Continuity of Care

What are the chances that a team like us, who has traveled thousands of miles to do surgery, would see a boy with a cleft lip and cleft palate born, then return a year later to repair his lip, and THEN return another year later to repair his palate? That is what happened with the young boy named Yeremi Heraldo Carrillo Pascual. In 2007 the team was in Huehue for the second mission in that town. Yeremi was born while we were there. Deb Strike, who works with kids with cleft at home, talked to the parents about ways to feed their baby. We took pictures and marveled at the coincidence that a child who would need our help in the future was born virtually right before our eyes. It’s a great feeling to know we have been here to help him for two consecutive years as he grew to a size to be able to have these progressively more complex surgeries. Hopefully he won’t need us again.

Submitted by Jody Meyer

We did it!

Thursday, February 19, 9:28pm. It doesn't seem possible but we have just culminated a very successful mission here in Guatemala. Access to the Internet has been spotty so you will see some catch-up posts when we return.

The team completed surgical procedures on 39 people, often with multiple procedures on a single individual. This doesn't even count the work done by the dentists on a number of patients who came in for obdurators (a fabricated plate that covers the fissure in a palate) and other strictly dental work. Surgery closed about 3:00 pm and the remainder of the day was spent packing our supplies and equipment for storage until our next visit to Huehuetenango in 2011.

This team was one of the best I have worked with. Comments from some of the team members, old and new, will be posted on this blog. Below are just a couple~

Susan Adamson (left), a nurse at UIHC, is one of our recovery room nurses. Here she is caring for one of our patients and teaching one of our Guatemalan friends, Margery(rt).

This is my second mission and the first in Hue Hue. I am truly amazed and inspired by the teamwork that happens all around me everyday. Most everyone from Iowa Rotarians, Guatemalan Rotarians, physicians, nurses and ancillary personnel has a “can do” spirit. It’s what makes our missions so successful!

I’ve spent the last two years as a Recovery Room nurse and one of my observations is that there is a huge difference in how the post-op patients differ in their experience/expression of pain. It would appear the Guatemalan people either have a high pain threshold or it is in their culture to hide it.

The experiences I have had here are some of the most rewarding of my life. I hope to be able to continue mission work at the same level and am so thankful I have been given this opportunity.

Susan Adamson
Huehuetenango-2009

Mindy Bowen is also a nurse at UIHC and works in
the Recovery Room.







Huehuetenango is now my second mission with the MOST team. These missions have been one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things I have ever had the pleasure of being involved with. As a nurse you give so much of yourself everyday at your job with little or no words of thanks from the patients or families. Here in Guatemala the thanks are non-stop. I believe it was stated very well last year by Dr. Jodi Jones; she said she believed the difference was “expectation vs. hope”. In the US, we expect that our children’s lips will be repaired. In Guatemala they hope they may have the chance to get their child’s lip and palate repaired. With the MOST mission we are able to answer some of those dreams of hope and the gratitude is overwhelming.
I would recommend to anyone interested in doing something like this to get involved and pursue that interest because you will never regret it. I would like to thank my family for being so understanding of the importance of my being here.
Love you and miss you all
Mindy Bowen

Monday, February 16, 2009. Today was our second day of surgery. We started at 7:30 am with our first little one in Dr. Canady’s room, Maricela Perez Morales. This is the second time we have seen Maricela. Last year in Xela (Quetzaltenango) the team repaired Maricela’s cleft lip. If you scroll down on this blog, you can read her story from 2008. This year in Huehue we were delighted to Maricela again and fix her palate. Now she will not only have her sweet face whole, she will be able to eat and drink and talk without the difficulties presented by her palate.

“Our kids” ranged from 15 months to 9 years old. Although four palate repairs were planned, not all were accomplished. A number of the children we have seen have serious dental problems. Infection permeates their mouths so the diseased baby teeth are removed to enable the mouth to heal. Then the structural issues of the palate can be addressed safely with a much greater likelihood of long-term success. One of our little palate patients needed 10 teeth extracted so his palate repair was cancelled; the trauma would have been too great. Our hope is this patient will come again to Xela or Huehue when we are here, so we can fix his palate. As with Maricela, one goal of Iowa MOST, through our repeat trips, is to fully address the multiple needs of these kids. In the last two days, we have been able to help 24 children and their families.

Our day wound up with the last of the team leaving the hospital at 9:00 p.m. All are hoping for a slightly shorter day tomorrow…….

Passing It On~

Sunday, February 15, 2009 – First day of surgery. This was a very busy day, as most first days tend to be, with new surroundings and new team members getting accustomed to a new setting. One of the very special moments occurred when we were able to have our lead surgeon Dr. John Canady achieve a very important goal of Iowa MOST. That is to educate others. So… today 20 month old Angel Francisco came to us with a wide left cleft lip in need of repair, and was the lucky recipient of the surgical skills of Dr. Canady (in John Deere cap) teaching Rotarian Doctor Amilcar Estuardo Pinetta the intricacies of the surgical procedure. Sterilizing Technician Ruben Zuniga (in USA cap) translates Dr. Canady’s training from English). Canadian plastic surgeon and MOST volunteer Dr. Murad Husein also helped in the operation. This training will be of great benefit to Dr Pinetta in his role of general surgeon here in Huehuetenango.

Submitted by Gary Pacha.

Arrival in Guatemala

We have arrived! The entire team came together in Huehuetenango on Thursday, February 13th, another beautiful day in Guatemala. The Club Rotario de Huehuetenango hosted a wonderful luncheon at the home of Dr. Oscar Marroquin. The Rotarians and their families have provided us with a grand welcome and are true partners in this effort to help the children of Guatemala.

Similarly the Hospital Nacional has worked hand in hand with us. The advance team members received incredible assistance from the staff of the hospital as two sturdy lads manually lifted the skids filled with our supplies onto a cart to move them into the hospital area which serves as our “headquarters”. Our shipment of seven skids

arrived with no problems, thanks to the hard

work of our friends at DHL in the States and

in Guatemala.

On Saturday, translators from our Rotary friends helped us with screening of patients, reassuring parents and children, and reassuring us that our Spanglish was understood. Screening progressed extraordinarily smoothly; of over 76 people screened we scheduled 40 for one or more procedures including repairs of cleft lips and cleft palates, dental work and ear tubes. Our hope is always to make the lives of these children easier. Pictured here are (left to right) Patricia Minera, Emilio Mayen Roldan, Orquidea de Marroquin, Dr. Oscar Marroquin, Sofio Moto Garcia, and Julia Maria Arias de Velasquez--some of the many wonderful people we have met in Guatemala.

VAMOS A GUATEMALA

On January 25th the Iowa M.O.S.T. team for 2009 met at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City to be briefed by team leader, Gary Pacha, on their upcoming trip to Huehuetenango.

The team has spent the last two months collecting supplies and equipment and readying the 7 skids of materials in a frigid warehouse in Coralville for shipment to Guatemala.

The shipment arrived in Guatemala on Jan. 22nd and has been making its way through customs. Today we heard from our contact at DHL, who has been a partner in this project, that the delivery to Huehuetenango in the western highlands of Guatemala was expected by this weekend.

And just in time, as the team takes off next Thursday to arrive in Huehue on Friday, Feb. 13th!

Set up will occur in the Hospital Nacional on Friday and Saturday, and the pandemonium of screening patients will begin on Sunday. Until then~~~

Huehuetenango 2009

For those following this blog, I am Team Leader and we are finalizing our trip to Huehuetenango, which is coming up in just one short week - February 12. Just got word today that our supplies should clear customs today or tomorrow, so we are hopeful that this year for a change our supplies will be there before the team. Karin Franklin and Rick Borchard as Supply Clerk and Biomedical Engineer respectively will be going one day early and get a head start organizing and checking out our supplies and equipment. We are anxious to see and work with old friends in Rotary and the community to help those less fortunate get a new "smile" thanks to the dedicated medical professionals who will be working to correct cleft lips and palates.

Gary Pacha