Day 5: Heartbreak in El Morlon

“My heart’s just breaking.” the doctor said to me, tears accompanying her obvious anguish.

A little 9 year old boy had been brought to the clinic today here in El Morlon by his aunts. They were deeply concerned. He had not been eating enough and was vomiting, something was clearly wrong.

Paola and Daniele

As Dr. Sasha High and her interpreter Paola spoke to the boy he began to tell a story that was no doubt the source of his sickness. A year ago his parents left him to go to the US and they have not been heard from since. His parents left him behind.

What do you do with this emotion? How do you treat it? Can you prescribe a pill, some sort of medicine that will make it go away? I think you know the answer.

Dr. Sasha and Paola could only listen like they have never listened before. The cried with Daniele and held him hard in their arms. In this midst of all this there was a sickening realization that that he had not only been abandoned by his parents, but there was a distinct possibility he may never see them again.

Dr. Sasha with Daniele

In the exchange of tears, Daniele told his care givers that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. With a sense of urgency and love they told him that he was very special and that they loved him very much.

With each word came more heartbreak.

Outside there are hundreds of families that I can hear talking and laughing. If I look out the window I see beautiful, idyllic country, a lake in the distance, mountains and blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. If I pretended for a moment, maybe close my eyes ... I could be in a cozy villa or seaside resort. I’m not at one of those places. I’m in the middle of heartbreak.

Dental Team In Action

The Dental Team is a group of consumate pros!  On these Medical Teams they work hard for long hours often confined to very limited spaces.  While this may seem problematic, but the spirit of unity among the groups is palatable and the closer they get the better it is for doctor and patient alike!

The Week In Guatemala: The Tough Cases

Dr. Jason (left), Dr. Mke (right)

The following are summaries to illustrate patient cases where additional care is recommended. Generally these recommendations come through extensive consultation, first by doctors, then by FTC Canada and FTC Guatemala staff.

The consultation by doctors usually indicates that a case is more serious and that further arrangements should be made for medical stays or prescribed interventions.

FTC Canada and FTC Guatemala make arrangements, first to ensure payment can be made for further treatments and then to work out transportation and other logistics.

These summaries are in no way meant to be proper medical assessments. They are a combination of this bloggers notes with some input from doctors and others present at the time.

There was a fairly young man needing a MRI because of unexplained numbness on the right side of his face. Dr Jason Lazarou (Neurology expert) ran a series of tests to try and isolate any neurological problems but could not make a diagnosis without the additional testing.

A woman came to the clinic with a complaint of a mass on her breast. Dr. Mike Gilmour attempted to drain fluids from the area but was unsuccessful. FTC Guatemala has arranged for her to go to hospital for further testing.

Earlier in the week a young man with blindness in one eye was presented to Dr. Jason. His vision in the one eye had been lost within the last month. He also presented with lower motor neuron seventh cranial nerve palsy (likely formed within past 3 days). A series of tests – very expensive tests – would normally be ordered for a patient presenting these symptoms. At the very least, a MRI, lumbar puncture, blood tests (for syphilis – amongst other things) and a chest x-ray. This, according to Dr. Jason is perhaps a minimum series of tests required.

Dr. Mike consults with Dr. Channy

A little girl came into the clinic with severe burns to her hands and arms, face and scalp. She had been left in her home alone several years before, when a house fire developed. The results of the fire were devastating. Her hands were essentially melted, muscles and bones both. Dr. Channy Muhn attended to her and really wants to ensure her long-term care. Initially this will involve sending special materials from Canada to Central America. These will be used immediately to insure some restoration to skin. This is a very complex case that appears not only FTC Canada and Guatemala are committed to, but Dr. Channy seems willing to pursue in order to restore some use to the young girls hands.

A middle-aged woman named Elena came to the clinic in the afternoon on Day 5. She presented with a large tumour in her breast. A suspected breast cancer requires biopsy. Dr. Sasha High thinks that it is most likely cancerous but the biopsy will confirm this assessment.

The team at FTC Guatemala takes these more severe cases into their care. They will ensure hospital visits are arranged and follow-up care provided. The resources of FTC Guatemala are non-existent and the care can only be funded through FTC Canada.

Dr. Tony Brown treats a Guatemalan family

Day Four: Dr. Brown Recap

Dr. Anthony Brown or Dr. Tony is the FTC Canada Medical Team Advisor and provides key leadership to the entire medical team.  This includes advance trips into each country we visit as well as working with FTC Canada President Ken Dick to select the team members.

This short video is a recap of the past few days and a quick starter for Day 4. 

Day Four: Team Impact In San Francisco Sales

As the FTC Canada Medical Team opens up for a new day, there is a transformation of sorts. Small school rooms become home for teams of doctors working right alongside each other. Pharmacy sets up a wall of blue boxes holding creams and pills. Dental has already been on site an hour before we have arrived. Their “home” today is a very small school room adjacent to a demolished school hall. The hall was destroyed by a hail of volcanic ash and rock.


San Francisco Sales is just under the rim of an active volcano. The last active eruption left a thick layer of black ash everywhere. Some buildings were pelted with hot rock that simply seared its way through metal roofs. As I noted, entire buildings were destroyed by more accurate missiles launched from above.

Perhaps it is odd, but FTC Canada shipped a large quantity of high-quality boots and shoes to Gu. The boots, in particular, are a true asset for the men and women that make their living in the fields or need to travel long distances across dusty roads – and when they aren’t dusty they are muddy.

Distribution is in a very small room today – virtually a hole in the wall. In this room Janice and her team organize a vast array of great products. There are shoes and sandals, pants and shorts, shirts and winter jackets. In addition to this there are toys and really cute knitted dolls that were made by a knitting club in Cambridge, ON. Then there is very healthy food products in particular a bag of soup mix from the Gleaners. This soup bag can make 30 bowls of delicious soup.

Like Pharmacy, Distribution experiences an out-pouring of gratefulness from the people here. They may already have a bag full of pharmaceuticals, now they are about to get an abundance of supplies. As one boy looked longingly at his new soccer ball, a few of us commented that it was a lot like Christmas.

There is little access to medical care in this community. Young and old are making their way through the clinic. Some are hoping for a caring doctor to help them feel better. They get that, as caring doctors are all we have and pharmacy has a tremendous supply of medicines.

They get unexpected care perhaps through a new set of reading glasses; they get a surprise with access to great products at distribution. Even more surprising are the transformations in dentistry.

Today I filmed a complete tooth reconstruction – actually two front teeth. The young girl had what amounted to a bullet-hole size section of missing tooth material! I watched as the area was prepped drilled back to the point that there was virtually nothing left (removing excess rot). Dr. Jack Cottrell then performed a root canal, created a base for the new teeth to be reconstructed. Think rebar and concrete as it appeared to be like that.

What happened next was nothing short of spectacular. This young girl’s smile was transformed from a rotting hole, to something she would be proud of; she would look in the mirror and see a very beautiful set of teeth that would complement her pretty face. She would be very proud; Dr Jack was already on to the next patient (long line-ups) perhaps getting prepared to transform yet another smile.



Dr. Rick Caldwell talks with assistant Iris Renderos



Day Three: Meet The Mayor

Day Three: Palencia


Today we all met the Mayor. Mayor Beto is the the mayor of Palencia, and a key political figure among mayoral leadership in Guatemala.

FTC Canada President Ken Dick, met Mayor Beto several years ago. At the time, a relationship was forged as the mayor put up seed money for a new school and Ken agreed to support the project. The school was eventually constructed (in a remote area of the region) and Ken was joyfully welcomed back by all the young students in a beautiful ceremony featuring generous portions of red and white.

In the city centre of Palencia is a large school complex where we set up the clinic. With this type of easy access, it was no surprise to see a line-up. This line would persist throughout the morning and into the afternoon.

Dr. Channy Muhn

While we are in the process of introductions, let me also introduce you to the two doctors I am following as part of the development of a mini documentary. Dr. Channy Muhn, is a veteran – as it turns out being a veteran only means you need to have been on more than one team. Dr. Muhn is a dermatologist; a skin specialist extraordinaire.

Dr. Muhn is a funny guy. His light-hearted approach to his work brings smiles to colleagues and puts his patients very much at ease. While each doctor on the team is charged with providing primary care Dr. Muhn is constantly consulted for his expertise in skin diseases. Dr. Muhn is also an excellent teacher. He expects his peers to listen and learn, and because he is so clear they can easily understand his explanations. The result is a growing team of skin specialists!

Dr. Sasha High is an FTC Canada Medical Team rookie. She is a third year resident at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto and soon to be Chief Resident in her fourth year. When you first meet Dr. Sasha, you may feel an immediate sense of peace. She is clearly a rare spirit, and blessed with many gifts.

If I were a patient, with my head bowed low, carrying a burden of poor health and I looked up to see Dr. Sasha here’s what I think I would feel. I think I would feel like I was in the presence of an angel. I would feel immediately at peace. I would feel like this doctor was going to be genuinely interested in my concerns and not just my health concerns.

These two doctors are remarkable people. This whole team is remarkable and I can’t help but get a bit teary, even now, as I consider the good work they are so invested in here: heart, mind and soul.

John
Communcations
FTC Canada

Day Three: On Palencia

From Ken Dick, President, FTC Canada

It’s our third clinic day and we are now in the town of Palencia. We are not surprised at the numbers of people that we see in line, but we were a bit worried. In El Patrocinio, our arrival was met by a mere dozen people. People did continue to arrive and within the hour the line had grown to 150 patients. And they kept coming. At the end of the day nearly 1000 patients had been treated, nearly 150 being dental patients.

I am reminded of the school FTC Canada built in the region of Palencia two years ago. Mayor Beto is very pleased that we have returned with our medical and dental professionals.

We were greeted warmly by the community here and went to work as soon as we could in the morning. There are several new people on the team but that has not been a problem in any way. In fact on this our third day working together, there is a strong spirit of camaraderie. We are working together with the common goal of providing the most excellent primary medical and dental care we can.

Our blog will report on today’s activities. As I write this, I know it will tell you about the hundreds of happy people in Palencia who visited our clinic, received treatment and left with food, clothing and medicines. We are so grateful for the opporunity to be here.

Ken