Day 3 – Team Thompson 923 – Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Bringing Orthopedics to the Village Clinic
For a patient in rural Guatemala, getting a knee or hip replacement can mean waiting months or even years just to find out whether they qualify. With this year’s Team Thompson clinic, Faith in Practice is shortening that wait by bringing an orthopedic surgeon right to the village clinic.
Dr. Keith Berend, an orthopedic surgeon, is a first-time Team Thompson volunteer who has joined approximately twenty-five Faith in Practice surgical trips in the past. This is the first time we’ve had an orthopedic surgeon on a village clinic team.
Why having an orthopedic surgeon here matters
Until now, our team could handle a lot, from knee and shoulder injections to spotting who needed surgery. But with Dr. Berend and our new X-ray on site, we can say with confidence when someone needs a joint replacement. That’s a big deal, because many patients have waited a long time just to be seen and sending them on without an X-ray risks a wrong diagnosis. Now, with Dr. Berend and X-ray technician Jason Groessel here, a patient who needs a knee replacement or other surgical procedure can go on the surgery list right away, without starting the process over.
One patient’s story
Dr. Berend told us about a 23-year-old woman named Maria who came to the clinic for a walker. Two years ago, she was hit by a bus. She lost one leg and badly broke the femur in the other. She walks remarkably well with her prosthesis, but her femur healed short, and the metal nail placed to hold it together is now pushing out of the bone, which causes her pain.
Maria received a walker from our Mobility Clinic and was then seen by Dr. Berend. Her surgery to relieve the pain in her remaining leg can now be scheduled directly with a surgical team at our partner hospital, Obras del Hermano Pedro Hospital in Antigua. Her prosthesis can also be adjusted to help with the difference in the length of her legs.
Bridging Three Languages
In our General Medicine clinic today, a 79-year-old man accompanied by his granddaughter was seen by Dr. Rob Blanche. The patient speaks only K’iche’, the local Mayan language, so his granddaughter, who speaks both K’iche’ and Spanish, relayed his story to our staff interpreter, who translated between Spanish and English.
He came in having trouble walking, which he blamed on his knees, and he also had a tremor. After examining him, Dr. Blanche recognized signs of Parkinson’s disease. The patient had no idea. We planned X-rays of his knees, with injections which may help.
When the diagnosis was explained, he and his granddaughter took it calmly. It didn’t seem to faze them at all, which struck Dr. Blanche, since in the U.S. the news would likely land very differently. Life here can be hard, and this was simply one more challenge to face.
Because we can’t start Parkinson’s medication at the village clinic, we referred him to a neurologist for follow-up care.
When the Right People Are on the Same Team
From a young woman who will get her surgery scheduled to a grandfather who learned what was behind his tremor, today reminded us how much difference it makes when the right people, tools, and translators are on the same team. We’re grateful that our patients trust us with their health concerns and are willing to share their stories.
Ruth Lacey- Photographer and Blogger
A Lifetime of Work
Early in the day, Dr. Hilary Bartels met a married couple, both 78 years old, who could not read. While taking the husband’s history, she learned that he never learned to read because he began working at the age of six. He came in with a hernia and wanted to know what he could safely do to keep working, because he has no choice but to work. Dr. Bartels referred him for surgery to repair the hernia.
His story reflects the reality for many people in Totonicapán. Many live in deep poverty and continue to work through hardships that few of us have ever had to face.
Beauty Alongside Hardship
Every day with Team Thompson puts us face to face with hardships many families carry quietly. And every day, we find beauty alongside them. The resilience, warmth, and grace of the Guatemalan people move us in ways we never expect, and they remind us exactly why we came.
Ruth Lacey Photographer and Blogger
