Well, here I am again listening to the sound of waves with the sticky feeling of sweat and bug repellant on my arms and legs. I am sitting outside the mission office grateful to have internet service and also grateful that the air is cooling down. The heat is pretty constant here year round, it is either hot and humid, or hotter and miserable. But right now it is pretty nice.
We saw the Oklahoma Baptist University nursing students off this morning, and I took it easy most of the day. Dr. Eder, Dr. Mary Kay and I just now saw one of our old diabetic patients, dressed his new wound, and gave him a big injection of Rocephin, then I rushed over to the comedor to eat a couple cow's liver tacos.
I arrived a week ago at Roca Blanca. When I arrived the nursing students had already been here for a week. I arrived on Friday night and on Sunday morning we left for two day medical outreach. I also filled the roll that both Eddie and I usually perform together, showing the team around Puerto Escondido on their off days. I took them shopping and showed them where to find the various gifts and goods they were looking for. Then we went to El Jardin for Franco's fantastic pizza.
the team purchased kilos of fresh coffee at "La Casita"
Playa Manzanilla
Yesterday Laura, our clinic director, took them snorkeling while my partner in crime, Berta, helped me do the rest of their shopping. Juggling their money and their lists was a real feat. We ran all over the Benito Juarez Public Market looking for tortilla presses and lime squeezers. But I finished in time to join them at the beach and have some tacos dorados and limonada con aqua mineral!
Two days after I arrived at the base we left for the Mixteco town of Yucucha’a, about two hours up the coast in the foothills.
We saw about 100 patients and enjoyed good fellowship with the Mixtec Christians of Pastor Baltezar’s church. We enjoyed their hospitality and even got to join in on a birthday party. The most memorable part of the outreach, beside some very interesting cases, was dancing with Adina and her husband.
The birthday girl dancing with her husband
Dr. Mary Kay and OBU Master's student Brenda get down!
I interpreted Spanish to English for Dr. Dave Ness for a day and a half. We did use a Mixtec interpreter, but many of these villagers spoke a lot of Spanish. We saw many interesting cases. One 15 year old girl presented with what Dr. Dave said would be diagnosed “tuberculosis until proven otherwise”. She was cachectic (skeletally thin), had a chronic cough, blood tinged sputum, night sweats and fever (102.1). We saw a woman with uncontrolled diabetes who needed to be on insulin, a man with emphysema and one with alcohol induced hepatitis and a woman with a possible mild bowel obstruction.
With emphysema, this patient gave the students the opportunity to hear many kinds of abnormal lung sounds
There are times the mobile clinic setting is limiting. We found ourselves having to refer many of those we saw to the hospital. Some had already been to the hospital but had not received sufficient care and treatment, so Dr. David and Laura had to write letters to the hospitals to make recommendations which we hope will be heeded.
We also saw a thin, lethargic young mother with the most doleful expression, who brought us her one year old. She said he wouldn’t eat. Indeed, he wasn’t quite 20 pounds, his skin was dry, his hair was dull and patchy on his head, and he was fretful as his mother held him. She said he didn’t eat more than a little tortilla, and some atole (gruel made with milk and cereal). She admitted that he drank refrescos (sodapop) and dulces (candy), but he refused to eat beans or other foods, and refused to drink milk.
We did some teaching and I tried to encourage the mother to take the child to the public heath center where they could register her children in a program for malnutrition, and maybe assist and teach her. After she left, our interpreter said she knew the family, that the husband smoked marijuana and mistreated the young mother, and that they could not afford good food. She was so depressed, I pray that she has the motivation to take advantage of what the government has to offer them.
Where's Eddie?
Well, as you may realize, Eddie did not accompany me to Oaxaca this year. He is busy working on getting Riverclay Studio completed. Hopefully he will start working in the clay by the time I get back in March.
We have many friends here at Roca Blanca. Everyone I see wants to know where Eddie is. They all miss him, he is such an important part of our work here. It has been one week, and though I do miss him, I more regret his absence because of how others value his presence,. He brings such encouragement and laughter to everyone, and he has made so many friends.
Well It is getting late, and my battery is running low so I will say good night.
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