Follow Your Feet: November 2008

We were blessed last week to have a group of surgeons and nurses visit from Michigan. This was their second time in San Lucas and since last year folks have been pretty excited for their return trip. I was told that last year the group was able to do about 42 surgeries in total. This year the staff at the hospital knew better what bumps in the road to expect, knew how to effectively schedule patients so they would be ready to go on their scheduled day, and to get things rolling earlier so the surgeons had enough time to get everything done.

In the months leading up to the surgical "jornada" we had been slowly seeing patients and referring them for surgery, as well as all of their laboratory work-up, heart studies if needed, and of course paperwork and consent forms. The surgical team told us to aim for 60-100 patients, we did our best and in all we scheduled 95. They were really surprised to hear that number, saying that they really had meant 60, and they weren't sure they would be able to do all 95 in 5 days. This is where the staff at the hospital really made things happen through all the organizational work they had done ahead of time - so we hit the ground running and went to work.

The above picture shows our operating room. We actually set up two tables in the same room so two surgeries could go at once. It was really exciting to see the room in use because most of the year it sits empty, or is used as a storage area. The post-op area was full of patients getting ready to go in, or still sleepy from their anesthesia.

In the end, the final count of surgeries performed was 85. And we finished by Friday lunch. The plastic surgeon wasn't able to make it, so we had to cancel about 10 specialized surgeries, but otherwise everyone showed up, and everyone made it through. The surgeons tell us that they've never seen a group so organized as the Parish Hospital, both in preparation or the business of the week. But it wasn't about the numbers, it was about the stories of people who helped and were helped. The farmer with a huge hernia for 7 years who can go back to work and support his family, the mother with gall stones who can now live without pain, the 5 year old with a cleft lip who can start eating normally, and not be made fun of. The medical student who had an IV put in so he could keep working despite being sick. Dr. Tun spending all day, every day in the OR, giving the patients confidence with his presence and translating when needed. The team of carriers who lifted over 60 patients on a thin stretcher down the hall, down the winding stairs, down another hall, and to their bed, without a single fall. The translators who worked long hours to make sure we all knew what was going on. The nurses who took extra shifts voluntarily and saw a record number of patients fill their beds without a single major complication. The picture above is at the closing ceremony while Dr. Tun is thanking everyone, Guatemalan and American for their help and care. In the end there were lots of tears as the surgical team had to leave - people together who only shared the common language of care.

Here's our team. Guatemalan, American, Human. The operating room now again stands empty, a reminder that we still depend on volunteers to make surgery happen here in San Lucas. The post-op area is eerily quiet with 10 empty beds. We sat there afterwards reflecting with Dr. Tun, catching our breath, and looking forward to next year.