Wednesday, July 06, 2016

A Note from Guatemala


Hola, relatives and tennis buffs.

Because we are still working on the papers to get a significant reduction in import taxes on the donor vehicle, I had a little hiatus in the capital and watched the classic Federer - Cilic match on a really bad tiny TV (no HD here!) in my bargain room at the historic Spring Hotel, while I sorted papers and organized materials, or pretended to.

What a treat!  Usually I miss Wimbledon, or most of it, in the communities.  Will miss much of the rest, unless there are major glitches in some crazy travel plans.  But this was the remarkable one to see.  So elegant.

Am feeling the lack of health professionals to run around with, and huge time compression.  Also, there are multiple children who have required special treatment, and we will be clipping heavily into "Legado Elisabet."  Femur fracture, Q4000 platin (about $475), to which we will pay Q500 unless I find more funds.  Child born with spinal problem and two twisted feet in a really remote community to a 14-year-old mother (this is the simple version), followup needed on Maglena of the heart condition in Pal, and I really want to get Nicolas of the repaired cleft lip and still-to-do wide open palate to the good location in Antigua, where a volunteer is willing to come up with a match for the hospital costs.  Petrona Chavez continues orthodontic followup for same, corrected several years ago.

We went to Pedro Bernal's community for 2 nights and a full day because he couldn't leave for Nebaj when we wanted, thinking to do some light Hgb and glucose testing, and ran into everybody's wanting a test.  This was to be the easy, well-regulated community.  Until the woman who had discontinued diabetes treatment showed up with glucose too high to read and BP at 250/140.  We were the only ones with equipment to test and simple meds, and an MD visiting with an optical jornada agreed there was absolutely no point in trying to get her to a hospital.  We set up a plan and did some good, simple social work counseling.  Do you know what diabetes is?  Do you know what is can do the body?  Etc.  Also tested her feet for sensation (fine), using Dr. Pust's simple wire testers.

Then, when we were ready to fold up our tents (figurative) and call it a day, a family showed up with a boy suffering from "susto" (fright, panic) because the youth who had raped his sister when she was 11 and the perpetrator 15 had returned to the community after prison and MAY have threatened the little brother (some of you already have this news).  They got to ventilate, and we did some Capacitar exercises, breathing, but it seems the frailest stay against the complicated dynamics (you, again, are getting the simplified version).

Need to stop before the computer runs out of juice.  And I had written just to glory in the fantastic tennis.

Asi es la vida!