An Atol Fiesta

Darren writes: 

Anyone who has ever served on a mission will testify to the remarkable humbleness, kindness and graciousness of the Salvadoran patients and volunteers at our missions.  One of the best parts of working for PazSalud in El Salvador is getting to continually interact with all those incredible people, many of whom I see on regular basis. 

During our recent eye surgery mission in Cojutepeque we performed a successful pterygium surgery on Maria Cruz (shown in the photo above).  One day she called me up to invite me to her house to drink atol, a typical, seasonal Salvadoran drink made from corn.  Because it's in season we also enjoyed some fresh ears of boiled corn-on-the-cob.  I made the trip to Maria's house with Yesenia - the indispensable local coordinator from both of PazSalud's missions this year - and her daughter Alison (shown below with the bowls of atol and fresh corn on the table).

Maria is poor and could not have afforded the surgery she received from PazSalud.  This was her way of saying 'thank you' for all PazSalud did to help her.  Here she is with family in the portal of her home, the place where company is always received in rural Salvadoran homes.

More from the Surgical Mission

Rod Butler sent us a sampling from his photos of the 2014 surgical mission, showing the group at work:

Above top, our volunteer nurse prepares patients for surgery; middle, surgeon Bruce and scrub tech in the midst of a cataract surgery; below, surgeon Tony with a patient.

And here is the surgical team, gathered at the Santisima Trinidad retreat house where the group stayed:

Darren sends the statistics for this hard-working group of volunteers:

• 58 surgeries
• 55 patients
• 48 cataracts
• 10 pterigiums
• 1 patient, two pterigiums 
• 2 patients, cataract and pterigium

Now that's a good week's work!

Surgery in progress

Susan writes:

Our 2014 surgery mission is taking place from May 10 - 19 at the National Hospital in Cojutepeque.  I'm not there this time, so I was thrilled that our good friend and most generous volunteer, Rossy Melara, posted photos from the mission on her FaceBook page. 

That's Darren, our PazSalud Coordinator, on the left; Rossy is in the middle, with Bruce and Terry on the right.  And here's a photo from inside the surgery suite:

I should be able to post more info about the week on Monday, when Darren and Kathy will have a bit more time.  This week, I know from five years' experience, they are completely absorbed in making sure that everything is done just right and in dealing with all the unexpected events that are sure to happen.

The patients this week were recommended for cataract surgery (or in a few cases to have pterygiums, growths from the conjunctiva, removed) by the examining optometrist.  Usually we only have patients from our General Medical Mission, held in San Pedro Perulapán, about a half hour's drive from the hospital, but this year we also have a number of patients from Estanzuelas who were recommended during a Bellingham Lions Eye Screening Mission.  This year marks an important first for us: for the first time, our surgeons will be using a Phaco Emulsifier - the equipment most often used for cataract surgeries in the U.S. - for many of the surgeries. 

Stay tuned for more news from the mission!

Before surgery

Darren writes:

After two group meetings/information sessions with our eye surgery patient candidates the next step for them is to complete the extensive series of pre-surgical exams at The National Hospital of Cojutepeque, the medical center hosting PazSalud for the Eye Surgery Mission on May 12-17.  Since we are only allowed to bring 5 patients per day for pre-exams and we hope to have 65 people participate in the mission, Yessenia - our local coordinator - and I have been slowly working our way through the group for several weeks now. 



Our days begin at 7:00 at the hospital when the group of patients meets with the social worker who helps them with the first step; getting a hospital file.  For many of our patients, this is their first time at the hospital, for some a first contact with Salvadoran doctors.  Connecting Salvadorans with their own government-sponsored, free health care system is one of the beneficial by-products of PazSalud missions.  Once the patients are registered at the hospital, the next step is to have a blood test, followed by a chest x-ray, an EKG and the taking of weights and measurements.  The days usually end by 1:30 with an internist interviewing patients to evaluate their fitness for surgery and so far everyone has qualified.  With a dozen patients to go we hope the streak continues.
 

Scrubs reborn

Darren writes:

A very special thank you goes out to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for donating over 35 new scrubs to PazSalud!  We were recently able to pass on this generous donation to Dr. Alfredo Enrique González, the Director of the National Hospital of Santiago de Maria - where we conducted our 2013 Eye Surgery Mission - who is now able to outfit his entire pediatric department personnel with free scrubs.  It is very common in El Salvador for hospitals to require that their employees purchase their own scrubs which places an extra burden on already stretched paychecks, especially among the lower-paid positions like nurses, techs and maintenance workers.  A donation of scrubs makes a big impact in the lives of individual employees at public hospitals who work tirelessly to care for the poorest people of El Salvador and who make our surgery missions possible.  Thank you PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center!

The photo below shows Dr. González (right) with Marvin Hernandez, who was our great partner in Estanzuelas and in last year's surgery mission in the small National Hospital at Santiago de Maria.

 

Getting ready for surgery

After our second meeting with prospective patients on Sunday we now have 51 residents of San Pedro Perulapán confirmed for PazSalud's upcoming surgery mission in May.  It was another great meeting where we got to talk to them about the process, how to prepare and what to expect.  Most importantly, we were there to answer their myriad questions about the surgery and calm their fears and doubts about a surgical experience in a major medical center like Hospital Cojutepeque.  For some of our patients, this will be their very first trip to a hospital for anything, let alone surgery.

Pre-surgery meeting

Darren writes:

During the general mission in February, PazSalud screens potential candidates for cataract or pterygium surgery at our annual eye surgery mission.  This year in May we will be working out of the National Hospital in Cojutepque, a town close to San Pedro Perulapan where the majority of our patients live.

On Sunday, March 16th we had a meeting with our patients to talk about the process, the surgery, the requirements and to address their many questions and concerns.  Last year we found that having this meeting dramatically increased participation in the surgeries.   A special issue this year is that Cojutepeque Hospital requires our patients to have a series of pre-exams in order to determine their fitness for surgery.

Yesenia, our local volunteer coordinator, organized the meeting.  We brought in Don Lito, a former PazSalud patient from San Rafael Cedros who received cataract surgery at Cojutepque Hospital in 2011, to talk about his experience and answer specific patient questions.

Rosa Aguiar, a community organizer from Comasagua who helped register the surgery patients and who will work with us in May during the mission, talked about the process of prepping and having surgery and the follow-up care.