Guatemala--Day 7

Guatemala Day 7

Today I got out of the hospital a little earlier, we did 6 kiddos and the 71 year old man I previously mentioned.  On arrival to the hospital this morning the first person I saw was the older gentleman, who had a bright smile on his face as we walked up to the front door.  He was waiting outside for us to arrive and it was obvious he was very excited for this opportunity.  He did great with his surgery, and from what I understand he was a joy in the recovery room.  He apparently found red Gatorade to be amazing...he had never experienced Gatorade before so he wouldn't stop drinking.  

Being the fourth day of surgery it was obvious that the team was starting to slow down after so many long days.  People have started to feel the ill effects of the change in their normal dietary intake and I even had to put an IV in one of our team members to give her IV fluids because she wasn't feeling well.  But overall the morale of the team is high after seeing how great these kids are looking and how happy the families are for our help.

Outside of doing the cleft lips and palates, I also had the opportunity to watch the local docs try their best to help a patient who had a bad infection of her c-section incision.  They needed to clean the wound, but did not have anyone to provide anesthesia so the physicians (ob and family practice) used some mild sedation and numbing medication.  It was a very eye opening experience, as I realized the years of training I have received have definitely provided me with a skill that is very unique and not common to all physicians,  and that there is an inherent level of safety that I am able to provide my patients that is lost when we are not available.  There were so many things about the situation that made me uncomfortable, and to realize that this is the level of care that significant portions of the world receives is amazing.   I hope it turned out well for the patient, and that the procedure was able to be completed safely without her having pain, but from what I witnessed I am afraid that neither of these two things were accomplished.

After dinner we again went out to find some local food besides the hotel restaurant.  We ended up at a place called Come Tacos, which was similar to a Portland food cart with a few tables.  We had fresh guacamole made before our eyes and excellent tacos.  One could say that it may not have been the safest choice of places to eat to keep from getting sick, but the food was too good to pass up....I'll hope for the best.

So I'm off to bed now, tomorrow is our last day of surgery for this trip.  On Saturday morning the team leaves for home except for those of us from Portland. We are staying in Guatemala until Tuesday, spending a few days in Antigua with a trip to the Mayan Ruins at Tikal.  Pictures will come at some point.

**Editor's Note (aka Jill): 

Jenna and I have heard from Jeff daily, although the internet connection is poor at the hotel so usually we have to talk as fast as possible before it freezes and shuts down. Yesterday, Jeff was able to call us from the hospital, where the internet was better. It was nice to have a full conversation and Jenna got really excited and kept saying "Da-da-da" and pointing to the screen. Jeff mentioned that he wished that he would have brought some of Jenna's used clothes with him on this trip. I can't believe we didn't think of that! I wondered if we could mail to the person that from Guatemala that is helping out, but he said they live too far away. Maybe he will think of something and we can still get some clothes to those kids.