Today, it is back to work. As I write this, Klaus is strolling by playing his accordion. Jack is about to make his daily round with a bag of small chocolate bars (he brought 22 pounds of them to share). People have been appearing for the past half hour or so, groggily headed to the toilets and washing area. The power is off, so there is no coffee. No one is sure what the power outage means as far as breakfast.
There is some trepidation this morning. Over the weekend, nineteen mission members returned home. That means a lot of adjusted work assignments and everyone shifting into a higher gear. There are no complaints, only concern that we will not be able to treat as many people as we'd like. And everyone is determined to do whatever's needed. This attitude of acceptance and adjustment is routine here. "It is what it is" is a phrase you hear a lot.
I promised stories about the work we're doing. Here are three. Photos illustrating the stories can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/abrubacca/ThreeStories.
Mending a Broken Heart
Last Tuesday, a mother brought her children to the clinic for care. Among them was a pale, thin nine-year-old girl. Brad Hoch, the team's Medical Director, examined her and detected a heart murmur. There was little doubt in his mind that she requires surgery to repair the damaged heart tissue. For the mother, this was grim news. She cannot afford even basic health care for herself and her children, let alone the astronomical cost of cardiac surgery. But for such desperate cases, CURE has ways of finding solutions.
Brad immediately spoke with Ruth Castro, the tireless Executive Director of CURE International Honduras. Over the years, Ruth has established a wide network of medical resources for just such a situation. She referred the mother and daughter to a cardiac surgeon in San Pedro Sula, who will conduct a though examination, arrange for all necessary tests, and perform the surgery, free of charge. She is also confident that among CURE International's donors she will find one or a group that will pay for the hospital costs associated with the surgery.
You can imagine the mother's and daughter's reactions to this news. Disbelief. Hope. Joy. For the mother, many prayers answered. For the daughter, the prospect of a future. For me, standing by, watching and taking photos, the unexpected opportunity to see a life being saved.
* * *
New Wheels from an Old Friend
This is CURE International's second year in San Marcos. Last year, a Senora Dubón appeared at the clinic with her son, Denis, in a rickety red wheelchair. Denis was about eight years old and suffering from multiple sclerosis. While examining the boy, the medical team noted the pitiable condition of the wheelchair and sent for Jack Eckrote, one of the team's maintenance specialists.
Jack describes the chair as "a wreck." "The back was reclined, and they wanted us to raise it so the boy could sit up," he says, "but we were afraid to touch it, it was in such bad shape. The frame was rusted and had cracks in it, and in places it was held together with wire and tape. We thought that if we tried to fix it we'd break it, and then the boy would have nothing."
But Jack's ingenuity met the challenge, and he managed to make temporary repairs. More important, he developed a deep affection for Denis and promised the boy and his mother that if they returned to the clinic in 2008, he would have a new wheelchair for them.
True to his word, over the following months Jack and his wife, Judy, searched for a suitable chair at an affordable price -- not an easy task. But with persistence, they found one. Wogan's Drug Store in Littlestown, Pennsylvania, which also contributed medical supplies to this year's mission, sold the Eckrotes a chair at a remarkable price. It was shipped to Honduras in January in the container of equipment and materials for this year's mission, and Jack assembled it last weekend, anticipating Denis's visit. He was not disappointed.
Senora Dubón came to the clinic on Tuesday, carrying Denis in her arms. When Jack presented them with the new chair, the mother acted stoically, as so many here do, but Denis could not contain himself. The joy on his face was infectious, and he reached out, grabbing and shaking the hands of everyone around him.
Physical therapist Tasha McElravy adjusted the adult-sized chair (which Denis can grow into) and gave his mother instructions on using and caring for it. Then mother and child left, leaving behind the memories a wonderful moment.
[NOTE: As I was writing this, Tasha told me that the old red wheelchair is sitting outside the Dubón home. It seems that the family is afraid to take their new prized possession outdoors, and so Denis uses the new wheelchair indoors and the old one outside -- a situation that we are all quite sure will not last long, if Denis has anything to say about it.]
* * *
Translating Success
Last June, CURE translator Nila Martinez-Sutter assisted the medical team with a special case. A young woman, Dunia Julisa Dubón, had been trying for months to have another child, but a gynecological infection was preventing it. She had seen a local physician and received antibiotics, but the infection kept returning.
Last June, CURE translator Nila Martinez-Sutter assisted the medical team with a special case. A young woman, Dunia Julisa Dubón, had been trying for months to have another child, but a gynecological infection was preventing it. She had seen a local physician and received antibiotics, but the infection kept returning.
A CURE physician prescribed the appropriate antibiotic regimen, Nila made sure that the patient clearly understood the physician's instructions, and the infection disappeared. Last Tuesday, Senora Dubón returned to thank everyone and show off her new daughter, Yorleni Abigail Salis, born May 30, 2008.
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