2-15-15 Sunday
Sunday morning came early.
Up at 0600 rustling through bags to separate medical supplies from personal
belongings and prepare for our day serving in the community. Heard the rumbling sound of the full length
bus coming down the road and scurried to get last minute supplies ready before
heading to the community of El Recico translated: the town of Recess. Though we started in the large bus, we needed
to change to a smaller more durable one as we then journeyed another hour deep
into the rain forest on roads that were mostly rock. Easily our experience was like being in the throes
of a roller coaster for most of the trip.
In one very thin stretch of road we are certain that not all the wheels
of the bus were actually having direct contact with the road at one time as
erosion from the rainy season does take a toll on the roads. At that moment we
all collectively leaned to one side of the bus to “help” stay on the road.
We arrived safely and set up our mobile clinic in the
school. This remote community has
approximately 70 family units. With our
team today we were able to see 128 individuals including infants, children and
adults. Medically a few helpful
procedures included an ear wax removal for a man that had cerumen (wax) that
had accumulated to almost an inch long plug from both ears. Not a sight or smell that can be described well. Another ear included infected pustulant
drainage that was cleansed and treated. A
woman with a severe untreated large leg skin ulceration including necrotized
tissue had her wound debrided and dressed.
It was amazing to us all how well she tolerated the painful procedure
without any local anesthetic. It is our
hope that her 15 year old daughter can assist at home with the supplies that
were left with them to further improve her condition. Several dental extractions were preformed on
some very difficult rooted teeth using the most basic of supplies and
equipment. Jeff and Dorothy both needed
a good back rub after their long afternoon.
This location was indeed heavenly. The hill sides were full of lush green foliage
and trees and the mountain bluffs had their tips visible above a ring of white
cloud clusters. In the valley below ran
a wide river bed with the lower than usual water depth (~2-3 feet) causing
level 2 and 3 rapids in areas. During
the rainy season in the later months of the year this river grows to a depth of
over 16 feet. Renee, Gary and Sonya had
opportunity to take a long walk along the river’s edge to a suspended
bridge. It was a wonderful
experience. The pictures we took do not
do the scenery justice.
Safely back home from our community experience we went out
as a team to eat at a Chinese restaurant called The Palace. There were 10 of us all together around a
large table and we had a wonderful time eating, discussing and relating the
wonderful experiences of our day. Though the poverty is obviously profound, we all
agreed it was a treasure to be able to serve and provide what we could to
people who had seldom or ever had medical care.
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