It's been a busy week w/ longer than normal hours at work & lots to do at home in order to be ready to leave. I had my bag packed & downstairs before I left for work yesterday which was my goal so that there wasn't a last minute "packing frenzy". I always LOVE the little "tender mercies" that become part of the plan you never knew about...Monday morning I was not on the CHOC Covid Command center call where they said we had some items that were donated in Oct 2020 & per the hospital guidelines after 2 years are "expired for CHOC use" (even though they aren't really expired?) & what could we do with them....I got texts from 2 people during the call who knew I was headed out on this mission; so I immediately messaged Ambra the program coordinator to ask if they could be of use on this trip AND she was AT THAT SAME TIME on a call w/ the in country team in Guatemala talking about supplies and YES in this 3rd world country they are grateful for anything . So Tuesday after work I did some "shopping" in the CHOC storeroom for "expired items" & got about 1000 adult masks, 500 pediatric masks, 30 containers of Hand sanitizer gel & foam, probably 30pkgs of sanitizing wipes, 50 pair of goggles, & a box of Face Shields. Doug helped me pack them in a duffle a friend had given me several months ago & all that was 37 lbs so on Thursday I "shopped" some more & added more masks, more gel & wipes to get closer to the 50 lb weight limit...it will be a HUGE blessing to the people of Guatemala-all for a $40 2nd bag fee. :)
Yesterday before I left for the airport I called Donald Morales who is a local Guatemalan leader from my church who live outside Guatemala City. I told him I had some generous funds for humanitarian & church member support. He said there are several young men & women who want to do service missions in Central & South America but they do not have money to cover the $30 passport fees or enough clothing to take with them or even suitcases. They are ready & willing to serve but need support. He is meeting me at my hotel after he is off work tonight - it was the only time that we could match schedules & while I might not be able to go shopping w/ them or even meet all of them he is going to tell me about them & facilitate giving the financial support to these young men & women because of the generosity of followers of Christ in my congregation in California thousands of miles away.
So my flight last night was delayed by an hour but we were already on the way to the airport so I arrived at LAX at 9:45 for my now 1:15 am flight. I went to the Delta Lounge to wait & it was quite nice, had some good food & gave me a chance to relax. Matt the Peds Anesthesiologist from Salt Lake City was connecting thru LAX and he arrived at 10:30 so we visited for about 90 min & then went to the gate where we met up w/ Reza the Caraniofacial Surgeon from UCLA - a super nice guy who has been to Guatemala often with Op Smile & other NGOs. He lives 20 min from LAX so he strolled in just before boarding :)
I have always been annoyed that Doug can sleep anywhere/anytime & especially on airplanes. So I channeled my "inner Doug" & once in my seat - I took a melatonin gummy, put on my sleep mask, pulled out my pillow & blanket & I was asleep before we took off. I woke & repositioned but slept pretty well until they said we were descending into Guatemala City...so a good 5 hours of sleep I think?
The 3 of us got thru customs, got our luggage & met Monica who was there from Op Smile Guatemala to take us to the hotel which is nice. My roommate was going to be Dusty Clegg who I roomed with in Nicaragua (where she got locked in our bathroom!) so that was nice to be with someone I know but an Op Smile friend who hasn't seen her in many years wanted to room with her & was in a private room & asked if I would switch - works well for me as I have some CHOC work & mtgs today. ) I ventured out to the local mini mart to get a stash of Coke Zero (no diet coke here) & realized how bad my Spanish is; perhaps that should be a goal if I will be coming here regularly
We were given some info on the area that I am including for my own "memories" as it reminds me why I am here. Guatemala is the largest country in Central America w/ a population of 15 million. Half the population lives below the poverty line & have no access to healthcare. In the US cleft conditions are repaired in the first few months of life in Guatemala there are thousands of people of all ages birth to adults who are living w/ Cleft Lips or Palates & have very very limited access to any healthcare. Op Smile estimates 10,000 clefts in children <14 years of age. In this country there are 3.6 surgeons, anesthesiologists and OB's per 100,000 population - WAY below the basic WHO recommendation of 20 per 100K & only 4 hospital beds per 100K people. Aside from clefts 47% of children her have stunted growth & development (6th highest in the world) because of malnutrition & there is a 25% child mortality rate...trying to wrap my head around 1 in every 4 babies born does not make it to age 5 years. The needs here are immense & that is why this work is so important. I am told that Escuintla where we will do surgery is a very impoverished area. SO that all takes me back to "MY WHY"...WHY do I or have I traveled far from home to be in rural countries with such poverty & lacking the basics we take for granted (clean water, electricity, plumbing etc) & WHY do I use my PTO to go to places like this instead of just on vacations? & WHY I/do I miss important events from high school dances to baby/bridal showers, wedding receptions, gatherings w/friends & even this time the birth of a new grandbaby...BECAUSE I have always felt that Nursing was more that my "work" it is my talent or gift from God, it is at the very core of who I am, I have regularly felt pulled or called to help...at home, abroad, wherever needed and so I go & here I am. I feel so grateful & blessed for these opportunities, for the humble patients & people I meet, the like minded team members also here serving, the friends & family at home who encourage & support me & this work in so many ways - especially w/ their love & prayers. I am SO HAPPY to be back doing this work & while this trip will be different with smaller numbers of surgeries, it is the enduring changes that we will be making that will matter. This time I can also make an impact on the future of healthcare in Guatemala by training & mentoring nurses here - it will help me come full circle.
I was working remotely most of they day & texting with the Hruskas about the service needs & they said they were nearby & did I want to go to lunch. That was such a fun surprise. They are Houston neighbors & friends of our friends the Packs & we had a really nice visit. They shared stories of their experiences here the past 2 years that were really interesting & inspiring-it is a tale of two cites a small percent of wealth supposedly from drug money & a majority of poverty. When I got back from that visit Donald Morales came by...what an amazing man. He is one of 9 children in a Guatemalan family raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS and called to be a Bishop/Minister of a congregation at age 24 1 week after his wedding. Then at 29 he was a counselor to the stake or larger diocese in Guatemala for 10 years & now has been helping to lead missionary work here for 10 years. What a life of service to his fellowman. He has seen the church grow exponentially here & says Guatemala is full of good Christian people, He shared wiht me his plans for the money I gave him...the missionaries we spoke of yesterday, a family that needs shoes (that story was touching) & a father who needs some shirts because he uses all his income for his families needs, He will be in touch w/ me re. the details.
Tonight was a meet & greet dinner to get to know the team & mentees. It will be very low key & focued on teaching while doing some Cleft Lip surgeries. My "airplane sleep" is catching up to me so I am heading to bed.
Good Night from Guatemala City!
Tonight is the team meeting & dinner so I am going to take a lil rest & will finish this post later.
No comments:
Post a Comment