Seen and unseen

It really hit us yesterday that although we focus a great deal on the logistics of the trip (vans, people, food, materials) that we really are terribly naive about all of the politics and battles that go on unseen. We've had misplaced anesthesia medicine, broken down vans, and a drunken bus driver who stranded us in a remote village at nightfall. And we have learned of battles at the hospital to allow us to help the poor and battles out in the Progresso village where a politician stopped by and didn't want us there. We have been told that some local doctors are offended by our presence and will deny service to their patients if they mention having visited us. Those who help us navigate the local challenges are aware of these issues. They know that the poor of the country really do need assistance.

In Ephesians, the Bible talks about putting on spiritual armor to fight spiritual battles taking place. It became so clear yesterday that the prayers of people back home, the prayers of people here and the advocacy of our local friends are critical for each of our teams.

Patients recovering quickly

On Monday, Chad H, John K and Dr. Jay met with the chief administrator of the hospital in Orange Walk. She thanked us profusely for coming and said we were having a huge impact on the area. She took a great risk in inviting us to the hospital for the first time last year but feels the town is in great need for this kind of help. She said her staff was amazed that most of the surgeries that Dr. Jay completed were recovering much faster than normal. Patients were leaving within a few hours instead of having to stay overnight. She asked Dr. Jay if he would do a brief seminar with the local staff on techniques to enable fast recovery (special use of ice packs and incision techniques).

Four children in Chunox swabbed for genetic testing

Today, Tyler, Chelisa, Raphael and I revisited a mother and four children living in a very small and worn home in Chunox. Doctors Kathy and Doug had visited this home yesterday on request. Three of the four children (ages 4-14) have some apparent genetic disorder. The oldest, a girl, is severely deformed and completely immobile. She is not expected to live much longer. The middle two children are also becoming immobile and show signs similar to the oldest.

There is little immediate medical help that we can provide. However, on our return trip we swabbed the inner cheeks of each child to take back to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for genetic testing. We hope to be able to identify their disorder and determine if any additional medical treatment can be provided. The mother (8 months pregnant with her 5th child) was very appreciative. It was a very emotional experience.

Tuesday morning...

It's Tuesday morning. Teams are preparing to leave for the day. The construction team will continue working in San Victor. The surgical team will return to Orange Walk. Today, the village clinic medical team and the screening team will go to a small village named Copper Bank.

Over 200 visit village clinic in Progresso

Monday was another very successful day. It was long. The village clinic medical team traveled to a small, remote village named Progresso (crossing another river using the hand-cranked ferry). We setup a medical clinic in a small Catholic church building. Over 200 villagers met with nurses and doctors. Most had their vitals checked and were provided vitamins and worm medication. Many were given prescription medication for various needs. We've found a number of people with very high glucose levels (some with readings near 400), an indication of diabetes.

The construction team continued working on the two houses being built in the small village named San Victor. One of the local villagers is a young man name Ishmael. Ishmael is about 28 and has cerebral palsy. He has no family and lives with a few families in the area. To earn enough money to live, he uses a 3-wheel bike to make various deliveries throughout the village. His bike is very old and worn. In past years, some of our team members (including Michael Bell and Jim Pustinger) have fixed various parts of his bike so he can continue to work. This year the team kept telling him that they would work on his bike. However, up until yesterday they hadn't done anything with it. The team kept telling Ishmael they were "working on it." Then yesterday, they took his bike, rode it around the block and switched it. When they came back in the next few minutes, Ishmael was completely surprised to see a BRAND NEW bike!

Monday morning

It's about 7:15am. We're just about to head out for the day.

The surgery team finally arrived last night around 10:30pm. They completed 17 procedures including a few lipoma's, a thyroid cyst and many tonsillectomies (most on children or babies). Our team is becoming very close with the local Belizean team.

The village clinic medical team and the screen team are headed to a small, remote village named Progresso. When I asked Jenni P where it is, she said "it's just far. Hit the road and keep on going."

The construction team is headed back to San Victor to begin work on the second home for a local family of 3. The father was in an accident a few years ago and lost his arm. Since then, he has lost his job working in the cane fields.

Remote Village Poses Interesting Logistics

It was a very interesting day today traveling with the Village Clinic medical team and the screen team. This morning (Sunday) we left around 7:30am for a very small, remote village named Chunox. We were traveling in an old school bus and 2 passenger vans. While the village is only about 20 miles southwest from where we're staying, it took about almost 90 minutes to get there. The roads are unpaved, dirt/rock roads and are extremely rough.

We had to cross 2 rivers, each about 200ft across, to get there. The catch--there are no bridges! Each had a small, floating ferry to get you (and your car or van) across. Even more interesting, you have to crank a pully by hand to move the ferry which is attached to a cable secured on each side.

In between the two ferries, one of the vans broke down! So we had to rig a tow cable from the other van so we could all make it to the village.

In the village, we setup a medical clinic in a small building and saw 165 patients. One needed surgery on his face so we drove him to the hospital (about 1 hour away) where the surgical team met with him.

It is now 10pm in Belize. We've finished dinner and have shared events of the day. The surgical team has not yet returned. They should arrive any minute after a very long day. Look for another update shortly with details about their day.