Another Letter from Guatemala: local MD helping the neediest

Dr. Sarah Beekley of Palo Alto, a Kaiser Permanente pediatrician, is on her fourth medical mission to Guatemala, working with a team of caregivers assembled by Faith in Practice (FaithinPractice.org). For more than 25 years, Faith in Practice has organized and facilitated volunteer US medical teams to Guatemala bringing health care to thousands of poverty -stricken villagers. Dr. Beekley and many of her Kaiser Permanente colleagues have joined these medical missions, raising donations for supplies and paying their own way to Guatemala and on to the remote villages. She writes more from a tiny mountain community in Guatemala’s El Peten state:

From Guatemala with Faith in Practice - March 15, 2018

No matter how many times I see it, it still shocks me. An 8 year old walking on an un-repaired club foot. A 2 year old with an open cleft lip and palate. An agricultural worker who has suffered from a hernia the size of a cantaloupe for over 10 years. I swing between admiration for their stoicism to anger for the lack of education, opportunity and medical services that prevent them from getting the help they need.

Each morning of our medical clinic I work in triage. Both the people with "tickets" provided by their community leaders, and those who have come with only the hope of being seen, over 2,200 people this week, flow through our triage tent. From there they are assigned to the one or more of our specialty areas. They then wait patiently again to be seen by the volunteer providers in Pedi, GYN, Adult Medicine, Dental, or Mobility (wheelchairs, etc). The youngest patient I saw was two weeks and the oldest 97 years. All were hopeful, gracious, and grateful.

Balancing the desire to provide the best possible care with the limited time and resources we can bring on our mobile medical clinics is one of our greatest challenges. The days are long, and we work hard, and we work fast. Sometimes though, one patient would stop me in my tracks. The 5 year old girl with one eye recently painful, red and enlarged for months. The beautiful and charming 9 year old with a large mass off the end of her tailbone since birth. The 15 year old with an increasing number of seizures (now almost daily) over the last 6 months. A 7 year old unable to open her hands due to scarring from burns many years ago. For each of these patients we were the first medical providers to address their problem. Ever. The weight of responsibility to find a way to help each of these patients is profound.

Fortunately, through Faith In Practice's (www.faithinpractice.org) network of paid and volunteer staff, surgical teams, and medical sub specialist, this first visit will lead to many more. From arranging appointments, to coordinating travel, to obtaining follow up in their own community, FIP works with the patients to ensure that they overcome the many barriers to care. Knowing that the care, and caring, continues after our team leaves provides the reward that keeps me coming back. It is the antidote to anger and despair.