Last Day at Hospitalito Atitlán
Smile Network Surgeon at Work
Yesterday marked our last day at Hospitalito and the last day of cleft lip/cleft palate surgeries. We started off the day with a “charrla”, presentation from Carolina, a medical resident from Belgium. Her presentation was on diarrhea and it was prompted by two deaths from dehydration and loss of fluid related to prolonged diarrhea in this area; one was a child under 5 years of age and the other was a young patient in her 20’s. The malnutrition here really compromises the body and places the patient in such a fragile state so that when sickness does hit, it can be devastating.
After the presentation I was able to assist with a Skype call to a French immersion school in Minneapolis, MN. This school had raised $5,000. for the cleft lip/cleft palate surgeries, and the children were excited to meet the family and talk with them. The call was moving; the family that you see pictured told the students that they thanked them, the Smile Network team, and thanked God for their son’s surgery. They were so happy because kids used to make fun of him and now, “Jeffery is beautiful” .
I was fortunate to be able to see the Canadian surgeon at work, as well as the anesthesiologist from Oregon, and nurses from various states. What a great team of people! It was so rewarding to see a group of healthcare people focused on a common goal, operating smoothly and creating such a transforming outcome for patients and families. The surgery that I watched was that of the youngest and smallest patient, Josue, 4 months old and weighing in at 5.2 kg, barely meeting the 10 pound requirment!
After the surgery I had the opportunity to see Dr. Jennifer in action as she assisted Dr. Luis with applying a plaster cast for a young boy’s arm fracture after falling out of a tree, she then ran from the ED to the clinic where she saw a pediatric patient and a gynecological patient. The husband-wife team, Dr. Brent and Dr. Jennifer are truly amazing and such a blessing to the people here.
We ended off our day with Brent and Jennifer and their four children, as well as Emily (OB resident from Omaha, NE), Dawn (OB resident from OR) and her husband David, Adonna from the women’s weaving coop in Solala, and Diane from NY. We hosted the event at Casa Susana and had home veggie-soup, guacamole, tostadas, bean dip, tuna salad, tamales, black berry cobbler, and a great time visiting with new friends and reminiscing about our time here in Santiago Atitlán. Now, it is off to Antigua and adventures with Vamos Adelante!
FSMFN Guatemala 