Day 7 – Friday, 16 May
FINAL DAY of TEAM POGO
FRIST, BY THE NUMBERS:
Friends and family of Team Pogo raised a total of $19,000 this week for Faith In Practice. Thank you to all of you who donated to help support this humanitarian work. Add to that total the in-kind donations of each member of Team Pogo who paid for their own airfare and lodging this week.
At Obras Sociales Del Santo Hermano Pedro Hospital this week, Team Pogo performed surgery on 65 patients. Those surgeries added up to 85 separate procedures (some patients had more than one procedure). 65 Guatemalans had their lives enhanced in some way, and in most cases this will impact their entire families too.
DEVOTIONAL FRIDAY:
After Beata led us a meditation, Dennis started a round robin so anyone who wanted to could express a final thought. Here’s a few of them, paraphrased as best as I can remember.
Becky: This week reminds me why I got into healthcare in the first place
Katie P: This week is sacred to me. A common purpose here. I leave with my heart full. I’m grateful.
Paul: It’s like a second family every time I do this.
Anne: I’m grateful for my family back home that gave me the space to come and do this.
Sherry: I love making friendships with the staff here.
Emily: My cup is overflowing.
Tedd: Thank you for the privilege of being with you
Dennis: I’ve experienced such goodness here.
Tabitha: It’s the desire to relieve suffering.
A few of us choked up. Unembarrassed tears.
I didn’t dare snap photos of anyone tearing up, so instead see the photo above of our resident hotel cat, who’s joined us for all our meals and our devotions too. We still don’t know her name, but she faithfully attended every meal. Which leads me to say THANK YOU to our hotel hosts for providing us a safe haven and welcoming place to gather every morning and evening.
FINAL MORNING MAKING ROUNDS:
There were no surgeries today, but the surgeons still returned to the hospital to round on patients who stayed overnight. This time I was lucky enough to join Dr. Mary as she checked in with several of the women who had gynecological surgeries.
CINDY had a hysterectomy and was here for the second day after her surgery. She’s 1.5 hours from home, and anxious to return. However she still felt a bit dizzy at times. Dr. Mary ordered another lab for her to double-check some numbers. You see, though most of us on Team Pogo are flying out of here Saturday, that doesn’t mean we are going to rush anything. Cindy’s labs came back quickly…and they came back okay! Dr. Mary spoke with the Guatemalan staff so that everyone was on the same page. After reviewing her labs, Cindy will be able to travel home tomorrow.
(See photo above of Dr. Mary writing up an additional lab order with Dennis beside her to translate.)
Next Dr .Mary spoke with CLAUDIA, who had a hysterectomy. Claudia had a lot of fibroids and wanted to make sure everything was okay. She was concerned about the possibility of cancer and asked a lot of intelligent questions. Dr. Mary told her there was no bad indicators at all, and Claudia could go home today! Claudia has a long and bumpy trip home and asked if she could have some painkillers to help her on the journey home. Of course. Claudia goes home with an excellent prognosis.
(See photo above of Dr. Mary with Claudia.)
VILMA also had a hysterectomy. Vilma was doing so well that after a few questions and instructions, she found out she could go home. She, like everyone else here, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Mary and all of us.
Please see the photo above of Vilma with Dr. Mary and Dr. Emily (who was translating for Dr. Mary). After I took that photo, Vilma asked if I would take a photo with HER phone.
NEXT a very sweet thing happened: Claudia, whom we’d spoken to just before Vilma, asked if she could also have a photo of Dr. Emily and Dr. Mary on her personal phone. When I was about to take the photo with Claudia’s phone, Claudia insisted I also get in her photo. Guess what happened? Vilma, despite the fact that she’s still very tender from her surgery, and must be careful when she walks, rose out of her bed and offered to take the photo of the three of us on Claudia’s phone.
(See the photo above of Vilma taking a photograph of the three of us with Claudia. This shot comes from Dr. Jay who happened to be across the room.)
Dr. Mary spoke with OLGA next. Olga came in with some troubling medical scans. Dr. Mary and Dr. Kris removed some cysts along with performing a hysterectomy. Olga’s going to fine but had a lot of questions because of the worry of cancer. All the indications now look very good for Olga. She’ll be able to go home tomorrow, very much relieved. And like every other woman in the ward, she expressed heartfelt gratitude. It lifted our hearts.
AMERICA was next to speak with Dr. Mary. America also had a hysterectomy. She asked a lot of smart questions. Despite a long 1.5 hour ride home, she’s leaving today. America also wanted a photo with Dr. Mary. Dr. Mary was becoming as popular as Dr. Pogo!
(See photo above of Dr. Mary with America.)
The last patient Dr. Mary rounded on was MAYRA. She’s another patient who had a hysterectomy that was doing very well and is going home. (Please see the photo above of Mayra with Dr. Emily and Dr. Mary.) Many thanks to Dr. Emily for translating beside Dr. Mary for most of her rounding this morning.
All in all, Dr. Mary visited with six women just today. Hysterectomies are very personal affairs, and for those who don’t know, they are performed for a variety of reasons. What is definitely true is that hysterectomies can dramatically improve the quality of life for women in regards to pain and bleeding, and in many cases reduces the chances of cancer. All of these women will leave the hospital with brighter prospects for their futures.
SHOUT OUT:
Since I was lucky enough to be asked to blog, I’m going to hog the limelight for one paragraph. My final shout out goes to my wife Mary, who is—you guessed it—Dr. Mary of our group! It’s only because of Mary that I got invited on this mission. Everyone else on the team was vastly more trained and skilled than me. Love you, Mary, thank you for the chance..
(Please see the photo above of Mary with Yours Truly, both of us dolled up in scrubs and masks.)
IN CLOSING:
As many of the medical professionals said this morning during our devotional, these missions of giving to others end up giving back. Because of their efforts this week, there are upwards of 65 Guatemalan patients who will face better prospects for their lives ahead; and life is not easy in Guatemala. The bonus? There are 28 Americans who will also benefit. It’s like the old Beatles song says, “the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
BONUS PHOTO ROUND:
Please find above in the photo carousel 11 bonus photos from Jeff. Take them as a visual chronicle of the work and camaraderie of this past week.
Peace and out,
–Rich, Pogo Team Blogger
Photos for this entire week are by Jeff E. and Rich N.
