From a Student's Perspective

We made it back to the States safe and sound and drove into ACU's parking lot around 6:00pm. I am grateful for the safe day of traveling without even a hitch. It was a long, hard day, and I slept like a rock.
The past week was a blessing for all of us. Through the hands of Dr. Lee Coleman, God healed around 35 cataracts; through Dr. Haller, Dr. White, and Dra. Sylvia, God pulled hundreds of teeth; and through Doctors Rector and Walter, hundreds of people received health care and medications. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, learning, and eye-opening experiences. Most of us - including myself - in the ACU group did not know anybody else in the group, but by the end of the week, through bonding in the most extreme of circumstances, we were a very close-knit bunch.
I believe most were sad the week was over. It went by so fast and we had such a good time, that it was difficult to leave.
Most of us will be hitting the books pretty hard for the remainder of the semester, but we will carry this past week with us for the rest of our lives. Thank you, Health Talents, for making this experience possible.
Amber Joy Carroll

March 16,2006--Dental

On the third day of our medical/dental mission trip, our team traveled to the town of La Ceiba. The trip took just over an hour, over relatively good roads, at first, following large, slow trucks carrying heavy loads of sugar cane to the mills for processing. Then somewhat better roads for a very short while before the dirt and rock road which took us to La Ceiba. Here we set up our plywood dental chairs on the back porch, using bed sheets to screen the patients form the onlookers. (Always beautiful, curious children). One of my first patients was a three year old boy with all four of his maxillary incisers decayed off at the gum line. His mother wanted us to remove the remaining roots because the boy was having trouble eating and sleeping due to the pain caused by the rotten baby teeth. With the help of the mother and more than one dental assistant we were able to accomplish the necessary task in short order. Needless to say, the bed sheet barrier did not contain the young boys expressions of "why are you doing this to me".
Another patient was a 56 year old lady with a mouth of one much older. All of her remaing teeth were severely decayed with most off at or below the gum line. Seeing the need, I was mentally preparing to suggest that we remove all the remaining roots in the upper right quadrant. To my surprise, she only wanted me to remove one tooth, the upper right first bicuspid which still had part of the crown intact. After discussing this with her through an interpreter, we removed the upper right first bicuspid.
Jim Haller, DDS

El Exito de Servir

Ningun Americano pasa desapercibido en Guatemala y menos si es un colaborador de Talentos de Salud Internacional que con su sonrisa y su amor por servir a los guatemaltecos hacen felices a muchos. Por ejemplo hay pacientes que han llegado a las clinicas buscando sanidad y con solo una sonrisa que han recibido se han confortado mucho. Muchas gracias a todos por servir sin esperar recibir algo a cambio. En especial a los jovenes de ACU que sin duda alguna esta semana fue maravillosa para ellos y para nosotros......Alex Gonzalez

He disfrutado mucho el amor y entusiasmo que los jovenes de ACU han demostrado a nuestra gente en Guatemala, especialmente a los ninos, con quienes han jugado incluso entre el polvo de nuestras comunidades, verlos me recuerda que el amor y a alegria son universales!, no tienen idioma, tiempo, ni lugar en el planeta.....Silvia Albizures

March 15, Medical Clinic

As we end our time in Guatemala, it draws to close like finishing a great novel. I want to know the end but I'm a little sad it's over. I've seen many fingerprints of God; from the faithful, loving work of the HTI team to the trusting eyes of a little child. Our students grew in their relationships with each and their love for God's people. This little place in the green of Guatemala is full of the Spirit of the Lord. We have been blessed by being a part of His work.
Tony Rector, DO

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Our story starts with a pequito nino who was probably the most outgoing person in the village. Ronald came into the clinic with his guns blazing, talking and hitting (gently) every person who was wearing blue or green scrubs. The fun began when all of us in the clinic gazed at Bob's playful and loving heart with Ronald (aside from Bob biting Ronald's finger half way off). They connected immediately, it was truly a blessing to experience. So the time came for Ronald to get his teeth pulled, and we set him on the table and opened wide. He was the bravest little boy there until he saw his own sangre (blood). This is when the story took serious meaning to all of us present. Everyone turned their head when we heard the blood curdling scream from poor Ronald. Even people down the street were peeking in. The compassion from Bob and Dr. White broke through the cultural barrier, they did everything humanly possible to make him feel comfortable and loved. It ended up with Bob and four other people laying on Ronald, Sylvia holding his mouth open, and Dr. White pulling his tooth. Immediately after the extraction Bob and Ronald embraced like old friends, and Bob's love shined through even more. We saw how amazing Dr. White is with kids, his concern for his patients is ineffable, he was visibly shaken by the whole situation. It's amazing to see and experience first hand the language barrier that exists, and to see it broken down through love and pain. Many of us felt the pain Ronald was experiencing, minus the needle. I think we can all say that we saw Christ's love flowing through the clinic today. (Bob is THE MAN!) (Dr. White es un primero HOMBRE!!)
Steven and Dylan

Our first day of operating has just come to a close and nine new patients are lying in their beds with patches over one eye. For some it's their only eye, so they're not interacting much with the other patients. Most of the others are chatting while they finish dinner. This trip is my fourth one to Clinica Ezell, so I've been able to get back into the groove a little quicker than last time We unpacked yesterday and this had to be the most well-supplied I've ever been. We were able to do three cases last night before bed so today wasn't nearly as long as it could have been. The toughest thing about coming back is actually getting used to the idea that each eye is not going to look perfect. Going from doing cataract extractions with no blood loss, perfect corneas, and lightning-fast recovery to manhandling these cataracts out with all the grace of a can opener is tough mentally. Making a 12 millimeter incision on an eye when your're used to getting the job done through 2.8 is a bit overwhelming. My technique has gotten much better over the few years I've been coming here, which wouldn't have been difficult since I had only done a handful of this type of extracapsular cataract surgery during residency. You just don't see these types of cataracts in the states. There was one today that we could have given to the kids of the village for their marble collection. I used the same technique today that I did last time on a trip with Larry Patterson, an ophthalmologist from Tennessee. We watched a DVD that some eye surgeons in Nepal had produced that showed their suture-less extracap surgery. Suture-less extracap! The term makes about as much sense as "suture-less C-section." But it works. I wouldn't have believed it, but it does. I did nine of them today, carefully dissecting a tissue plane through the sclera to the cornea that would seal shut on its own. And not a single suture placed. Unbelievable! There were only two times when cases didn't go entirely as planned today and vitrectomies had to be done. Both were on cataracts where the dense nucleus was firmly adherent to the underlying capsule and the delivery of the former included the latter. Those are the ones that start to get you down because you wish their eye had been healthier, that you could have gotten to them sooner before the outcome was so inevitable. But then you see them the next day and they can count your two fingers in front of their face when yesterday they had to be led into the room by a nurse. And that "dos" you hear is what stays in your head the rest of the week reminding you that you're leaving things better than you left.

Lee Coleman, MD

March 13, 2006 - Eye Surgery & ACU Group

This is a new type of trip for Health Talents. We have combined an eye surgery team with the Abilene Christian University Spring Break group, and it is working out exceedingly well. Dr. Tony Rector, who organized the ACU team, is dividing the group up each day so each person can experience a little bit of everything. I apologize for not having this blog up and running by now, so you can experience the week with us in almost real time, but our satellite system was out of service most of the day. My goal for this blog is twofold: provide a birdseye view from several different perspectives into what these trips are like and to offer technical information about the medical and dental ministries that we offer. I think this will prove quite valuable as future doctors and dentists make plans to come to Guatemala. We love your comments, by the way, so don't hesitate to send them our way! ...Marie Agee

THE WEEK'S SUMMARY

The week at Clinica Ezell seemed to fly by. Each day was filled with challenges, smiles, and thanksgiving. Chaplain Terry Smith of Woodmont Hills brought us back to the center each night by helping us reflect on the day. He encouraged us to "reflect" Jesus, rather than just "push" Jesus on others. One of the most encouraging things to me was the Spanish devotionals in the patient ward each evening. These were led by some of the Guatemalan staff: Oscar, Valentin, Luis, and others. It was encouraging to me because these same young men are growing in the faith and showing incredible initiative in their walk with Christ. Oscar, whom until only recently I've never seen without a machete in his hand because he was one of Clinica Ezell's gardeners, preached with confidence and enthusiasm. Luis led the singing with his wonderful voice. Valentin, a very quiet guy whose job as our former janitor was to mop up the operating rooms between surgeries, led a prayer that lasted a full five minutes...this from a guy who rarely says anything and when he does is barely audible. Oscar and Valentin both excelled in preliminary training classes to become health promoter trainers. This new responsibility, coupled with their dedication to the Lord, has fueled a surge of excitement and renewed vision in them. They are the future of Clinica Ezell...and it is exciting! By the end of the week, the gyn surgeons had provided surgical relief for 24 women, and the plastic surgeons helped 14 people, which included babies as young as 5 weeks old, teenagers, and women. The gyn surgeons removed a dermoid cyst anda couple of ovarian cysts, in addition to performing the usual hysterectomies. The plastic surgeons repaired cleft lips so babies could eat, did rhinoplasty on the 20-year-old young man to improve his appearance after his cleft repair last year, and the most unusual of all was the woman with the neurofibroma. This is the same disease that the "Elephant Man" had. The mass they removed from her weighed eight pounds! All are doing well, and for that we praise God. May His name be praised in all the earth.....Marie Agee