SUMMARY
Over the two weeks the medical clinic saw 1,531 patients.
Clinic #1:
778 (including 220 students from school)
46% adults. 54% children
Eyeglasses - SMA tested 447
Prescription and Reading glasses distributed
Clinic #2 :
753 patients
52% adults. 48% children
Eyeglasses - Rostro de Cristo test 300 + patients
Two pair of glasses to each patient and all sunglasses were distributed
Most common complaints adults:
Colds, Flu, Diabetes, Allergies, Sore throat, Headache, Vaginal infection, No appetite, Stomach pain, Back pain, Nausea
Most common complaints pediatrics:
Parasites/worms, Colds, Flu, Stomachache, Cough, Headache, Lice.
There were many compelling stories:
*A 29- year old woman has four children. The oldest is 16, which means she was a 13-year old mother.
*A 13-yare old pregnant patient came to the clinic with her 19-year old boyfriend, who appeared to be caring. Joe spent time counseling him.
*Another patient has been in pain with a fibroid growth since last year. Her husband was murdered five years ago and her oldest daughter was sexually assaulted and murdered in a family retaliation. The patient was afraid for her life and she fled that area. Currently she is in a relationship with a man who wants her to have his baby. He wants sexual relations nearly every night to get her pregnant. She had a tubal ligation several years ago because she was afraid of being raped and getting pregnant. She was of the understanding at the time that the tubal surgery could be reversed in the future. She has not told this boyfriend about their surgery. Even thought she is in pain, she wants to get pregnant, and does not want to have surgery for the growth thinking it could damage the uterus. Dr Del told the patient it is highly unlikely the surgery will be successfully reversed (and where would she get the money?) Dr. Del advised her to tell her boyfriend and if he loves her unconditionally he will understand and stand by her in the future.
*A 26-year old woman has Lupus and needs dialysis. She came in for a second opinion.
*A young man had a below-the-knee amputation because one leg was shorter then the other. It was his shorter leg that was amputated.
*An 87-year old man was hard of hearing and appeared to not be able to talk. They washed out his ear. He began to talk and say he could hear a little better.
*A grandmother brought in her 6-year old granddaughter with a greenish vaginal discharge. History involves the mother coming in and out of the child's life and often slaps her. The mother has a boyfriend but now he has left her. There is a possibility of child sexual abuse. Consulting was suggested with their Protestant minister.
*A young man in a wheel chair who was developmentally delayed. He also had a cleft lip.
*A very young girl recently had open heart surgery. She was here for a check-up.
*A woman had bladder cancer and the tube that had been inserted wasn't draining.
*A woman with an ovarian cyst and in pain was caring for her disabled daughter. The woman's mother was also disabled. It takes a 6 hour bus ride to check on her mother. The woman felt she didn't have time to have her cyst treated or surgically removed.
*There were many cases of diabetes that were caused by lifestyle and poor eating choices.
*Many cases of hypertension.
*A 7-year old child has seizures and sees the neurologist once a month. She didn't have the $15 for the bus ride. Dr. Del took money out of her pocket to pay for bus fare.
*Many cases of constipation. All eat a steady diet of rice, probably twice a day which tends to constipate.
*A patient with tuberculous was treated.
*A patient who is HIV Positive was seen.
*A patient with a bone infection was given meds and crutches.
*Several cases of prostate issues. A man brought in his dad who was 'old and ornery,' and difficult to live with. The son asked if he could leave his father there.
*Two siblings came in with general aches and pains. Even with the interpreter the women didn't seem to understand instructions for taking Ibuprofen. Dr. Del made them repeat the directions several times.
*One young boy said his complaint was that he was hungry.
Some of the typical, local goods that we tasted along the way were:
Plantains (like banaanas): Patacones/mashed and fried; Chifles/thin, deep-fried plantains (we loved them!); Madura con quesco - barbequed yum with cheese inside.
Soup with tripe
Seafood - Covina (sea bass). Ceviche with lime or lemon, chili and onion.
Starches - mashed potatoes, or cut up into soup
Yuca - yam - fried and tasted similar to potato chips.
Rice - endless amounts of white rice
Tropical juices - pineapple, papaya, star fruit (and powdered Tang.)
Hot sauce
FOLLOW-UP REFLECTIONS FROM A FEW SMA TRAVELERS/VOLUNTEERS:
Alyce Grissom: "From my wonderful new friends I have taken away a few things I hope to use in my life. One of them is Joe Kelly's want of looking directly at me when speaking . This gave me the feeling that he was really interested in what I had to say. I am going to work thta into my conversations in the future.
"Another thought that stuck with me was someone said, 'You can't paint everyone with the same paint brush.' Gosh, what a light bulb effec that had on me. I've been humbled with the love and generosity of my brothers and sisters."
Lee Cauble from her blog: Reflections on Ecuador "What an incredible 10 days I had in Ecuador. My initial reaction to the poverty was quickly replaced by a profound appreciation for the daily kindness of the people I met. On our first work day, we walked into the school yard with 8 large piles of rock and dirt waiting to be moved. It was going to be exhausting and rewarding. Our saving grace was the overcast sky and the relatively pleasant 85 degrees. This changed in the afternoon when the clouds cleared and he sun heated up. But we had more grace to come. Walter! I’ve said it before and I will say it again – He is superman! We learned that Walter is not only a guy who can work hard, he can move the community. On our first morning we were alone. We were 9 middle age (mostly) American men and women working with our Ecuadorian site supervisor to build this concrete court. Walter told us he did not know about our plan to do this project but that he would be sure we had help the next day. Sure enough as parents brought their kids to school they came over to start work on the piles. Men, women and even some children came to help. Some even brought their own shovels or buckets. One of our SMA crew learned that there were no plans to use reinforcing wire for our slab because there was not enough money in the budget. She asked Gabriel how much it would cost. $800. She went to the liaison from the church and had him take her to the supplier. She paid for the needed supplies out of her own pocket. She also had seen the saw Gabriel was using was not the sharpest tool. She bought him a new saw. The supplies were delivered later that day. She also learned that Gabriel had someone he worked with but again no money to pay him. Gabriel told her it would cost $20 a day. She said “get him here tomorrow.” Every day she pulled $25 from her pocket to pay him. (These were 9 hour workdays) When I found out, I gave her money to help with the next week’s salary.
"We mixed concrete on the ground with shovels. 10 loads of sand, 10 loads of gravel, 6 bags of concrete mix, add water and shovel like hell to mix. Place in wheelbarrow and role to prepared site. Level with a 2x1 and finish with a broom. That gets about a third of the area for each 8x40 foot section covered. So repeat. Oh I forgot to mention, at about 2pm each day the water would be turned off. This was just a habit of the caretaker to be sure water would not be wasted since school was out and usually there would be no need for water in the afternoon. (Water is delivered a few times a week via a tanker to fill the well.) After the second day, he got it that we needed water to be on till 4pm. We were sure to not let it run when not being used.
"At the end of each workday, Gabriel and Jose would go into the store room and change from their work clothes. Chris, our youngest team member at just 21, would go to one of the local “stores” and buy some beer. The term store is used lightly here. The store would be the front of someone’s home maybe with a case with some candy and a fridge with drinks. Some days he could get 6 bottles some days 4. Gabriel would finally sit down and he would begin with a story and then a song. All in Spanish that most of us didn’t understand. Well not the words, but we knew what he was singing because of the expression of his face and hands. He sang about loss and grief and tears and joy. Gabriel lost his wife 14 years ago and he is only 42. He has raised his 3 daughters and he is soon going to be a grandfather. One of his songs was about losing your love. On the day the bishop visited, Gabriel and Jose put their beer behind their chairs. We all found it very funny. Given the priest had just delivered a sermon about drinking on the previous Sunday, I guess not so surprising.
"On our last day Walter returned wearing a pair of yellow duck boots. At some point someone got a look at his feet. They were cracked and red. They took him to the clinic. They treated him and gave him medication to help heal the sores. John learned Walter’s shoe collection was limited. That day, John took off his shoes and socks, washed them out and gave them to Walter. John worked the rest of the day in a pair of flip flops.
"That last afternoon was really hot. We were all exhausted but Gabriel and Jose were not quitting. So we could not quit. But Chris and Ali had developed a following among the kids. By that afternoon the kids were glued to them. Next thing they were all playing a game that sort of looked like volleyball but using a soccer ball so they were throwing it over the net. Not as easy as it sounds. More kids joined in as their parents were waiting to be seen in the clinic.
"Final count for the week was 675 people seen in the clinic and another over 200 just for glasses.
"By that last day I saw more than poverty. I saw kind, generous, happy people who welcomed 26 strangers into their community and could not say thank you enough. I learned a lot that week. I learned I am grateful for the gifts I have been given in this life; my family, my home, clean water, bountiful meals, my health. Thank you neighborhood Guyca!"
Lin Cross: "I'm grateful to SMA (Joe, Mary Anne and Cheryl) for organizing this trip. This is my 4th SMA trip. I worked construction doing the heavy work of a man during this time. I thought I was in good shape for my age (67), but keeping up with Gabriel was something else.
"I'm especially grateful that I was able to provide a third-world experience for my 21-year old son, Christopher. This was his first international experience. Memories from this trip will last him a life-time. He faced those endless piles of rocks and pitched right in, working hard along the locals and the team. I saw another side of him. When Chris saw first-hand what poverty looks like he didn't turn away. Instead he went out of his way to befriend these poor children who hung on him like a 'rock star.'
"Each time I travel I am humbled and come back grateful. Here in the U.S. we are so privileged. We turn on tap water to wash fruits and vegetables without worrying if we will get parasites. We can drink the tap water, brush our teeth, and open our mouth in the shower. (We even have showers and don't have to bathe in the open or on the street while dipping water out of a 55-gallon barrel.) Here in this shanty town there is dirt and dust everywhere. There's never any soap for washing our hands after using the toilet and before eating. There was precious running water from the bathroom taps during the morning hours, but after the children left the water at the school was turned off and there was none available for flushing. Although if you could find a bucket, water could be dipped from a common barrel to flush. There was no toilet paper. and if we remembered to bring our own it could not be put in the toilet. Their sewer system isn't like ours either. Toilet paper must be disposed of in a trash container. But there was never a trash container to be found. In the U.S. trash containers can be found on nearly every corner. In this shanty town children and adults alike throw trash on the ground because there are no trash containers, because it cost money to pay for trash removable that these poor squatters don't have so it's left on the dirt roads, burned, or throw in the river. Picking up their own trash seemed such a simple concept to me until I learned there is more to the story... as is often the case. Yes, working here was physically hard work on these older bones, but it was an exceptional opportunity.
"This SMA mission trip has been an opportunity to strengthen and built upon the important three-legged stool lessons of life: keep in balance one's physical, emotional and spiritual growth."
Maggie Fleming: "Returning home to Michigan was comforting to say the least. To be able to sleep in my own bed, to see my family, to have the ability to turn on a faucet and have running, clean, fresh water was grand!! However; putting my comforts aside, I missed the smiling loving faces of our new friends in Ecuador. Even though I live a rather simplistic life-style, I feel very blessed and rich in comparison. We were told that in the standards of the Ecuadorians, that if you own a car, you are rich. I have everything that I need. I have a place to call home, choice of food to eat in my refrigerator, a closet from which I can choose my wardrobe for the day, loved ones, a job where I earn a decent pay, a local hospital where I can go in the case of emergency knowing that I will be seen and treated by a doctor within the next couple of hours. My children have the opportunity to attend school, go to college, and secure a job that will provide for their needs and then some. I will always cherish my time spent in Ecuador, as it far exceeded any expectations that I had involving the mission trip. The gratefulness expressed by the people that we served; the joy of life, the patience and humility were amazing. In addition to the wonderful people that we met, I had the chance to meet the others of our team. I am anxious to see them all again and look forward to the opportunity to work with them again on a mission trip in the future."
Over the two weeks the medical clinic saw 1,531 patients.
Clinic #1:
778 (including 220 students from school)
46% adults. 54% children
Eyeglasses - SMA tested 447
Prescription and Reading glasses distributed
Clinic #2 :
753 patients
52% adults. 48% children
Eyeglasses - Rostro de Cristo test 300 + patients
Two pair of glasses to each patient and all sunglasses were distributed
Most common complaints adults:
Colds, Flu, Diabetes, Allergies, Sore throat, Headache, Vaginal infection, No appetite, Stomach pain, Back pain, Nausea
Most common complaints pediatrics:
Parasites/worms, Colds, Flu, Stomachache, Cough, Headache, Lice.
There were many compelling stories:
*A 29- year old woman has four children. The oldest is 16, which means she was a 13-year old mother.
*A 13-yare old pregnant patient came to the clinic with her 19-year old boyfriend, who appeared to be caring. Joe spent time counseling him.
*Another patient has been in pain with a fibroid growth since last year. Her husband was murdered five years ago and her oldest daughter was sexually assaulted and murdered in a family retaliation. The patient was afraid for her life and she fled that area. Currently she is in a relationship with a man who wants her to have his baby. He wants sexual relations nearly every night to get her pregnant. She had a tubal ligation several years ago because she was afraid of being raped and getting pregnant. She was of the understanding at the time that the tubal surgery could be reversed in the future. She has not told this boyfriend about their surgery. Even thought she is in pain, she wants to get pregnant, and does not want to have surgery for the growth thinking it could damage the uterus. Dr Del told the patient it is highly unlikely the surgery will be successfully reversed (and where would she get the money?) Dr. Del advised her to tell her boyfriend and if he loves her unconditionally he will understand and stand by her in the future.
*A 26-year old woman has Lupus and needs dialysis. She came in for a second opinion.
*A young man had a below-the-knee amputation because one leg was shorter then the other. It was his shorter leg that was amputated.
*An 87-year old man was hard of hearing and appeared to not be able to talk. They washed out his ear. He began to talk and say he could hear a little better.
*A grandmother brought in her 6-year old granddaughter with a greenish vaginal discharge. History involves the mother coming in and out of the child's life and often slaps her. The mother has a boyfriend but now he has left her. There is a possibility of child sexual abuse. Consulting was suggested with their Protestant minister.
*A young man in a wheel chair who was developmentally delayed. He also had a cleft lip.
*A very young girl recently had open heart surgery. She was here for a check-up.
*A woman had bladder cancer and the tube that had been inserted wasn't draining.
*A woman with an ovarian cyst and in pain was caring for her disabled daughter. The woman's mother was also disabled. It takes a 6 hour bus ride to check on her mother. The woman felt she didn't have time to have her cyst treated or surgically removed.
*There were many cases of diabetes that were caused by lifestyle and poor eating choices.
*Many cases of hypertension.
*A 7-year old child has seizures and sees the neurologist once a month. She didn't have the $15 for the bus ride. Dr. Del took money out of her pocket to pay for bus fare.
*Many cases of constipation. All eat a steady diet of rice, probably twice a day which tends to constipate.
*A patient with tuberculous was treated.
*A patient who is HIV Positive was seen.
*A patient with a bone infection was given meds and crutches.
*Several cases of prostate issues. A man brought in his dad who was 'old and ornery,' and difficult to live with. The son asked if he could leave his father there.
*Two siblings came in with general aches and pains. Even with the interpreter the women didn't seem to understand instructions for taking Ibuprofen. Dr. Del made them repeat the directions several times.
*One young boy said his complaint was that he was hungry.
Some of the typical, local goods that we tasted along the way were:
Plantains (like banaanas): Patacones/mashed and fried; Chifles/thin, deep-fried plantains (we loved them!); Madura con quesco - barbequed yum with cheese inside.
Soup with tripe
Seafood - Covina (sea bass). Ceviche with lime or lemon, chili and onion.
Starches - mashed potatoes, or cut up into soup
Yuca - yam - fried and tasted similar to potato chips.
Rice - endless amounts of white rice
Tropical juices - pineapple, papaya, star fruit (and powdered Tang.)
Hot sauce
FOLLOW-UP REFLECTIONS FROM A FEW SMA TRAVELERS/VOLUNTEERS:
Alyce Grissom: "From my wonderful new friends I have taken away a few things I hope to use in my life. One of them is Joe Kelly's want of looking directly at me when speaking . This gave me the feeling that he was really interested in what I had to say. I am going to work thta into my conversations in the future.
"Another thought that stuck with me was someone said, 'You can't paint everyone with the same paint brush.' Gosh, what a light bulb effec that had on me. I've been humbled with the love and generosity of my brothers and sisters."
Lee Cauble from her blog: Reflections on Ecuador "What an incredible 10 days I had in Ecuador. My initial reaction to the poverty was quickly replaced by a profound appreciation for the daily kindness of the people I met. On our first work day, we walked into the school yard with 8 large piles of rock and dirt waiting to be moved. It was going to be exhausting and rewarding. Our saving grace was the overcast sky and the relatively pleasant 85 degrees. This changed in the afternoon when the clouds cleared and he sun heated up. But we had more grace to come. Walter! I’ve said it before and I will say it again – He is superman! We learned that Walter is not only a guy who can work hard, he can move the community. On our first morning we were alone. We were 9 middle age (mostly) American men and women working with our Ecuadorian site supervisor to build this concrete court. Walter told us he did not know about our plan to do this project but that he would be sure we had help the next day. Sure enough as parents brought their kids to school they came over to start work on the piles. Men, women and even some children came to help. Some even brought their own shovels or buckets. One of our SMA crew learned that there were no plans to use reinforcing wire for our slab because there was not enough money in the budget. She asked Gabriel how much it would cost. $800. She went to the liaison from the church and had him take her to the supplier. She paid for the needed supplies out of her own pocket. She also had seen the saw Gabriel was using was not the sharpest tool. She bought him a new saw. The supplies were delivered later that day. She also learned that Gabriel had someone he worked with but again no money to pay him. Gabriel told her it would cost $20 a day. She said “get him here tomorrow.” Every day she pulled $25 from her pocket to pay him. (These were 9 hour workdays) When I found out, I gave her money to help with the next week’s salary.
"We mixed concrete on the ground with shovels. 10 loads of sand, 10 loads of gravel, 6 bags of concrete mix, add water and shovel like hell to mix. Place in wheelbarrow and role to prepared site. Level with a 2x1 and finish with a broom. That gets about a third of the area for each 8x40 foot section covered. So repeat. Oh I forgot to mention, at about 2pm each day the water would be turned off. This was just a habit of the caretaker to be sure water would not be wasted since school was out and usually there would be no need for water in the afternoon. (Water is delivered a few times a week via a tanker to fill the well.) After the second day, he got it that we needed water to be on till 4pm. We were sure to not let it run when not being used.
"At the end of each workday, Gabriel and Jose would go into the store room and change from their work clothes. Chris, our youngest team member at just 21, would go to one of the local “stores” and buy some beer. The term store is used lightly here. The store would be the front of someone’s home maybe with a case with some candy and a fridge with drinks. Some days he could get 6 bottles some days 4. Gabriel would finally sit down and he would begin with a story and then a song. All in Spanish that most of us didn’t understand. Well not the words, but we knew what he was singing because of the expression of his face and hands. He sang about loss and grief and tears and joy. Gabriel lost his wife 14 years ago and he is only 42. He has raised his 3 daughters and he is soon going to be a grandfather. One of his songs was about losing your love. On the day the bishop visited, Gabriel and Jose put their beer behind their chairs. We all found it very funny. Given the priest had just delivered a sermon about drinking on the previous Sunday, I guess not so surprising.
"On our last day Walter returned wearing a pair of yellow duck boots. At some point someone got a look at his feet. They were cracked and red. They took him to the clinic. They treated him and gave him medication to help heal the sores. John learned Walter’s shoe collection was limited. That day, John took off his shoes and socks, washed them out and gave them to Walter. John worked the rest of the day in a pair of flip flops.
"That last afternoon was really hot. We were all exhausted but Gabriel and Jose were not quitting. So we could not quit. But Chris and Ali had developed a following among the kids. By that afternoon the kids were glued to them. Next thing they were all playing a game that sort of looked like volleyball but using a soccer ball so they were throwing it over the net. Not as easy as it sounds. More kids joined in as their parents were waiting to be seen in the clinic.
"Final count for the week was 675 people seen in the clinic and another over 200 just for glasses.
"By that last day I saw more than poverty. I saw kind, generous, happy people who welcomed 26 strangers into their community and could not say thank you enough. I learned a lot that week. I learned I am grateful for the gifts I have been given in this life; my family, my home, clean water, bountiful meals, my health. Thank you neighborhood Guyca!"
Lin Cross: "I'm grateful to SMA (Joe, Mary Anne and Cheryl) for organizing this trip. This is my 4th SMA trip. I worked construction doing the heavy work of a man during this time. I thought I was in good shape for my age (67), but keeping up with Gabriel was something else.
"I'm especially grateful that I was able to provide a third-world experience for my 21-year old son, Christopher. This was his first international experience. Memories from this trip will last him a life-time. He faced those endless piles of rocks and pitched right in, working hard along the locals and the team. I saw another side of him. When Chris saw first-hand what poverty looks like he didn't turn away. Instead he went out of his way to befriend these poor children who hung on him like a 'rock star.'
"Each time I travel I am humbled and come back grateful. Here in the U.S. we are so privileged. We turn on tap water to wash fruits and vegetables without worrying if we will get parasites. We can drink the tap water, brush our teeth, and open our mouth in the shower. (We even have showers and don't have to bathe in the open or on the street while dipping water out of a 55-gallon barrel.) Here in this shanty town there is dirt and dust everywhere. There's never any soap for washing our hands after using the toilet and before eating. There was precious running water from the bathroom taps during the morning hours, but after the children left the water at the school was turned off and there was none available for flushing. Although if you could find a bucket, water could be dipped from a common barrel to flush. There was no toilet paper. and if we remembered to bring our own it could not be put in the toilet. Their sewer system isn't like ours either. Toilet paper must be disposed of in a trash container. But there was never a trash container to be found. In the U.S. trash containers can be found on nearly every corner. In this shanty town children and adults alike throw trash on the ground because there are no trash containers, because it cost money to pay for trash removable that these poor squatters don't have so it's left on the dirt roads, burned, or throw in the river. Picking up their own trash seemed such a simple concept to me until I learned there is more to the story... as is often the case. Yes, working here was physically hard work on these older bones, but it was an exceptional opportunity.
"This SMA mission trip has been an opportunity to strengthen and built upon the important three-legged stool lessons of life: keep in balance one's physical, emotional and spiritual growth."
Maggie Fleming: "Returning home to Michigan was comforting to say the least. To be able to sleep in my own bed, to see my family, to have the ability to turn on a faucet and have running, clean, fresh water was grand!! However; putting my comforts aside, I missed the smiling loving faces of our new friends in Ecuador. Even though I live a rather simplistic life-style, I feel very blessed and rich in comparison. We were told that in the standards of the Ecuadorians, that if you own a car, you are rich. I have everything that I need. I have a place to call home, choice of food to eat in my refrigerator, a closet from which I can choose my wardrobe for the day, loved ones, a job where I earn a decent pay, a local hospital where I can go in the case of emergency knowing that I will be seen and treated by a doctor within the next couple of hours. My children have the opportunity to attend school, go to college, and secure a job that will provide for their needs and then some. I will always cherish my time spent in Ecuador, as it far exceeded any expectations that I had involving the mission trip. The gratefulness expressed by the people that we served; the joy of life, the patience and humility were amazing. In addition to the wonderful people that we met, I had the chance to meet the others of our team. I am anxious to see them all again and look forward to the opportunity to work with them again on a mission trip in the future."