Dear Diary,
Let me start describing my day right from the very middle, I have made my way over to Audiology, my happy place. While every clinic provides help for their patients with the same degree of care and dedication, few offer the immediate satisfaction of an audiology success story and I am here to get my fix. As I arrive they are testing Cruz’s hearing, he is 62, he suffered a head injury in the military 25 years ago and has had hearing problems since then, the team is able to fit him with a hearing aid which immediately improves his hearing. He endured his problem a long time but did not give up hope an seized the opportunity when it presented itself, a lesson for all. It really is a rare opportunity, we only have two medical missions per year with an Audiology clinic because the hearing aids themselves are sourced direcrly by the team that forms the clinic. They are obtaining the donations independently through their own network and on their “own time”.
Thanks to them a young college girl is also given a chance to greatly improve her quality of life and the number of paths she may choose from. Ana is 21 and is here with her mother, she was born premature at 6 months. Let’s pause there, she was born three months early in Guatemala and she is now 21 and in college despite her hearing difficulties, that is a story about overcoming the odds. As a premature baby she had been put on a ventilator multiple times. Her mother has had local doctors tell her that her poor hearing was caused by her breathing difficulties. As described for many other clinics, the Audiology team also engages in knowledge sharing with the patients, a critical part of what the mission can deliver, they explain to them (and me) that the lungs and the cochleae (inner ear needed for hearing) are the last to form in the womb, hence the lung problem did not cause the hearing problem but they are correlated. Hence she does not need to worry that her persistent asthma will make her hearing progressively worse. So far she has relied heavily on lip reading, but today she is fitted for two hearing aids and it brings her to tears. Our senses are the way we perceive and get to know the world around us, improving her hearing should have a material impact as she progresses in her academic endeavors. I hope to find out where she ends up!
This whole experience is an amazing opportunity to get to know the world around us, right from the get go in triage. Triage is the team each patient meets in order to determine which clinics to visit, or at least where to get started.
Here, I get my first opportunity to hear k’iche’, a mayan language spoken in the area. Visiting this part of the world gives us a glimpse into a different reality, I often bring up the differences in access to medical care and in “extended” family values, but there are more subtle ones. Such as the colors in a traditional dress, the beauty of a photo with no noticeable pose. But I digress, the next Audiology patient fitted for a hearing aid is Jose, he is 83 and I have him in my sights. I recall from prior years that there is nothing quite like the change in expression on the face of a grumpy looking older gentlemen when he first hears the voice of a loved one. Jose is with his daughter Isabela (43) and granddaughter Lidia (28). You can feel the love and respect for their elder but they do not share my optimism, they have, understandably, become frustrated by the years of yelling to try to get through to him. Per instructions, once the hearing aid is on, they speak to him, they speak to him in k’iche’. You tell me, but from where I’m standing he looks surprised and delighted to hear their voices. I knew I wandered over here for a reason!
Respect for the elders is palpable in every encounter, I even notice it in the extra care one of the local translators takes in speaking to Francisca, whom is 74 and visiting the General medicine clinic, she fell two months ago on her knee and is grateful to get confirmation that it is healing well.
Respect is one form of love, but there are many others, I had promised myself no kids photos/stories today but who am I kidding? Alfonso is 8 and had visited the team last year with a heart murmur, he is back this year for monitoring. The team confirms the problem is still there but it is currently still at a stage where we monitor it. Alfonso seems to have learned that checking up on each other is a form of caring and a way to show kindness, he uses the stethoscope to check on his mom, just making sure you are ok!
That brings us to the last patient story I want to share from today, we met Markus right at the beginning of the day. He is 23 and unfortunately had a motorcycle accident that fractured his pelvis. He is carried in by his family on a stretcher. While every care seems to have been taken to make it comfortable, it is less than ideal. We are able to confirm the previous operation on his broken pelvis was successful and things are healing just as they should, however the family do not seem aware that progressing in Physical Therapy (PT) is a necessary next step (excuse the pun). Since getting the surgery Markus has not received any instructions on attempting to regain muscle and mobility. His brother is attentive to the PT’s instruction, taking notes and making videos, and his family literally carried him to the clinic, they plan to get through this, together. Today he is leaving with a wheel chair and clear instructions that should have him walking within 6 months. I muse at what would have happened if they had not come to clinic, the surgery was successful but he had not yet tried to move. I am told it is an all to common story that locals will get needed surgery but then not move on to rehabilitation and therefore not regain mobility. It is a natural assumption that if it hurts it must be bad, our team of experts is here to reassure him that it will hurt, but through it he will get better.
Another day over, another number of lives touched (not countless but we will get to that at the end of the mission).
I worry it is almost already over but remind myself to live in the present, one patient at a time, one story at a time.
Celestina
Team 884
