Medical Missions Foundation

San Lucas Mission Wrapping Up- 94 Surgeries Completed and 260 Clinic Patients

Another successful mission is coming to a close. We couldn´t have done it without the direction and organizational skills of Josh, Josie, and Carmen. Our wonderful surgeons, fabulous nurses, fantastic anesthesiologists, terrific doctors, and amazing support staff completed 94 surgeries and provided care to 260 clinic patients. We closed the week as usual with a team dinner and honored the hotel staff, hospital staff, and local physicians -- and got to see another side of some of the team members at the annual talent show.

We wanted to send pictures with the blog but had technical difficulties, but will post some next week, so check back then.

San Lucas Toliman Mission- 24 Surgeries Completed on Day 4

As usual, the clinic team departed San Lucas at 7:30 for another day in Patanatic. Upon arrival at the dock in Panajachel, the team was greeted by Jorge who had come across a special case for the team. A teenage boy had been in a vehicle accident 9 months prior and after a procedure, had been confined to bed since. Dr. Tracy along with Jeff and Monica, were driven an hour up into the mountains to the boy's location. Upon examination, it was determined that the boy was suffering from atrophy and a procedure to remove some suture wires and drain tube would be required. These items would normally be removed about two weeks after the initial procedure. Wih an assist from Dr. John via phone, Dr. Tracy performed the procedure which should allow the boy to begin the process of rehabilitation.

Meanwhile back in Patanatic, Drs. Ed and Nick (and later Dr. Tracy) and staff examined and treated 50 patients in the clinic with Dr. Ed and Whitney making two home visits in the afternoon. According to Jorge, at the completion of today, including previous medical missions so far this year, all the clinic needs of the area "sectors" had been met... and it's only May!

After all this, upon arrival back in San Lucas, the clinic team examined an additional ten hotel staff and/or family members.

Not to be outdone, back at the hospital in San Lucas, Dr. John, local Dr. Muldanado and team completed an additional 24 surgeries at the hospital in San Lucas... a single day record! One of the surgeries was unscheduled and was an emergency situation where a young man arrived at the hospital with a severe hand/ arm wound from a machete accident. The wound was severe enough that it required Dr. John to fashion some screws to reconnect some of the bone tissue that had been severed.

The supply room team of Mike and Kevin continued to inventory and organize the newly built shelving when they were not assisting the surgical team with cleaning instruments and fixing anesthesia machines.

The evening meal was in honor of Dr. John and consisted of bacon cheeseburgers and fries with Snickers for dessert.

The team would especially like to give a big shout out to the mission coordinator, Carmen. Thanks to the many weeks of hard work leading up to the mission, getting all the team and supplies to San Lucas and Patanatic, as well as the hard work after we arrive. Carmen also serves as one of the interpreters, the entertainment coordinator and all around resolver of many local issues as they arise. Thank you, Carmen! You rock!

See below for a map of the area that the group is in and traveling between to serve patients. The A indicates Panajachel. The B is Patanatic and to the south is San Lucas Toliman, where the mission participants are staying. The lake, which the group has to travel across to help underserved patients is, "Lago de Atitlan." 

Community Water Supply in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala

Today in Patanatic, Jeff and Dennis, accompanied by our most excellent guide, David (pronounced Dah-veed) were tasked to gather information on the nature and condition of the community water supply and related infrastructure.  The investigation took us on a visually spectacular and physically challenging hike into the densely vegetated mountain sides above the village.

The water supply currently has a number of issues related to water quality and reliability.  Specifically, the water is reported to contain bacteria and hydrogen sulfide that is removed via a filtering system provided to households on the condition that their children attend school.  The water sources consist of a series of 2 natural springs with a 3rd spring source planned for the near future.  The home filtering systems consists of two stacked 5 gallon buckets with the top bucket containing the filter to remove bacteria and hydrogen sulfide.  The filtered water is collected in the bottom bucket and is dispensed as needed from a spigot.  The filters produce 5 gallons of potable water per 12 hours meaning the maximum volume treated.   

The visual inspection of the collection and transmission systems verified that the water sources and transmission piping are extremely vulnerable to damage from mudslides, falling trees, etc. which then results in a disruption of service for typically 3 or more days.  The village desires to install a holding tank or tanks to store enough water to provide services to community while repairs to the system are completed and normal service is restored.

An additional related issue is sanitary waste.  Currently the households or commonly a group of 2 or more households share a rudimentary "septic system" which consists of an unlined dug pit which is often relatively shallow due to the presence of bedrock.  The proximity of these pits to the water transmission pipes, which are often in poor condition, adds to the vulnerability of the water supply to additional bacterial infiltration.  Land has been donated for the future plans to construct a waste water treatment facility that will treat the waste water and discharge good quality treated water to a nearby stream that ultimately drains into Lake Atitlan at Panahachel.

San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala Mission- 20 completed surgeries on Day 2

The clinic team departed at 7:30 AM sharp for their trip across Lake Atitlan. They saw 65 patients in the clinic. One team including Jeff and Mary made home visits, and another team including Monica and Jorge visited homes to encourage water filtration. Many of the homes are in very remote locations high in the mountains, so the teams had to climb narrow, twisting paths to reach them.

At the hospital, Dr. John and local Dr. Maldonado completed an amazing 20 surgeries, assisted by Cindy and Callie in pre-op; Theresa, Dallas, and Karla in the OR, and Dee in the PACU. Terri is running the OR board and maintaining the flow of work so the day moves along efficiently.

Work to organize the hospital storeroom continued; new shelves are in and supplies have been sorted, boxed, and labeled. Out of date equipment and other supplies have been cleared out to make it easy to quickly locate needed items. It´s a dirty job, but somebody had to do it. Hats off to Kevin, Mike, and Dennis! Thanks to Dallas, Josie, Josh, Susan and Jamie for getting down and dirty as well.

The team bid a fond farewell to Erin who is graduating from medical school on Saturday and will be leaving us tomorrow. Dr. John led her through the Hippocratic oath, followed by a rousing ovation from us all.

San Lucas Mission with 17 surgeries completed in one day!

Monday started with yoga led by Dr. Ed at 6 AM on the hotel terrace overlooking Lake Atitlan. Almost half of the team participated. After breakfast, the clinic team left by boat for Patatanic, where they saw more than a hundred patients. Dr. Ed and a small team later made several house calls, climbing the mountain to reach remote patients. So, Medical Missions Foundation is now making house calls!

The OR team had a very busy day with 17 surgeries performed by Dr. John and local Dr. Maldonado. The surgeons were able to perform so efficiently due to the expertise of the anesthesiologists (Dr. Chad and Dr. Brad) and CRNAs (Josie B., Josie U. and Josh).

Mike, Dennis, and Kevin began a project to build more shelves in the overcrowded storage room at the hospital.

The Art Team had a successful day providing beads to make bracelets to the patients waiting for surgery as well as their families. In the afternoon, we entertained more than 40 adults and children by making masks decorated with feathers and sequins. We had several repeat customers who asked for Riley and Katelyn who were part of the team in past years. It´s wonderful to see how the friendships we establish last through the years.

The evening dinner was complemented by fireworks on the beach in honor of Susan´s birthday, followed by a delicious chocolate cake. !Que Wow!

2012 San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala Medical Mission

The advance team spent two days preparing for the arrival of the team of 26 Medical Missions Volunteers' arrival to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala. With the help of Dr. Ariel Morales, we have researched some of the issues that plague the people of Guatemala. We have had the opportunity to investigate some of the existing programming in the region and have been pleased to see that there are many community leaders that share a common vision of improving social conditions for their own country. It will be interesting to see how Medical Missions Foundation can plug into these programs to support their efforts.

There is a sense of renewed hope in Guatemala since the elections in November 2011 and the new government taking control in January of 2012 under the leadership of Otto Perez. This hope can be felt throughout communities and will be invigorating for the team to feel as they contribute to helping in the Lake Atitlan region.

Our first day was spent setting up the operating rooms and running a clinic for the families of the hotel staff. At the hospital Kevin, a Bio Med professional, repaired one of the anesthesia machines. The ORs are ready to go and nineteen cases are scheduled for Monday. The local physician, Dr. Raphael Tun, gave us an update on one of the emergency cases treated last year. The case involved a young man who had cut his wrist with a machete, severing the tendons. The only movement he had with his hand was to barely move the thumb. Dr. Alley reconstructed the tendons, and Dr. Tun reported that the young man has full use of his hand!

At the clinic for the families of the hotel staff, as of 3:00, the staff had seen about 40 patients and expected to see another 15 or 20. Mission volunteer, Mary, said "Thank God for the local translators" who were helping the staff communicate with the patients.

The OR post op area has been beautifully decorated by someone at the hospital resembling a Fiesta!

Pictures will be posted as they are received.

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