Heading Home!!!!!

After an amazing week it was time to head home. We left with plenty of time to make it to the airport and through customs, but it wouldn't be an adventure if we did not have some trouble along the way. About 30 min from the airport the left rear tire on one of the vans blew out causing our caravan to come to a halt. Having no shoulder to pull over to- Patrick, Dr. Pennino, Bob and company began changing the tire and cars and trucks sped by at very high speeds. It was quite nerve racking especially because every piece of equipment we tried using was of course not functional. Having watch a lot of A-Team and MacGyver, the guys got the tire changed and the flight was made with some time to spare. Always and adventure.

St. Patrick's Day Party!!!!!

Our last night here in the jungle was a lot of fun. We had a huge party celebrating our accomplishments this week, the Patron Saint of Ireland, and Bob's 21st birthday (HA!!) We also presented our amazing friends who prepared our meals with gifts of appreciation.








Jimmy one of the local boys giving the thumbs up. He was full of energy and always brought life to our evening festivities.












Patrick posing with the master chefs. They prepared the most amazing food for us all week. Patrick promised to bring them all back to the States so they could cook for him. I think they thought he was serious!









The Pennino girls getting into trouble late at night.














Finally, a birthday cake for Bob who made the trip very memorable. Phyllis arranged for a surprise cake for him and here was his reaction.

St. Patrick's Day!!!!

This morning the whole team went to the hospital in Belmopan to see patients and deliver and A/V cabinet that Steve and Bob built. Here we see a new pt with a small hemangioma. Nothing to do at this stage expect reassure the parents.










Lan and Dr. O'Connor seeing one our post-op patients from earlier in the week back for a dressing change. She had an excellent results and should have full function of her arm once she heals.









Bob and Steve posing with their creation. This beast was fabricated with an old shelving unit and whatever else they could find in the jungle. It will old a flat-screen T.V. donated by I-Flo and dozens of videos/DVDs collected by Kara and friends back in the States.







Here Dr. Pennino is instructing the nursing staff on how to use all the new A/V equipment. The children that were in the peds unit flocked over to watch the new T.V.

After our visit at the hospital in Dangriga, we set out on a 35 min boat ride to a group of islands along the coastal reef off Belize. We visited an island called South Water Caye and spend the day relaxing, fishing, snorkeling, etc..










This a view of one of the beach houses you can stay at during your stay on the island. The island was very small, quiet, and private. An excellent place to relax after a week of hard work in the jungle.










Here is Patrick hanging out after fishing for barracuda and bone fish with Dr. O'Connor and his nephew James. They hooked up a few fish, but mostly enjoyed the weather and post-fishing spirits.

Today we went to Dangriga to Southern Regional Hospital to try and set up the tele-med connection back to the States. This hospital is slightly larger and more modern than the hospital in Belmopan and will most likely be the facility we operate out of next year. We also delivered some toys for the children at the hospital and presented a digital camera to one of our liasons so they can take pictures of potential cases and send them to us in the States. We spent most of the morning here and toured the facility to see what would be needed for next year.

Surgical Team-

The surgical team went to the hospital this morning to see some patients for follow up. A couple of new patients were seen with complex problems that unfortunately we were unable to help this trip. We will see some patients again on Sat.

Lan and Patrick set out on an adventure later in the morning by venturing into the foothills of the Mayan mountains to the "Mother of all Caves"... Actun Loch Tunich! This involved about a three hour uphill hike on very thin trails frequently having to rock climb. This picture is the Actun Loch Tunich sink hole that sits 300 feet above the basin below. Once they reached the top the adventure really began.










This is the view from the top of the moutain looking into the sink hole. Our guides rigged up a system of rappelling ropes for the decent to the basin below. The first ten feet are adrenaline packed as you work your way over the protruding rocks. The next 200 feet are a free hanging decent above the top of the jungle canopy. The last hundred feet are through the rainforest canopy.

Patrick fully rigged up and ready to go over the edge. Was it mentioned that he is afraid of heights?

A look from above as Patrick starts his decent.

Lan all rigged up and ready to go.

Another view from the decent down.

Francesca's [brief] glimpse of Belize... beauty + dirt

+ people + children + adults + sick + disease + hunger + POOR + pain smiles + happy(ness) + doctors nurses + love + students + family + young + mosquitos + hot + food + water + pools + tears + giggles + scrapes + cars + dogs + horses + chickens + hens + lights + lizards + stinky(dog) + bottled + water + sunscreen + mothers + fathers + bumpy + roads + bodies + heat + sweat + smile...

+ Jesus + God(?) + Catholicism + Spanish + English + Mayans + Garifunos + foreigns + white + gringo(!) + novio feo + novio bonito + jungle children + banana bank+ jungle dome + why why why + anger +fear + resentment... questions +"hospitals" +"emergency room"... health "care"+ care + kind + saints + toys + movies + SCOUTS + hospice + computers + flowers + trash + dirt + CHILDREN + love...

No matter where one goes in the world... new ND friends can always be made. Steph, papa, and two Class of 03 Domers standing on one of the incredible structures of Tikal.

Joey's Day at Octavian Way with Dr. Phyllis:

What a roller coaster ride my friends... Octavian Way is small establishment in San Ignacio that serves men and women over 65. It's the closest thing in the country to a retirement home, although I can't imagine many in Belize plan on retiring. Phyllis and I hitched a ride with the group heading to the Good Shepherd clinic on the other side of the city. It was another long, slow, bumpy and unsatisfying ride led by the infamous Dr. Villereale. Phyllis nagged him the entire ride. When Phyllis and I arrived at Octavian we were greeted by the head nurse who was from Sweden. She oversaw the administering of medications to the residents and directed the daily activities. Phyllis, with me shadowing, was given a small storage room where saw patients in. I was expecting to stay out of the way and watch Phyllis do her thing with the patients, but I quickly realized that I would be getting a real "hands on" lesson in using the stethascope (taking pulses, blood pressures), and looking for "bruies"...

Our first patient only spoke Spanish so I attempted to translate. The language barrier and the fact that the man was def nearly were too much. Phyllis managed to deduce that the man likely had an ulcer based on what he was trying to tell us in Spanish.

The next patient was a women in her 80's who had an amputated leg, and an injured second one. Hearing the woman's story was very difficult. She was bitten by a red ant, and the ensuing infection continued to spread and worsen until the only option for her was amputation of all of her leg. She was a beautiful women but had such a sad and disconnected look in her eyes. Seeing her cry when the nurse pulled a bandage off of her thigh was almost too much for me to watch.

The next patients had similar unfortunate stories.

The next most difficult part of the day included making a house call to visit Tracey a 17 yr old paraplegic. Phyllis was asked to see her by the head nurse. I heard her story on the way:

She broke up with her boyfriend about a year ago. In his anger he stabbed her 5 times in the back and then sliced her throat. After doing such an awful thing he felt bad and took her to a hospital where doctors saved her life. Unfortunately the spinal cord was damaged by one of the puncture wounds, rendering her unable to walk. It wasn't until recently that a second x ray confirmed that the cord had completely been severed. It was surreal sitting in her room with Phyllis and listening to her tell Tracey that she would most likely be in her wheel chair for her entire life. Belize isn't exactly handicap accesable... While we were there Tracey's mother shared with us that her sister was shot last week in the leg walking home from work in Belize City for no apparent reason.

This was all very gut wrenching to hear.

The final stop was at the home of a women who was the victim of a head on car crash in which she broke nearly every bone in her body...pelvis, femur, tibia, fibia, clavicle, and parts of her face and skull. She lost one two family members who were driving the car. She was in the back seat. She was flown to belize and litterally put back together. Unfortunately the steel rods in her legs were not placed correctly and cause her chronic and excruciating pain almost 2 years after the accident. Sue to her immobility and diabetes she has gained a ton of weight and is now suffering from hypertension and high blood pressure. Her only son is still working to pay the medical bills from the incident...

Tough day...

Today some of the team went to Peten, Guatemala to visit the Mayan Ruins at Tikal. The trip there was amazing and the ruins are absolutely breathtaking.
















Here Patrick and James (Tim's nephew from England) are standing atop of one of Tikal's many temples many feet above the ground.

















Lan and company are standing atop on of the tallest temples in Tikal. Notice no railings or ropes to break your fall.















John, Emme and Lan stand together at the top of a temple. The background might be familiar as it was the setting for several scenes in a couple of the Star Wars movies.











A collection of temples in the main area of Tikal that was striking.

A map showing the massive layout of the Tikal ruins. It was quite an unbelievable experience that we will never forget.

The group at Xantunich. BEFORE the climb...

Joey makes a sacrifice at the Ancient Mayan ruins... except Steph isn't ready to be sacrificed...

Waiting for dressing change at Good Shepard Clinic in San Ignatio.

Good Shepard Indoor Waiting Room.

Peggy and Nurse Juan working at Cala Creek, San Ignatio.

Isaura Menzies seeing a mom and 2 kids in Cala Creek Clinic.

Peggy Bergin and Nurse Juan on their way to Cala Creek Clinic.

Peggy Bergin crosses the footbridge to Cala Creek Clinic.