8 is recognizing that we can each make a difference.
There were LOTS of babies today & some were heartbreakers because they were too young or too small to have surgery. #152 was my 2nd love a cute little girl in a pink blanket& her mom was in pink too - she was 4 months old but too small for a lip repair - broke my heart. There was also a 40 day old with a large Bilateral Cleft lip that we couldn't to the criteria for lips is minimum of 6 mos but if well nourished 3to6 month olds can be done as an age deviation with team leaders approval. so the 40 day had no chance - the mom was teary we reinforced the idea of nutrition & reviewed the feeding tools & special bottles & I took a leap & promised her & most of the others that if they came back the next mission their baby would get surgery (which 99% will) she kissed my hands & said Bendiciones - God Bless You
The truly hardest 2 patients were a 2 month old who was a preemie (without any preemie care) #127 with very young patients who themselves had lots of cavities & missing teeth & were under nourished as adults but the baby wasn't getting any formula & instead was getting a diluted powder milk? I asked the coordinator if I could help by giving them $$$ but she suggested we get them food & formula so she had them wait at the shelter & got it for them & gave it to them. I didn't see what they got or when they got it but I was happy to help them. They have no resources, no phone & it just made me realize once again how much we take for granted in the states....I hope somehow what we got them will help for awhile :(
The other super sad case was a 3 month old with several severe birth defects & some sort of a syndrome - it was so sad to me because you could tell the mom was used to people staring at her very deformed baby. There was nothing we could do but the team was trying to connect them to some world health help.
We also had lots of kids who were "tongue tied". At home a little "snip" & its all taken care of - some of these kids were school age & had difficulty talking just because of this simple thing...we will be doing ALL of those cases!
The other thing we didn't realize yesterday was that the "lab" method of getting blood in kids is ARCHAIC...they were taking a needle, breaking of the plastic "hub" trying to insert just the metal needle in the child's vein & then letting the blood drip out into the tube & squeezing the hand or arm to make it drip & if it stopped dripping & they didn't have enough blood they would do it again & again!!! This morning since we started with so many baby's we heard LOTS of crying & asked the volunteer to see what was going on & she told us they were "sticking & sticking the babies" we sent Mary Laura in to check it out & she told us about that practice & we were horrified...I had the idea of getting butterfly needles from the Op Smile Supplies, Rachel went & got them & Mary Laura & 2 other nurses taught the lab people to use those. We were told that even in this private military hospital they didn't think they had supplies to do blood draws on kids any other way...It was eye opening...
There were LOTS & LOTS of other cuties today - I took lots of pictures & I think we will have a full schedule for next week. The OR got set up but since all 3 of us were at the gatekeeper position we didn't get the PACU set up. We were going to have to go tomorrow & set up but Judith our PI convinced the coordinator we could set up quickly early Mon morning so we actually have a free day tomorrow. A few people are going to hike to a volcano but I am going to stay local with others.
We went to the Plaza Fontanella for dinner tonight & ate at an Italian restaurant...yes Italian food in Guatemala. Of interest was that on our bus they have a "policia" hired to ride with us after dark - even though it is our large group & they don't have lights on in the bus so people cant see it is a bus of tourists....puts into perspective a little re the safety here even in nice areas? Wilma a local female doctor told me...if you go out be in a group not just 2, don't wear jewelry or a watch, don't take out your cell phone, don't carry your passport, don't show your money, don't go out after dark even in a group....maybe its just better not to go???? I feel safe but I haven't ventured out of the hotel or the hospital much....as much as I would love to see the sights I am happy to be here just meeting these humble people feeling of their humble spirits and seeing their gratitude for such simple things...again my attitude of gratitude DAY #8 is recognizing that we can each make a difference.
You are an angel Nancy! I would love to be able to do what you are doing someday. Keep up the wonderful work you are doing.
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