Monday was relatively light but Tuesday the crowds had started to grow and we were tired Tuesday to the point some were dozing off on the bus at the end of the day. Wednesday was really heavy crowds and some of the group skipped dinner and went straight to their rooms. Tonight (Thursday) we sent out for pizza to be waiting at the hotel when we got in tonight. Tomorrow will be the final day and it has been much more hectic than last year but we've seen a lot of people who haven't had medical services here for several years.
We had television crews come in today with some very important looking people whom we later found out were from the Ministry of Health and that always causes apprehension and concern but today, possibly because of the cameras, the government fully endorsed what was going on at the orphanage and approved of our group's work. In fact we were called together as a group before the bus left today and told the governmental agency f
or this district has proposed to employ up to ten doctors/medics to serve the clinic on a regular basis next year. The orphanage director felt our group had a lot to do with that decision. If this even partially develops in the future it will be the greatest contribution we could have made.
We had four dentists today and I spent the entire day helping two children's dentists. Despite the trauma of dental work, they seem so appreciative of having their toothaches disappear. This afternoon we had a group of ethnic indigenous Indians come in--the Peruvians call them "Mountain People"--and they looked like they could have been models for a National Geographic cover. We saw five or six of the women--their faces must have a thousand wrinkles, they have long braided hair almost to the floor, wear distinctive hats and hooped skirts over pants. And of course their clothing is the beautiful distinctive Peruvian woven colors.
We had television crews come in today with some very important looking people whom we later found out were from the Ministry of Health and that always causes apprehension and concern but today, possibly because of the cameras, the government fully endorsed what was going on at the orphanage and approved of our group's work. In fact we were called together as a group before the bus left today and told the governmental agency f
or this district has proposed to employ up to ten doctors/medics to serve the clinic on a regular basis next year. The orphanage director felt our group had a lot to do with that decision. If this even partially develops in the future it will be the greatest contribution we could have made.We had four dentists today and I spent the entire day helping two children's dentists. Despite the trauma of dental work, they seem so appreciative of having their toothaches disappear. This afternoon we had a group of ethnic indigenous Indians come in--the Peruvians call them "Mountain People"--and they looked like they could have been models for a National Geographic cover. We saw five or six of the women--their faces must have a thousand wrinkles, they have long braided hair almost to the floor, wear distinctive hats and hooped skirts over pants. And of course their clothing is the beautiful distinctive Peruvian woven colors.
We had a 91-year-old man come in today and when the doctor asked him what was wrong his reply was "I hurt all over." I'm not sure what they did for him but he passed his physical with flying colors--that is a very rare age up here in this area.
Yesterday we had a little girl brought in with a severe cleft palate and the dentist with our group thinks there's a very good chance he can refer her to a specialist in Houston that will do the operation without charge. The paperwork's already been initiated.
The stories just go on and on--a lot of them are tragic but many have good endings and some are even funny. One of our group escorted a woman to the pharmacy for antibiotics and while he was waiting an older man came over and got right in his face. Our member realized he was blind as a bat when he asked "Where America?" When told "Texas," he responded "Oh, yeah." Later when our group member saw him again the man was standing there looking through a dirty window and shaking his head. They had fitted him with a pair of Coke-bottle lens but he looked like he was amazed at the things he was seeing out the window with them. As our guy was walking over to congratulate him on his new glasses he turned and yelled out "Viva Texas!!!"
I've lost track of how many dental extractions I've assisted but we've had some tough cases and have done several wisdom teeth including one impacted one that was removed sideways without cutting the tooth in half--a very difficult procedure from what I was told.
Tomorrow will be our last day here and from what our group leader told us tonight, it may be our last trip here ever--if the government keeps its promise and employs doctors and medics here we won't be needed any more. That's what it's all about....
Of course I can't close out this post without a picture of one of the little girls who came in today. Her mother got the dental work but we had to take turns holding her because she was so small. In the picture you can see her big dark eyes and also her mother's missing tooth.
One more day tomorrow; Saturday to Cusco; and Sunday to Machu Picchu again......
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