Yesterday in clinic I saw a 3-year-old boy who had been developing normally until he was a year and a half, then started regressing back developmentally, to younger and younger stages. Essentially he’s becoming brain damaged, but we don’t know why. Some of the causes for this scenario are treatable. However, in Belize we don’t have the available tests to determine which disorder this patient has, and therefore we can’t advise any treatment. It quickly became clear that the reason the pediatrician had referred this patient to our clinic was so that we would deliver the news that there was nothing we could offer the patient, not even a diagnosis. If we were in the States, the patient would have a battery of tests and most likely we could find out what he has, and whether it’s treatable. Here, the parents will have to live with not knowing what is wrong with their child, and not being able to do anything about it.

In good news, this morning we teleconferenced in to Grand Rounds at Rochester General Hospital. Teleconferencing in to Grand Rounds gives doctors here the opportunity to attend lectures by leading experts in Medicine, something they would not otherwise have access to. After stalling many times in previous weeks trying to get this program started, today was a big success, with 11 doctors and nurses attending! This was a much higher turnout than I had expected, and the doctors I surveyed thought the lecture was very interesting and useful.

Photos: Left: Rasta man, Belize City

Right: Bare-throated tiger heron, running to hide behind a pile of dirt.