We traveled to Pocolum today. Once again, we set up in the existing medical clinic there. The trip to Pocolum was beautiful, with lots of views of the valleys and mountains that the country is famous for. The providers each had individual exam rooms with exam tables making it convenient. The pharmacy and nurses stations were set up in the waiting area of the clinic, and once again, everything went smoothly with the patients being efficiently ready for a provider.
The setting was more rural with a more Mayan population. As a result, there needed to be a “double” interpretation from the native language to Spanish, and then Spanish to English. That takes more time, but the local interpreters did a fine job helping us with their efforts. Almost all of the patients needed two interpreters, with the exception of some teenagers and young adults. The overriding theme today was pain. Head pain, abdominal pain, and back pain. Most of the patients seemed to work in the fields, therefore, had a lot of overuse problems with their muscles and tendons. Even the women in this village worked in the fields, which is a bit of a change from previous spots. Once again, we did see some social issues surrounding women and children. It is hard to know what to do and how to help them without making their situation worse. Lots of love and reassurance was given toward these lovely people that their unfortunate situation was not their fault. Hopefully it was a bit helpful. We saw 108 patients and were able to wrap up the clinic at about 5:15. The 1.5 hour drive home was cheerful with a lot of laughter. The team here is wonderful, smart and capable. I am privileged to work by their sides. John Benson It’s a beautiful night in Coapilla. I am writing this in the “parque central” (central plaza) of this town of about 3500 people. It’s a beautiful night in the highklands of Chiapas. It;s getting cooler and the wind is picking up. Here in this central plaza vendors sell typical Mexican street food, including a tub of boiling sweet corn (I was offered some, but declined. After all, we’ll be sitting down soon to dinner prepared for us by the nuns here whose hospitality is absolutely incomparable. Its really obvious what an important part of the trip they are for us. A couple dozen kids are playing basketball on a concrete court coovered with a tin roof. Two police officers are standing at the door of the local police department next to the City Hall and across the way is the church we attended last night that was constructed in the 1600’s. It’s wonderful to see friends gather on the plaza just talking and enjoying the evening.
After two more or less light days of clinic, today was hard work. The patients just kept coming and a midday break was very necessary. And today was the day that something that always happens to me on these trips (this is my fourth as an interpreter) haopened: I choked up as I related the words of the patient to the physician. The situation was that of a woman who came in for generalized pain. This is very common. It’s always interesting to me to observe the doctors evaluate the patient and deduce what is really going on. The woman related to Dr. Rich “Ricardo” Peller the pains that she had and where they were in her body. As the conversation continued, Rich asking questions in the compassionate way he does and always with a sense of God’s movement in our lives and the lives of the patients, the true issue finally came up. The woman said that she suffers when her husband hits her. And then she explained one especially hard hit during which she lost hearing in an ear for some time. The interpreter needs to be conscious to more or less be “invisible” in the sense that we are communicating as clearly as possible the words and meaning of the words of the patient and doctor. As I formed the words in English that the woman said in Spanish, I felt that lump that indicates tears may come next. It’s not professional for an interpreter to do! Regaining composure quickly, I continued with the interpretation between Rich and the patient. Rich walked this woman through ways that she may find to deal with this pain and anxiety she feels, including especially, prayer. She asked about medicine and, as we often have to explain, “we don’t have a medicine for [insert issue here] that you are dealing with.” And so he continued with wise counsel to find a trusted friend or family member and, more than anything, to keep herself and her family safe. And to pray. Sometimes it is clear to me as I observe the interaction between doctor and patient that these people have the needs we all do: to be seen, to be heard and for a moment, to be loved and appreciated. In fact, we pray often on these trips that, more than anything, we see the human being and their needs in front of us. And so the woman, finally smiling a little bit, at least, related to me a dream she had. She dreamt last night that someone was handing her two photographs: one of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and one of the “Lord of the Well” (a particular devotion to Christ in this area). Yesterday, she didn’t know if our team was going to be able to make it to their remote village But after that dream she had hope that she could be seen. She wanted to relate to us how grateful she was. Ironically, we did send her with medicine - just ibuprofen or Tylenol, I forget which - but the healing that happened during that consult doesn’t take medicine. I was grateful to be there to see this interaction. Just beautiful. Thanks be to God. Three kids just came by selling pieces of a delicious-looking cake. They are raising funds for their sister who is a candidate for “queen of the spring.” If she wins, they will use the funds to improve the classrooms at the primary school. I’m a pretty easy sale for that kind of fundraiser. Cake in hand, I’m headed to the convent for dinner. A very good day. The team went to San Pedro today. It was a new village to MDP and took us what felt like north along a rocky road past the Green Lagune. The Green Lagune is a natural lake, small in stature like the people here, but has a natural wild beauty. It is near the convent that takes care of us and a nice place to visit with down time. After about 40 minutes of twists and turns through some unbelievable views with cloud covered valleys and lovely vistas, we arrived. We set up in a school with the pharmacy and nursing staff between the providers. The village of only 200 inhabitants was set on a side of a mountain and, once again, had beautiful views. Surprisingly, the predominant religion of the village is Seventh Day Adventist, so a Sunday clinic worked well there. Their particular religion was not apparent to any involved. The people had similar concerns as the previous day. The team was treated to gracious and kind folk.
The organizers of the day thought that more people would come from other villages, but I don’t believe that ever materialized. As a consequence, the day was a bit slow, seeing about 50 patients. We did get a chance to play soccer and basketball with the children and even a few adults from the village joined in. Our MDP team is wonderful. Lots of personality and intelligence. Lots of laughter. Lots of respect toward our job here. I feel privileged to work along side these folks and am looking forward to the days ahead. John Benson Greetings from Mexico. We all made it safe and sound. Not a single hitch in our travel plans. No difficulty with customs and the night at the Retreat center was restful. The next morning after breakfast and prayer we were treated to Mya and Jen singing together in the chapel at the center. Truly it sounded as if angels were singing (and maybe they were!). Vincente loaded the van, heavier than the Grinch’s sleigh, and again chugged up the mountains as he has for MDP for years. We dropped our stuff at the hotel and head off for a half day clinic about 20 minutes away. They were ready and had a great set up for us. Pharmacy and nurses were in covered areas outside and the docs and interpreters inside. The laughter and playfulness of the children kept the “outsiders” entertained. The constant laughter lightened the load of us “lnsider” also.
We saw 60 patients in about 3 hours and the main word I would use for our clinic today was smooth. If you have been on our trips you know the first day of set up is usually closer to a nightmare than smooth. There are a ton of moving parts to get organized and arranged ESPECIALLY in the pharmacy and they knocked it out of the park with organization and coordination. Everything else kind of flowed...smoothly from there. Thank you to Lia Price our fearless leader who has been organizing this little adventure for the last 4 -5 months to make it happen and allow us to be here. Thank you also, to all of you who have helped us in the past, family (who are left behind to do the daily work), freinds (who have encouraged and prayed for us) and those who have donated so we could have the medicines and supplies to be here and meet these wonderful people. You, by your help, have allowed us to reach out and be the hands of God touching and easing the suffering of those in front of us. Thank you and continue your prayers. Rich Peller |
Meet the Team
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