Day 4: Clinic in Agua Caliente and meeting in Tablitas

There were a lot of folks waiting at the church when we pulled up in the bus, and it was super-hot right from the get-go. We had one building- with triage and lab in the front; then a sheet wall, and then two exam room areas. There were also two rooms (with doors) in the back- one for the dentists, and one for the OB/Gyn exams. The pharmacy and check-in were in two tents in the yard. My exam area was in the back right, and the sun really beat in through the window.

It was a little rough getting organized and starting, but we did eventually get in a groove, seeing patients from around 830am and working right through lunch- I remember taking a break around 2pm, and then feeling so tired, it was all I could do to help out in the pharmacy for awhile. We ended up having lunch at a restaurant nearby around 3pm- everyone seemed so exhausted/tired/hot/hungry, there was barely any conversation at all. We definitely needed some recovery time.

Some notes about the patients: a lot of them spoke Q'eqchi' (sometimes spelled Kekchi), so we would pull an interpreter to help from Spanish- mainly the local pastor. There were a lot of skin infections (scabies, fungal infections), lots of abdominal pain (gastritis, reflux), colds and coughs, and one really red eye x4months where the woman had lost vision in the eye (we provided referral for that one). A few people with new diagnosis of HTN, and we put them on a list to have their BP rechecked in 2 weeks after initiating captopril.

Per the dental team- almost all of the dental patients would bleed a lot- as if they were on coumadin (due to malnutrition? Weird supplements? Genetic issues?).

Right from our quick lunch, we headed to Tablitas for a community meeting. This was a really neat town on a hillside. The meeting was well-attended by about 5 men and 2 women; one of the men was a young pastor. Many other women chose to go to the meeting discussing cervical cancer- led by Carol and Anne.

Issues brought up in the community meeting that I attended included nutrient-poor soil, and having their corn fields flooded this year, so there is a real concern about having enough food; they also wanted to have more classrooms in the school. Mike and I talked about a possible stove project in the future, and the villagers were positive about it, but wanted to ensure that each home would have the opportunity to get one. At the meeting 6 months ago, they had set a goal to work on gardening. After the meeting, we looked at the school, the community garden they set up (growing a lot of different vegetables), and I got to see a stove (open fire over rocks; blackened walls and ceiling from smoke).

Back at the hotel, dinner was fun, with the sisters teaching me and Mike and a whole group of the dice game called Frunkle (?).