Stories

3-17-2015

At the end of the day it's our stories that connect us, We all have them, regardless of our age, sex, nationality, education, income or religious beliefs.  Today was filled with stories.  Those we heard could fill a book, but you will read what can fit in the blog of one tired but blessed writer.

Our team was asked by Impacto Ministry to hold medical clinics on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Happy Tummies Facility. The medical team, headed by Impacto's Dr. Naturena, included our own physicians, Cecilia Norris  and Ian Law.  The clinic was geared to do health screenings for the Abuelitos and the children at the Happy Tummies Program.  We were told that when  word spread through the community, and it would, we would have others arrive and take advantage of the clinic. How true that was.

Once again, the trust of our "patients" can only be attributed to their faith. Little children were letting complete strangers look in to their eyes and ears and listen to their hearts and lungs. They answered questions about their diets and let us look at their teeth.  Two little guys,  who were probably under eight years old complained of sore mouths.  Upon examination it was discovered that  permanent teeth were growing where baby teeth hadn't fallen out.  Without regular dental care nobody would have seen that their gums were becoming swollen and sore.  Those little guys trusted us enough to hold their hands and tell them how brave they were while Dr. Naturena removed their teeth. With no parent to hold them they tried to hold back their tears.  They were, indeed, brave as they later showed off the empty spaces with big smiles on their faces.

A young village mother came in with her three year old son who was having chronic diarrhea and showed little interest in eating. Through an interpreter Dr. Law explained some options for her son's nutrition. It soon became  apparent that she really needed somebody to listen to her story. She had symptoms of gall bladder disease. In my broken Spanish I translated for him as she held her malnourished three year old and tears pooled in her eyes. As we continued to listen she shared that she had previously been diganosed with kidney cancer, but for many reasons that most of us can't comprehend: childcare, a family dependent on her, transportation, inability to afford treatment and nutrition limitations she was unable to follow through with the treatment. Dr. Law and I became quiet as we searched for words  He told her that he had no medical treatment to offer her, but he could offer to pray with her which she readily agreed to.  We held hands and exposed our hearts and souls in one of those honest conversations that most people don't want to have.  We prayed for healing, or at least freedom from pain. We prayed for safety and care for her children. We prayed for hope because that was the only tool in the medicine bag. She thanked us for our prayers as though we had just produced a miracle.  She told us that she had nothing to give us in return, but that she, too, could offer us prayers for health, safe travels back to the U.S. and the passion to continue what we were doing. By the time we had finished praying we were all in tears. When you strip away everything else we were all the same, just humans doing the best we could do with what we had.... and sharing a story.

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Later that afternoon another young mother from the village waited in line so that her 6 month old baby could be seen for a chronic low fever. After asking the usual medical history questions she wanted to make it clear that this baby was not hers.  She was providing care because the baby's  mother had recently had surgery for a brain tumor and was unable to care for her infant.  The mother was home, but would return to the hospital in Guatemala City the next day for more treatment. Family members who were trying to make ends meet and had their own children to take care of were trying to see that this baby had a good start in life.  It really does take a village to raise some children.

As the afternoon continued story after story was shared, in Spanish, Mayan dialect and broken English. It made no difference what the language was. There was no magic medicine in the bag. These human beings knew that we had traveled from "America" because we were interested in them and they needed to be listened to.  There was the construction worker who may have hepatitis. He had been working for months with abdominal pain, but he worked through it. He had people depending on him.  There was the young mother, whose was concerned because her 6 month old baby wasn't growing and developing like her other two children. One did not need a medical license to see that her daughter had some sort of birth defect. How do you tell a mother that this baby may never develop like her other children. Her eyes told the story of  the love and pride she had for this tiny child.  There was the "Abuelito", 76,  who complained of foot pain and swelling at the end of each day. It was only later that we came to understand the cause as we saw her walking up a steep hill with only thin sandals on her feet and a very large pile of wood on her head.

When we leave Guatemala we can only hope that we have helped these people in some way. We can't fix an entire population, but perhaps we can validate their existence, hopes, fears, trials and joys by listening.  One story at a time. We might learn something.