Arriving in Guatemala

Nancy & Gary Pacha

 

Jim Arthur, Reinhard Juraschek, & Krasi Hristov



Thursday, February 23, 2012 has arrived! By 10:30am the majority of the Iowa MOST personnel arrived at the Eastern Iowa Airport outside of Cedar Rapids.  We boarded a plane to Dallas, where more of the Team joined us. Late afternoon we boarded a flight to Guatemala City. Leaving the airport terminal we were greeted by Paco our Guatemala in country coordinator/translator.  We were also greeted by warm 66 degree weather (while Iowa was having snow!).  Within minutes a bus arrived to transport the whole group to the Radisson Hotel in Guatemala City.  After a welcoming fruit drink we were off to our rooms. Wake up calls were scheduled for 5:40am.

Friday, February 24

A beautiful Guatemala morning greeted us – warm and sunny – sandals and short sleeved weather. Our day will consist of a bus ride to Xela.  We will be driving on CA-1 (Carretera Interamericana or Inter American Highway) the main highway connecting all of Central America.  CA-1 is truly a serpentine 4 lane highway with unlimited access.  Guatemala is a hilly to mountainous country – there are simply no flat areas west of Guatemala City.  If one is prone to motion sickness, taking medicine before this trip is worthwhile.  It will take ‘more or less’ 5 hours to drive from G’mala City to Xela.    

Bridge Demolition

In the lower valleys there was plenty of green agriculture – plots of tomatoes in all stages of growth, peas, potatoes, lettuce, strawberries, and sugar cane, etc.  As we drove west, ascending into the mountains of the Western Highlands, the agriculture changed – more cole crops, carrots and lots of areas that were winter brown.  The mountain sides are terraced with all the farming done by hand labor.  

Driving along the CA-1 is a cultural adventure in itself.  As you climb in altitude your ears keep popping.  Watching the landscape go by is an education – different modes of transportation, agriculture techniques, local attire, road side stands, etc.  ‘More or less’ halfway to Xela we stopped to allow everyone to stretch their legs and pick up a snack – cashews, coffee, and homemade chips. Back on the road, after an official 15 minute stop which actually was 35 minutes – “mas o menos” the Spanish work for “more or less”.  

 

After arriving in Xela we checked into Hotel Arizona before having a light lunch.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at the hospital unpacking the supplies which were left here two years ago.  The new shipment will be arriving tomorrow morning.

The pictures included in this blog were sights along the road or at the rest stop.  We thought it would give you a feel of Guatemala. 

Roadside Market

Checking in at Hotel Arizona

Lunch at the Hotel



Hospital Entrance



Unnpacking Supplies

  

Juan Francisco Fernandez – In-Country Coordinator

          

Fondly   known as Paco, Juan Francisco Fernandez is our in-country coordinator and a man of many skills and talents.  Paco is Executive Director of Casa Colibri, a medical clinic in the far western highlands of Guatemala, which has been built and supported by Rotary club members from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Canada.  However, each year Paco takes time from his responsibilities and busy life to work with Iowa MOST.  He handles dozens of logistical details and helps us navigate the culture and language differences.

            Paco was raised in Guatemala and Canada and he worked in tourism to pay for his education.  He is uniquely qualified to handle the small cultural details and communication that could cause enormous stumbling blocks to our mission. 

            Whether he is communicating the urgency of moving our supplies through customs or easing our way through any potential roadblock (literally and figuratively), he is our lifeline in Guatemala.  We couldn’t do this without him. 

Gary Pacha - Team Leader

Gary Pacha has served as Team Leader for every Iowa MOST mission. Gary coordinates all the non-medical trip details – the travel, the lodging, the shipment of supplies. He is the liaison with our Guatemalan partners and selects non-medical volunteers and assigns their duties. Gary’s responsibilities for a mission begin months before the team leaves for Guatemala in order to organize a smooth trip.

In Guatemala Gary works to avoid crises and to manage them if they do arise. An important component of his job is to maintain the solid relationships we have strived to build with our Guatemalan partners, a task he enjoys very much as he counts them as good friends.

Once back home, Gary starts thinking about next year’s mission and about raising the funds necessary to carry it out. Fundraising is a constant requirement, but Gary doesn’t mind promoting his passion. To be a part of Iowa MOST Gary says is “good for the soul.”

Dr. John Canady - Medical Team Leader

Dr. John Canady is our medical team leader and the heart of the project.  Dr. Canady has done countless missions to correct cleft lip and palate all over the world, but for the past seven years, he has devoted himself to organizing the medical personnel for the Iowa MOST mission and directing the medical activity in Guatemala. 

Dr. Canady performs surgeries and he mentors young surgeons from both Guatemala and the United States who are eager to have the opportunity to work with this strong and able advisor.  Generous with his time and knowledge, Dr. Canady lectured during last year’s mission to students at the new medical school in Huehuetenango, Universidad Mariano Galvez de Guatemala, forging yet another important connection with our Guatemalan partners.  

Previously, a Professor of Plastic Surgery at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where he was involved with clinical care of patients, research, and teaching of medical students, residents, and fellows, Dr. Canady is now a Medical Director with Johnson & Johnson companies.  However, a provision of his career change was that he be able to continue his humanitarian work in Guatemala.  Kudos to Johnson & Johnson for valuing Dr. Canady’s charitable work and agreeing to this provision.

Karin Franklin - Project Co-ordinator

Karin Franklin has been the Iowa MOST supply master for several years and she has also filled the position of record-keeper.  This year Karin will not accompany the team to Quetzaltenango and she will be sorely missed, but her mark will be all over the mission.  Since the fall, Karin has played an integral part behind the scenes doing the jobs she has always performed of assembling supplies in the months prior to the trip, packing them and shipping them to Guatemala.  She has gathered them from the stores of FAMSCO, another Rotary entity which accepts donated used and overstocked medical supplies for reuse, and she has purchased the items not found in those stores.  She has inventoried and divided the items by area of use (surgery, anesthesia, recovery, etc.) and packed everything into gaylord boxes for shipping. 

Karin has met with and instructed the team members concerning the need for careful inventory of supplies that at the end of the week will be left behind for the next mission in Quetzaltenango and has also held a tutorial on the detailed record keeping process for the next record keepers.  Karin has been in contact with the Guatemalan Rotarians to provide them with a list of drugs and medicines they will procure for Iowa MOST in country.  Many hours and much work.  We are grateful for Karin’s commitment to Iowa MOST. 

Your presence will be missed this year, Karin, but the results of your dedicated work will be with us!

Iowa MOST 2012 Mission to Quetzaltenango

Iowa MOST (Miles of Smiles Team) of Rotary International District 6000 is in full preparation for its 2012 medical mission to Guatemala. The team leaves on February 23.

For those new to this blog spot and the Iowa MOST project, here is a brief history....

Iowa MOST is a Rotary District 6000 project, which provides cleft lip and palate sugical repair to individuals living in the western highlands of Guatemala where there is a significantly higher incidence of the anomaly than in the US. This free surgery serves individuals of extremely limited financial means. Families come from many miles around over mountain roads and rough terrain. They make the difficult trip in hopes that a family member can have the surgery that will change a life.

This is the seventh annual mission to Guatemala. Last year, the mission was performed in Huehuetenango, this year Quetzaltenango. These two cities and their Rotary clubs host the mission every other year. The project was developed by several Iowa City Rotary Club members who had the desire to mount the project and who knew that the expertise to carry it out was available in their own Rotary district. After a scouting expedition to Guatemala in 2005, a willing , able and enthusiastic partner was found in the Rotary Clbu of Huehuetenango and later the Rotary Club of Quetzaltenango. The in-country Rotarians publicize the mission, find the patients and care for them during the week of surgeries as well as support the Iowa team in a myriad of ways.

The 2012 Miles of Smilies Team has 36 members from the US, mostly Iowans; 27 are medical personnel: surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, dentists, medical and dental students, bio-medical engineer and nurses. The rest are volunteers who will assist in various capacities. In addtion, we will be joined by two Guatemalan doctors and a local translator/organizer.

To read about the experiences of earlier teams, please click on the previous years' blogs identified on this site. You will find some of the same staff has returned numerous times, thus explaining the commitment, passion and rewards of making a "difference in people's lives". Every individual on the team makes a dedicated contribution - each individual is part of the wheel turning smoothly. There are several people who are the driving force behind this endeavor and you will learn about them in future blogs throughout the mission.

Part of making a mission of this kind come to fruition is adequate funding. The goal is to completely fund the medical staff whereas the volunteer staff is self-funded. Every dollar donated is greatly appreciated. Rotary clubs and individual donations are the source of most funding. However, this year MOST received two substantial contributions which completed funding for this year's mission and part of next year's mission. Medical Team Leader Dr. John Canady was nominated and awarded the 2011 Volunteer Recognition Grant from Johnson and Johnson. As the recipient of the prestigious award, Johnson and Johnson donated $10,000 to Iowa MOST in his name. What an honor for "our" Dr. Canady! The Gabus Family Foundation best known for Gabus Ford of Des Moines provided the second substantial contribution. After hearing an Iowa MOST presentation at his Rotary club, Gene Gabus invited the presenters to the family's annual foundation meeting and the Gabus Family Foundation gave a very generous gift of $20,000 to Iowa MOST in January. MOST owes deep gratitude for the generosity of our benefactors who help to make this important work happen. Thank you and applause!!!

Our Final Thoughts

This is the last posting of MOST mission 2011. Some of the team would like to share their thoughts about this amazing experience. It is appropriate to post our thoughts with a photo of one of our MOST children.

“Although every mission has it’s standout patient story, what keeps me coming back is being a part of this amazing group of talented individuals that every year comes together as the Miles of Smiles TEAM. If people could work together like this on an everyday basis, this world would be a much better place.” Steve Aquilino, team dentist

“My title on the MOST mission is Pre/Post Nurse. I have the opportunity to meet the families the day prior to surgery, get them ready for their surgery and then take care of them following the procedure. My job is very rewarding in so many ways.

This is my fourth mission trip with the MOST team and each year I find myself feeling a more personal reward than the previous year. When I arrived home this year I was asked by several colleagues if we changed the lives of those we helped, I honestly believe that we did change the lives of those we helped but most importantly the mission changes my life!”

Mindy Bowen RN, BSN

“This satisfies my soul.” Nancy Pacha

“ It has been an honor for me to serve as the author and photographer for this mission. I have been witness to a quality of character in this traveling medical miracle that I will not forget.” Nan Mercier

“If I had the stamina, I’d work 24 hours a day at our mission in Guatemala.”

TrudyWright, Recovery Room Nurse

“Everyone that hears about the Rotary MOST trips says "Oh, that is such a great thing for you to do." But I feel like I am the lucky one: it is such a wonderful experience to be a part of this team; and the happiness/warmth/gratitude of the parents is so touching, it makes me feel so blessed and grateful that I can help. I wish everyone could have a chance to do this.”

Truly, BJ

“A mission such as this truly does make a difference in the life of an individual and their family. The impact of this medical mission is unbelievable.”

Rachel Litwiller

“Happiness is helping others, or... Service above self.” Gary Pacha

“To see so many kids helped with life altering surgeries was truly amazing. I feel blessed to have witnessed the professional and dedicated work of the MOST team and the strength of the children and their families. What we take for granted here at home is only a dream for them. As someone penned on the trip, it was truly soul food for the heart. “ Keith