The Medical Mission
October 30, 2009
First off, I want to apologize for the lack of posts in the recent weeks. Things have been a little crazy with all the visitors to the monastery. I also went on a trip to Antigua, so I chose sightseeing over quality computer time, but Antigua will come in a later post.
Let me start with the medical mission. A couple of weeks ago a team of approximately twenty-five doctors and nurses came to Esquipulas to give local aid. The team operates within the Catholic Health West organization. The organization has several hospitals within California, Arizona, and Nevada. I believe this was their third year coming to Esquipulas.
The team driving to a local aldea (village) to give aid
The past two sets of St. John´s volunteers have helped out with the medical mission and judging from their stories they really enjoyed it. Adam and I were no exception. We had been involved in conference calls and mass emails in the initial planning stages back in July and we were excited to finally get underway. Not to mention, we spent a whole week prior to the team´s arrival just setting up for them. We were ready for action!
If one asks, one will receive. As soon as the team arrived the whirlwind began. From the initial moments of meet and greet to the final good-byes Adam and I were on the go. I could not believe the level of organization and professionalism the team achieved. Even when we set up travel clinics in local aldeas (small villages) where we only had a couple of rooms to to work with and several hundred people to see, the doctors and nurses went on like clockwork. The approximate number of people in all that the team saw in four days came to 1,500.
Adam and I spent most of our time helping with the pharmacy and checking vitals for patients. The pharmacy work consisted of filling prescriptions and measuring the right amount of medicine for patients. I doubt that some of the local narcos had seen as many drugs as I did in that same amount of time. Luckily, I had a good teacher. I got to work with a very well trained pharmacist named, Liz. It didn´t hurt that she was the best looking of the group. I held onto her every word. I even flirted with the thought of attending pharmacy school, but that idea quickly passed when I realized I would have to go to school for the same amount of time as a doctor. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Patrick working hard while I snap a photo of his work
One other perk during the week came from the two additional St. John´s volunteers that were able to help with the mission. They volunteer in Coban, Guatemala, which is a good five hour drive northwest of Esquipulas. I had never met one of them, Matt, but the other volunteer, Pat, I got to know over our two week orientation at St. John´s. They both really added to the mission´s success and brought a nice comic relief when needed most. I can´t wait to go visit them in Coban and help them with their projects.
For additional details and photos on the medical mission you can visit the Catholic Health West Medical blog: http://international.chwhealth.org/chw_medical_missions_blog/
