Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

Instruction with the children continued with the school grades and classes that had not been covered the first day. Our instructors are very excited about the reception from their"students."

Health care and nutrition training also continued. One component of our efforts includes time for clinical visits with our doctor participant, Dr. John, now retired and living near Chicago, but formerly of the Mayo Clinic. Dr. John participated in the health and nutrition training, but also kept an eye out for the possible need for medical attention as people came through the training programs. He spotted a case of conjuntivitis (sp?) in a participant. The patient was amoung friends and neighbors, so she was willing to share her experience. Dr. John was able to explain the problem, the treatment, and the importance of face, hand, and eye cleanliness--a teachable moment. There were at least two other such occurances outside of regularly-scheduled clinic hours. A probable broken arm was identified, as well as an ear-wax problem.

During normal clinic hours groups of pre-identified patients were seen. It often happened that the patient would bring other family members whom were thought to need medical attention. Thus, 20 scheduled patient visits may turn into 35. The examination process was different from your normal doctor visit. Because of the dominance of the local dialect, two tranlslators were normally necessary. History and symptom questions were presented in english by nurse or doctor. This was relayed in spanish to the local dialect translator, who spoke to the patient. The answers would come back in reverse order. We had only one local assistant who spoke all three: english, spanish, and the local dialect. Patients who needed specialized or follow-up care were referred to a clinic. Heather was raised in Byron, Minnesota, and worked as a nurse at the Mayo Clinic. About two years ago she came to Guatemala on a service trip. Within approximately six months, she moved here to work for a clinic that is run by a non-profit from Texas, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The clinic serves the public and has surgical facilities. It has five offices in the area, two of them are recent start-ups. It also coordinates with 20 to 25 service groups each year. She was able to stay with us the entire work period of this trip. Her work was invaluable.

Work on the construction projects continued. The crew working on the wall had an especially difficult time wrestling with the door installation. It seems the door was up and down from the hinges at least a dozen times. It seemed like there were more than three dimensions to keep track of. We now understand why pre-hung doors are such a good idea. Without a wood chisel or a belt sander, we had to be innovative. Much like the locals, we had to work with the equipment we had.