So I don't usually post on these blog things, but due to popular demand I wanted to share some of the awesome experiences I had in Honduras. We lived at an orphanage in a small place about an hour and 1/2 from the capital called Nueve Paraiso. It was awesome, we got to play with the kids there a bunch. We had fundraised and bought all the meds we used with us prior to coming so we brought enough stuff to give every patient vitamins, a toothbrush and toothpaste, lotions, soaps, deworming meds (they need them down there) and any other meds they needed, usually for acute stuff like anti-inflammatories, anti-biotics (saw lots of ear infections), anti-fungals (saw tons of crazy fungi growing on them), and more. So, day 1 we just toured and played with the kids and went to this boys ranch like place and played soccer with them. Day 2 we started brigades. We drove another hour and 1/2 to this really rural village. I worked in triage where we did an initial interview of the patients and took weights, temperatures of the kids and blood pressures of the adults. They then went on to see the doctors, followed by the pharmacy, and the dentist and eye station as needed. My dad went with us, so he was the dentist there. I was told we pulled 317 teeth in all and did a number of fillings. I even got to pull an infected tooth out- way fun! The first patient that came in that day reminded me of the dad with the kid sick of the palsy on Finding Faith in Christ. I really didn't know what to do, but we interviewed him and did the best we could. We treated 252 patients that day. The 3rd day we were supposed to go to a village even further away but the road had washed out the night before so after driving forever, we couldn't make it. They then called another community and asked if we could come. They then emptied out the school and put us in there. That day I translated for Dr. Tumpach. I really don't speak much Spanish, but I guess enough to translate what the patient said and what she said back and forth. We treated 250 some more patients that day. The 4th day we had to walk after we parked outside the next village because our bus couldn't make it up the hill. As we were walking we saw this huge crowd of people lined up probably 5 people wide of a line lined up for 100 yards or so. As I just saw that this car drove up with the this guy in bad pain. The lady in the drivers seat told me he needed a doctor real bad and she didn't think he could make it. He was flopped over on the chair moaning in pain. I ran and got one of the doctors to see him. Apparently his appendix had just ruptured and he needed immediate care and to be taken to a more surgically ready clinic. But we got him there. That day I worked with my dad doing fillings and pulling teeth. I also worked at a little teeth station for the kids where we taught them to brush in circles and floss and gave them a fluoride treatment. I also got to work with Dr. Munoz, an amazing doctor who could connect with these people. He told one lady who was really depressed to put all her cares on Jesus Christ and God in such a religious sermon that I wondered if the Savior wasn't almost there himself talking through him to her as he talked about that to her. She cried. Afterwards I told him "I didn't know you were religious..." his response was "I'm not, but she apparently needed that". Really cool. He also was able to tell another child who was having a rough time his life story of growing up in Puerto Rico just like he did and gave this kid the hope to make it- he connected in such an amazing way to this kid- in a way I had never seen before- gave him new hope in life. We treated almost 500 people that day. Day 5 we went to a much closer village. That day I worked in the pharmacy. It was lots of fun being able to review stuff from our pharm class and see them really work. In the afternoon that day I also translated again for another Dr., another of the students dad who had come. An experience I remember there was a lady who came in with knee pain. We looked and saw a lipoma (we think) the size of my fist in her knee pit. There was little we could do but treat the pain. She was so happy though, she hugged us all and told us how much she loved us (we were able to also treat her acid reflux problem of like the last 5 years). Then we all went home. That week I saw everything from babies being born to people about to die (of old age and others) and everything in-between. Nasty fungi, beautiful smiling kids, the worst teeth and mouths you could ever imagine, blood pressures over 220 systolic and their treatment, laughing, crying, - it was an amazing chance to see the miracle of life.
