In June of this year Dr. Stahl met Gerbin. A boy of 6 years old, Gerbin lives in the village of Camotan. On his physical exam, Dr. Stahl noted that one of Gerbin’s testicles had not fully descended. For a young boy, this can be a dangerous condition. Undescended testicles often become cancerous and lead to hernias and other dangerous conditions. In the United States this issue would have been corrected immediately but Gerbin and his family have little money and surgeons who can perform this surgery require some form of payment.
It is always a challenge for us to know exactly how to best use the funds that many of you (and we the board) donate. As we always say, 100% of the money you give goes to our clinic and staff in Guatemela. We are all volunteers.
A meeting was held with our board and Dr. Toledo made phone calls. We found a surgeon in the capitol city of Guatemala who would do Gerbin’s surgery for a small fee. With transportation, housing for Gerbin and his family the whole price was ~$500. Our board decided this was a good cause to support. Just a few weeks ago in the end of September, Gerbin successfully underwent his surgery and is home today.
We are happy about his outcome. And the more of these patients we help, the stronger our connections to Guatemalan doctors, organizations and donors becomes. We are beginning to find that many Guatemalans want to help (see our next blog). Most do not have much monetarily, but like the doctor above, they are willing to work at a reduced fee or sometimes for free to help their fellow countrymen. There is a lot of good in this country.
So thank you again to all of you who keep us in your thoughts, who pray for us and who support us. Our growth and continued impact is only because of you. With time we are growing and touching more and more lives with you by our side. Thank you.