GUERRERO MEDICAL CLINIC SPRING 2008
As they say,
"what goes on in Mexico stays in Mexico". Consequently Paula's dance will not appear on this web site.
(the actual reason is that the movie file is too large. Sorry gang.)
Paula, Laura, Isabel and Josh bring toys and take kids from the orphanage for ice cream in Guerrero
Thursday morning7am
Good morning. My apologies for no postings yesterday afternoon but Walter put me to work on the roof. I guess you can say my title for yesterday was "Piddler on the Roof". Sorry about that...
Today will be another busy day. Walter and I started preparing the clinic at 5am and I drove back to pick up the breakfast crew at 5:30. The sunrise was spectacular with the red hues as the sun rose over the mountains past the orchards. Believe it or not, it made getting up at 4:30 worthwhile. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me at the time.
Tonight will be cookout night, an evening enjoyed by all (in spite of my cooking).
Here are yesterday afternoon's pictures
Robert...
Buen día. Mis disculpas por no reportarme ayer en la tarde, pero Walter me puso a trabajar en el techo. Por ello imagino que podías haberme llamado –por ayer solamente- “El ´pipidor´ en el Tejado” (por aquello del “Violinista en el Tejado”). Perdón por el mal chiste.
Hoy será otro día muy ocupado.. Walter y yo empezamos las preparaciones en la clínica a las 5 a.m., y manejé de regreso a recoger al grupo de la fajina del desayuno a las 5:30. La salida del sol fue espectacular, con tintes rojizos mientras sobresalía sobre las montañas y las huertas de manzanos. Créelo o no, esto valió la pena que me levantase a las 4:30 a.m. Desafortunadamente no llevaba mi cámara entonces.
Esta noche será noche de cocinar al aire libre, una noche que todos disfrutamos (a pesar de mis cocinados).
He aquí las fotos de ayer.
Roberto…
Municipalities in the State of Chihuahua bus patients to the clinic. Others find their own way. One lady I spoke with yesterday walked an entire day to make it from her village to the clinic.
Los municipios en el estado de Chihuahua envian pacientes a la clínica por autobús. Otros buscan como llegar. Una señora con la que hablé ayer había caminado todo el día para llegar de su pueblito a la clínica.
Hills surrounding the clinic as seen from the roof
Las colinas alrededor de la clínica, vistas desde el techo.
Four year old girl getting her first pair of glasses.
Una niña de 4 años recibiendo su primer par de lentes.
The clinic welcomes the honorable Mayor of Guerrero, Senior José Gabriel Almeida Ochoa.
Thank you for visiting us this morning.
La clínica da la bienvenida al Honorable Sr. Presidente de Guerrero, Sr. José Gabriel Almeida Ochoa.
Gracias por visitarnos esta mañana.
Jose, the 9 year old boy returned to the clinic this morning for a follow up after his surgery yesterday
José, el niño de 9 años, regresó hoy en la mañana a la clínica para el seguimiento de su cirugía ayer.
Wednesday morning 8am
It is day 2 at the clinic and all the volunteers were exhausted at the end of yesterday. A little rest did everyone good. This morning we arrived at 6am to probably 50 patients waiting in the dark for the clinic to start. Everyone was patient (no pun intended) and in good spirits.
I mentioned the 9 year old boy who had cataract surgery yesterday. He is in the waiting room this morning with his patch removed waiting to see the doctor. I plan to post pictures of him later today.
Below are the remaining pictures from yesterday,
Miércoles en la mañana, a las 8
Hoy es el día 2 en la clínica; al final del día ayer todos los voluntarios estaban exhaustos. Un poco de descanso hizo bien a todos. Esta mañana llegamos a las 6 a.m.; había probablemente 50 pacientes esperando en la oscuridad a que iniciara la clínica. Todo mundo estaba muy paciente (sin doble sentido…) y de buen humor.
Mencioné al niño de 9 años a quien operaron de cataratas ayer. Esta madrugada está en la sala de espera ya sin el parche, esperando ver al doctor. Planeo poner fotos de El mas tarde hoy.
bajo las fotos que faltaban de ayer.
Thank you to the Houston City Club for donating a set of fine dishes, enough to feed all of the volunteers
Gracias al Houston City Club por la donación de un fino juego de platos, suficientes para alimentar a todos los voluntarios
The young boy in the pictures below is 9 years old. He came to the clinic for cataract surgery
El niño en la foto tiene 9 años; vino a la clínica para una cirugía de catarata
Tuesday afternoon 3:30pm
We are now in high gear with the first day challenges conquered. I watched a cataract surgery on an older that has not been able to see out of the eye for the last year. I'm about to go in and watch a 9 year old boy have cataract surgery. Here are more pictures from this afternoon.
Martes en la tarde, 3:30 p.m.
a conquistados los retos del primer día, hoy estamos listos y a todo vapor. Ví una cirugía de catarata en una persona mayor que no ha yenido vista en su ojo durante el año pasado. Estoy por entrar a ver como le hacen cirugía de catarata a un chamaco de 9 años. Van mas fotos de esta tards
Tuesday morning
The volunteers arrived for breakfast and to start the day. Some moved slowly but all were excited about getting started. The breakfast crew started preparing at 6am and a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, cinnamon toast, grits, and of course coffee awaited the group.
Patients waited for hours before we arrived and now, at 9am, the chaos of moving patients and training new volunteers is under way.
Martes en la mañana
Los voluntarios llegaron a desayunar y a empezar el día. Algunos se movieron lentamente, pero todos estaban excitados acerca del empezar. Los de la fajina de desayuno empezaron a prepararlo a las 6 a.m., para recibir al grupo con huevos revueltos, tocino, salchicha, biscochos, pan de canela tostado, papas rayadas y, por supuesto, café.
Los pacientes esperaron por horas desde antes que llegarámos y ahora, a las 9 a.m., el caos de mover pacientes y el entrenar nuevos voluntarios ha iniciado.
Monday night. Somewhere in the sky between Dallas and Chihuahua.
The adventure begins My son, Joshua, and I are on the plane heading from Dallas to Chihuahua. Naturally the plane is about an hour late so we feel bad for Rodolfo, who graciously volunteered to pick us up. We are both excited to come back to the clinic. This will be my third trip and the 2nd for my son who will graduate high school in a couple of months. Quite honestly, it was Josh who pushed for us to come back now. He had such a tremendous experience in the fall of 2006 and was so disappointed that he could not return with me last fall due to the college process. He has burned the candle at both ends to be able to accompany me and even gave up a crew competition this weekend. Currently he is fast asleep for a well deserved rest.
We will have about an hour and a half drive from the airport to the clinic tonight. I anticipate getting up early for breakfast duty. At least we gain two hours due to the time change. This is my first trip to a spring clinic and I'm interested to see the differences. I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
Depending on what Walter wants me to do tomorrow will determine how soon I will post current activities. Stay tuned and check back soon.
Robert Yudkin (editor)
Josh and Robert at airport in Dallas