4 weeks to go

I've gotten really lazy about writing blogs....its such a hastle to get on the internet or get calling cards here that some days I just feel too lazy to make the effort...especially now that I need a bodyguard to do anything. The dad has become really protective. I showed him the safety whistle my real dad gave me, but I still have constant supervision. I feel like a nuisance asking one the family members to go with me to the internet cafe where they sit for like an hour as I catch up on email, facebook, and the blog. But, there is a little down time at the clinic today, and I will take advantage of that! So, now I have a lot to catch people up on........

The Independence Day celebrations ended up being pretty fun. The best way to describe it would be a cheap, hispanic, smaller version of Boom's Day in Knoxville. Silvia, one of the sisters at the house, was made Queen of the Teachers at the school where she teaches so she had to participate and stand at the front of every parade (there were 4). She asked me to help her pick out her outfit for each day, and let me tell you, these sisters I live with have more dress up clothes than I have ever had in my life.....thats not saying much though if you know how much I actually dress up. They enjoy dressing me up, and they got a kick out of it when I put on on of the mom's traditional mayan skirts.

I have taken to wearing skirts more than shorts because it helps in making me not feel like a boy....I never really get clean or freshened up here. You shower then 5 minutes later the sweat starts flowing again. The funny thing is that for some reason, the dad has accidently started calling me "Patti" instead of "Kati, and I think its a fruedian slip in reference to SNL's "It's Pat." You know, the skit where you never find out if Pat is a man or a woman. Thats what I feel like here. Ok, back to the story.

A few nights we went to the "central park" where they had the carnival rides and music over the loud speaker. I talked the youngest daughter, Betty, into riding the ferris wheel with me, and what a bad idea that was! It went at like 60mph....way faster than our ferris wheels, and I seriously almost barfed on everyone below me like 5 times. After several attempts at asking the driver to let me out in spanish as we zoomed by, he finally let me off, at which time I downed the dramamine I strategically keep in my purse. The family thought it was hilarious and kept asking me how I was feeling. I was a good sport about it and didn't allow myself to tell them that I was about to barf on the next one that asked me!

The next night in the square, there was a salsa band, and we all had fun watching that. I always feel like I have a swarm of body guards around me when we go out. One of the local boys tried to get me to dance with him (he was all of 4ft tall), but one of the sisters, Johana, zoomed in faster to get him away than I could say 'no gracias.'

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Had to take a quick break to remove some sutures. Today is the post op check up day from the last surgical week and I am working the "wound cleaning, suture removal room." Nurses do very different things here in Guatemala. I asked my supervising nurse for help because I have never removed sutures before. One request to doctors out there....use thread that has color. Transparent sutures are way too hard to see.

Just took out some more sutures. This time they were black. Thank you doctor.
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This week, I have gotten to go on the mobile clinics with the local doctors. Wednesday I went with Dr. David to a little clinic close to here and saw about 30 patients. One patient was a member of the local church we work through here. She is a very poorly controlled diabetic, and when we checked her, her blood glucose was 249. She has an accucheck machine that an american doctor gave her, but she doesn't have any test strips or lancets. It doesn't help that the instructions are in english either. So, I'm working on translating some simple instructions for her and getting some supplies from the clinic here....some kind of feasible plan for her.

Thursday, I went with Dr. Walter to Xepujup, a remote Mayan/Quiche village where most the people speak a whole different language than spanish, Quiche,....sounds like a lot of gurgling and clicking to me. We also had about 30 patients, and the one that stood out to me most was a little 3 1/2 yr old girl, Micaela, who weighed 15lbs. She can't talk or walk, but other than that, she developmentally looks like a 1 1/2 yr old. As I was taking her temperature under her arm, her skin just folded on itself because she was so malnourished. She is a frequent patient of Dr. Walter, and although they have tried supplements, she keeps presenting with malnutrition and respiratory symptoms. I asked him what he thought about cystic fibrosis, and he didn't know what it was, but is going to look it up. Even if Cystic Fibrosis exists in the hispanic population, I doubt that it would be diagnosed or treated because of the economic situation of most people. If you don't know what CF is...in a nut shell, it is a excess of mucous like substances in your lungs and pancreas so that your body cannot adequately clear your lungs or digest food, causing frequent respiratory infections and malabsorption even in people who are well treated in the U.S. The average life expectancy is somewhere around 30-40ish when agressively treated I think. Its so sad for this little girl, whatever the cause of her illness, but it is also overwhelming about the circumstances most of these people live in because this little girl is just one example of the poverty here. Little by little, the masses are being helped by educational programs and sponsorship for the children (ABC program which provides support for nutrition and education), but over all, there is little that can be done to help every single person. The team here is doing a great job, doing the best they can. But I imagine it would be centuries before most of the people even reached the living standards of the poor/innercity of the U.S.

But, from the example of the diabetic with the accucheck that she doesn't know how to work, it does no good for Americans to give "things" and tools when the people have no idea how to use them. You can build a family a house with ammenities like electricity and running water, but if they can't afford to pay the monthly bill, have you really done them any service? They will just have to sell the house and try to find somewhere else to live I really admire the ongoing work of the actual Guatemalans here. They are the ones who are with the patients and villages day in and day out. They understand the locals way more than an outsider ever could, and imagine how blessed we are when we can support these missonaries by providing financially for the work they do because we are working in the U.S.

Ok, getting off my soap box now. But, I am just realizing more everyday the impact that the natives of a country can have amongst their own people when they are gifted with the education and finances that most of us have as a matter of birth right. The weekly surgical and medical trips that the Americans bring are amazing and do so much to show the love of Christ that stretches across languages and oceans, but the work of the doctors who live and sleep and breath here is what makes the life long, economic, spiritual, social, and physical differences.

Alright, thats all for now. Miss you all very much. I am enjoying the work here and am very blessed to see the work of Christ in the lives of others and in my heart. Praying for you constantly. Miss you very much.