June 29, 2012
Today we returned to Coya. We set up at the municipal building just as we did in week two. Unbeknownst to us, today was the Day of St. Peter so everything was closed. We were able to get someone to open up the building and we set up the clinic. We had a lot of interesting patients and my last patient of the day, and of the trip, was an elderly woman who had vision difficulties. I ended up diagnosing her with severe hypertension, a pterygium that was growing over her pupil, and a suspicious mass growing over her teeth. None of these would have been seen had we not been there to provide care.
Today's clinic completed our 4 week mission to ease the medical burden of our friends and patients in the Sacred Valley of Peru. By all measures we consider this experience a great success. The final numbers need to tallied and medicines counted, but it is safe to say that we have provided direct care to over 2500 men, women and children in need. Having personally seen several hundred myself, I have been touched the great need and the great generosity of these people. For example, last week we were in a small town named Quihuay. At the end of the day, I was asked by a lady to see her grandmother who was sick, could not walk, and could not hear. Tiffany Moadel and I trecked up to the home and found our patient sitting on the dirt, sorting corn. She had been in this condition for years and had been declining. While it was believed that she could still stand with help she no longer had the strength to walk. To move she crawled on all fours and rarely left her home. Throughout all of this she still trudged along with her same routine for nearly a decade. In the moment there was little we could do, but I remembered that we had a couple of walkers at the hotel. While leaving the village gave us a feast of quinoa soup that was delicious. The next day while we had clinic in Lamay, I continued on the bus and dropped the walker off at a nearby health post. While I couldn't see her use the walker, the excitement they had knowing that we were bringing a means to make her mobile again made my day. Hopefully the gift will extend her life and increase her independence.
This trip has been enjoyable, and rewarding. I look forward to continuing on similar trips throughout my career and afterwards.
Clark Madsen, CCLCM MS5
Today we returned to Coya. We set up at the municipal building just as we did in week two. Unbeknownst to us, today was the Day of St. Peter so everything was closed. We were able to get someone to open up the building and we set up the clinic. We had a lot of interesting patients and my last patient of the day, and of the trip, was an elderly woman who had vision difficulties. I ended up diagnosing her with severe hypertension, a pterygium that was growing over her pupil, and a suspicious mass growing over her teeth. None of these would have been seen had we not been there to provide care.
Patients waiting to be seen
And done!!
Today's clinic completed our 4 week mission to ease the medical burden of our friends and patients in the Sacred Valley of Peru. By all measures we consider this experience a great success. The final numbers need to tallied and medicines counted, but it is safe to say that we have provided direct care to over 2500 men, women and children in need. Having personally seen several hundred myself, I have been touched the great need and the great generosity of these people. For example, last week we were in a small town named Quihuay. At the end of the day, I was asked by a lady to see her grandmother who was sick, could not walk, and could not hear. Tiffany Moadel and I trecked up to the home and found our patient sitting on the dirt, sorting corn. She had been in this condition for years and had been declining. While it was believed that she could still stand with help she no longer had the strength to walk. To move she crawled on all fours and rarely left her home. Throughout all of this she still trudged along with her same routine for nearly a decade. In the moment there was little we could do, but I remembered that we had a couple of walkers at the hotel. While leaving the village gave us a feast of quinoa soup that was delicious. The next day while we had clinic in Lamay, I continued on the bus and dropped the walker off at a nearby health post. While I couldn't see her use the walker, the excitement they had knowing that we were bringing a means to make her mobile again made my day. Hopefully the gift will extend her life and increase her independence.
This trip has been enjoyable, and rewarding. I look forward to continuing on similar trips throughout my career and afterwards.
Clark Madsen, CCLCM MS5
This trip is very enjoyable and i read it and sharing to it.Pictures from previous trips are very nice.Wow, Fantastic Blog, it’s so helpful to me, and your blog is very good.Thanks
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