InvasiveThoughts.com

Jane Shafer with a young patient

“Our team generally consists of 80 people. Doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, surgeons, vision team, dental team, kitchen team, translators and 12 people on the community development team (the “Stove Team”). The largest portion is nurses. Helps also has [about] 20 team members that include the coordinator, translators, social worker, and community development team members. We did 86 surgeries this past year. (The most we have ever done.) We saw 1,355 patients in our medical, dental and vision clinics.”

Describe the specific projects you undertook to assist the people.

Jane: As an RN, I worked in surgery from 7 a.m. until 9 or 10 p.m., but sometimes it [would] be as late as midnight or 1 or 2 a.m. Surgeries included: removal of painful gall bladders, hernias (some as large as a softball), hysterectomies, removal of ovarian cysts, emergency Cesarean Sections, cleft lip repair, cataract surgery, removal of extra digits (fingers or toes), and revision of burn scars. Many young children have suffered severe burns from falling in the open cooking fires. 

John: Initially, we installed an efficient, vented, wood burning stove in each home and another stove outside for cooking beans, or boiling the corn used for making tortillas. After installing stoves in 200 homes over 3 years, we are now doing what we call a Guatemalan home makeover. This consists of white washing the walls to provide a brighter atmosphere and to reflect more light, providing a concrete floor in the room where we install the stove, installing the 2 stoves, and installing a water filter to provide a source of clean drinking water (this eliminates most of the problems of intestinal maladies).

What sort of injuries result from the daily activities of the people? What sort of medical care is needed?

Burns. Hernias from carrying heavy loads on their backs or heads. Several have cataracts from living at high altitude and not having any eye protection.

What is it like to provide healthcare to a community that does not have access to many antibiotics or treatments, or advanced surgical equipment?

That is the most humbling part of my job. Many of my patients have lived, literally, years with a severe cleft lip, a large ovarian cyst, large painful hernias, a prolapsed uterus, severe blinding cataracts, or painful gallstones. That is my greatest joy to see them relieved of these painful conditions. They are extremely humble and patient and are most grateful for any surgery or medication, or even a simple supply of vitamins.

Please tell us about one of your most memorable experiences.

Jane: We had a mother who was 41 years old having her 9th child. She had diabetes and was overdue. She required an emergency Cesarean Section when her labor wasn’t progressing and the baby went into distress.

The baby weighed 11 lbs and needed full resuscitation and chest compressions at birth. We continued bag and mask ventilation for 2 hrs and the doctors and nurses were not hopeful, regarding his outcome. He was very sick and was intubated and required continual ventilation, due to the fact that he [had] swallowed meconium and inhaled it in his lungs at birth [ed. note: meconium is the early stools of an infant, consisting of material ingested while in the uterus (wikipedia)].

We turned over our care to the minimal Guatemalan staff late that evening. Early the next morning I went to check on him and was overjoyed to see him extubated and breathing on his own! This baby was on the road to recovery.  I felt like I had witnessed a miracle. I was so proud of “my” big baby.

Another time I clearly remember a beautiful 16 year old being led into the clinic by both her parents. She was blind from cataracts. It was amazing and exciting to see her walk out of there on her own after cataract surgery.

[And] another time I recall caring for a 26 yr old man who had lived with the terrible deformity of a severe cleft lip all his life. It was so heartwarming to see the transformation [that took] place after his surgery. We had a young woman who had lived with a 12-pound ovarian cyst for [many] years. I can’t imagine the pain she must have endured living with that large cyst.

John: My most memorable experience occurred in 2009. We had installed stoves in the village of Secache in 2007, returned with water filters in 2008, and began our Guatemalan home makeover endeavors there in 2009.

The Guatemalan lady who was the head of the Women’s Council of Secache had presented us with a hand-written proclamation thanking us for our efforts in 2007. I saw her again in 2008 and was not surprised to see her in 2009; however, I was surprised that her house was on our schedule for a make-over. I asked the Helps Community representative about this, because I had figured she would have received her stoves in 2007. The Helps rep told me that she was scheduled to receive her stoves in 2007 but a relative had wanted a stove and didn’t get selected; so she gave her stoves to this relative – she felt the relative needed the stoves more than she did.