Have you ever ask yourself? "What would I do if I couldn't make an appointment with a Doctor or ask for a second opinion to help me understand about a disease that I might possibly have? What would I do if the technology of X-ray or a simple urine test was outside of my reach?"
Indeed what would you do?
Within the U.S.A., Canada and Europe that phrase is taken for granted.
Countries in Central and South America don't take doctors for granted. Especially in the remote areas of the region.
Traveling with the Flying Doctors of America and Maya Expeditions bringing doctors to these remote places gives one the sense of being Half Mother Teresa and Half Indiana Jones.
You can be Mother Teresa by donating ones vacation to travel to underdeveloped countries like Guatemala and help run free medical clinics for the remote villages dot the country side and rivers. The doctors, nurses, and pharmacists along with a string of support personnel flew into Guatemala Nov. 7, 1996 and then traveled to the village of Lanquin to begin their mission of giving one-day medical clinics the first day and then freeing their minds the next day by taking on the challenge on the wilds of the Cahabon river, then start all over again with a clinic in the village of Cahabon downstream of Lanquin. All total we do 3 clinics, seeing over 750 patients, with 3 days of fun and adventure, culminating in Bungee jumping off of the bridge over the Rio Dulce before heading back to town on Nov. 15, 1996.
You feel like Indiana Jones while braving the class III-IV whitewater rapids of the Cahabon river and then basking in the jacuzzi waterfalls of the Little Paradise or Hidden Twin falls. As you explore the tourist caves of Lanquin you begin to get a sense of the awe and inspiration the mystical world has on adventurers. By the time we arrive in our inflatable rafts to the entrance of the cave of Semuc Chulac, accessible only by traversing the lower canyon of the beautiful Cahabon river, we can identify with the magnetic draw a pristine untouched cave can have on people like Indi and the Maya people. Are the ceramic chards found there from ancient Maya rituals or do the present day Maya still pilgrimage to the mouth of the underworld of their ancestors?
But all this isn't enough...
At night after a busy day at the Tamash/Cahabon clinic where 446 men, women and children were seen, or after an exciting day on the rapids of the Rio Cahabon, our nights are spent discussing various interesting topics and playing one of the many river camping games. Many of the participants express the feeling of helplessness of not being able to do more for the people in dire need.
Special cases were separated from the large stack of patient forms. Each special patient was given an official document from Flying Doctors of America and Maya Expeditions to be given to the local Health Center. The forms documented their diagnosis and further treatment needed. These forms can then be used to enter into the bureaucracy of the public medical system in Guatemala which can then further process their case. How many of you have had any experience with the IGSS System of Guatemala? With any bureaucratic system in any country? Do you think any one of the villagers of remote towns would be able to sustain their sanity within this system? Not to mention the hospital stay needed for a cure? More work has to be done.
Many of the special cases have an urgency that if prompt care is not received the baby, child or adult might die or possibly be crippled for the rest of their life adding, an additional burden to society. Some special cases are:
Age Diagnosis Treatment If Left Untreated ------- -------------------- ----------------------- ------------------ 4wks Enlarged liver Hepatitis,Gilaryatrisia Possible death 14 mos. Heart murmur-Septal Defect Possible Surgery Possible death 3 Dislocated hip Surgery Unable to walk. 5 Wandering eye Surgery Unable to focus 8 Heart murmur-Septal Defect Possible Surgery Possible death 24 Possible tumor on Surgery Hormonal imbalance pituitary gland 34 Vision cloudy / pain Check vision /brain tumor Possible death 67 Possible brain tumor Surgery Possible death 75 Possible broken or Surgery Inability to use arm dislocated shoulder bone 95 Fractured hip/cataracts Surgery Will go blind/ Unable to walk ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another topic was the urgency to do more educational talks to the people on preventive measures to combat the reoccurring problems of parasites, scabies, lice, etc. There is the added work of presenting this information in a fun and simplified way in both languages of Spanish and Keck'chi, so both mother and child can learn. I you educate all the mothers and girls in personal hygiene and water contamination prevention you have won 80% of the battle. Think about it? Who teaches the young children of the family the ways we so often take for granted? If you never learned from your mother who in turn never learned from her mother. How will you educate the next generation?
Then complicate the situation with a different culture which has 500 years of reason to mistrust those who do not keep their promises and it might give you a small idea of the magnitude of communication problems. It is both satisfying and challenging working as a team to overcome the obstacles that present themselves during the evolution of the project.
We developed specific goals which Maya Expeditions and Flying Doctors of America in the hopes to accomplish with the aid of Guatemalans in the near future.
Some of these goals are as follows:
Flying Doctors of America, visits a dozen other countries and sees between 500 to 2500 patients per mission. As of this date FDoA has flown over 85 medical mercy mission and has seen over 65,000 children, women and men in the last 6 years. Each place has their special cases. Each visit requires the agonizing decision making process of analyzing whose case deserves the label of "urgency" to receive the limited funds of FLYING DOCTORS for transport to the States for further treatment. Flying Doctors have brought children and occassionally adults to the United States for further treatment. They can't bring all special cases to the United States. Some cases can and should be handle here in Guatemala. But the Flying Doctors of America can't do it alone. Maya Expeditions is trying to help more. Tammy Ridenour, the founder, have given talks and presentation to organizations here in Guatemala with the hope of securing funding and support.
Some Guatemalan volunteers have expressed interest in becoming
support members for Flying Doctors of America in other countries! Maybe
you would like to help in Peru, Dominican Republic or India. But please
don't pass up your opportunity to help within Guatemala.
Please contact Maya Expeditions with your pledge of help. Whether
it be in the form of monetary donations, clothing, bedding, or food. We
need person able to donate their time to contact others for the resources
we need to accomplish our goals. This is a full time project that needs
full time attention. Guatemala and the people who live here deserve the
effort.
By paying attention to the little problems that might not affect one
directly, we can begin to solve the more complex problems that in the long
run affect us all.
A special thanks to a Mr. Etzan Callejas Solares of the Clinicas
Medicas y Casa de Salud "El Milagro" At the time of this writing he has
agreed to perform the ecocardiogram test needed to determine the severity
of the heart murmur on, Kimberly, the 14 month old baby and what surgery is
needed. She will be his guest in his clinic in Guatemala City during the
test and he will be able to follow up on her care. It is people like Mr.
Callejas which make a difference. Thank you.
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