In December a large medical team from Florida traveled to Camotan. Led by Dr. Mark Speake (a longstanding part of Camotan Clinic’s US team), over 450lbs of medical supplies (and some Christmas gifts!) left the US for the country of Guatemala. Mark is a head physician at University of Central Florida’s school of medicine. He brought three internal medicine residents with him: Glendy Jimenez, Emanuel Ortiz Hernandez and Nancy Zurita. Rachel Short a nursing student as well as non medical volunteers also joined. All were focused on delivering medical care to the remote aldeas (villages) far into the mountains above Camotan. When they arrived in Guatemala City, they were joined by Dr. Jovita Toledo our lead medical director in Guatemala. She had three Guatemalan dentists who came with her to join the US team. Four Guatemalan medical students joined the group as well. It was a wonderful coming together of cultures all for a common goal to help those most in need.
Daphne Rosales, a Guatemalan medical student sees patients in a remote mountain clinic
Mobile medical clinics were held in different villages in schools, churches or government health service clinics. During 4 days, over 400 patients were evaluated and treated in 4 different mountain aldeas. The reason Camotan Clinic goes on these mobile medical trips is that the mountains stretch for many miles in all directions above Camotan. Thousand of people live in these mountains; most are subsistence farmers. And most cannot afford to pay for a ride down the rough, dangerous roads to Camotan. A few sparse government clinics do exist but their supplies are limited and they are staffed only by a nurse. When we bring teams, we are able to diagnose, treat and help patients with physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other providers right in their village. It is a wonderful opportunity to treat acute illnesses and to find patients who need long term follow up (which we provide-see prior blogs on our follow up trips to villages).
Rachel Short a nursing student from the US with Amy Galvin one of our regular translators
An unexpected house call to see a 11 year old girl named Delmy on Wednesday resulted in her being sent down the mountain from her aldea to the public hospital in Chiquimula (over an hour’s drive). Doctors were summoned to her home as she could not walk. She was suffering from a serious infection of her knee (a septic joint infection). The team transported her down to the hospital. Because the hospital has minimal resources, Camotan Clinic paid for her expenses and food while she was there. She would be started on antibiotics but deteriorate and need to go to the Intensive Care Unit and receive urgent surgery before she would recover. She was hospitalized for a couple weeks but was able to make it home for Christmas. It is because of our teams presence and the support of people like you that all of this was made possible. It is certain that Delmy would have died from her infection had we not taken action to help her.
Delmy and her father in the hospital
Lastly, the team had a large Christmas celebration in one of the most remote aldeas–Cajon del Rio. This aldea is over an hour from Camotan on rough dirt roads. It is extremely poor. But we were able to provide a Christmas present to each child: a truck or car, a soccer ball or a doll to 367 children. It was a touching time and something we do each Christmas as we are able in the villages above Camotan. This too was made possible by those of you who support us with your donations, time, thoughts and prayers. Thank you so much for your support again!
Christmas celebration in Cajon del Rio
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