Carolyn in Chiapas : MEDICAL CARAVAN, BLOOMINGTON. MAY/JUNE, 2014

As always, the week sped by.

The group has come and gone, many promising to return

Many already have returned over and over. An experience like this is life changing. It is a cross cultural experience where the old and new collide,

where the traditional and the open minded meet, where the haves and the have nots come together. Although it is not always clear who has, and who doesn't. It is a spiritual adventure that hits you in the face, cementing your faith, or helping you find it. It is a time of figuring out what God might have planned for you.

The second half of the Caravan week was good! We saw a total of about. 625 patients. Two days were a little light, as it down poured much of the day and night. There also have been Roadblocks, blocking all roads in and out of Ocosingo. These are not uncommon here. It is a means of protest. You may be aware that Comandante Marcos apparently has resigned from his head position in the rebel Zapatista movement. Don't know if this is really true, or why he would. As a result, another person of high rank was murdered, the killer was caught and jailed, and thus the protests. The common people are not informed. There is no violence. The roadblocks are to stop all cars and extract 50 pesos ($5) from each person. The police and military are nowhere to be found. They just allow it to happen. The same thing happened last year with the countrywide teachers' strike. The children are back at school, but nothing has changed. The same ineffective teachers returned. There was no government reform to improve the schools. The kids were held back because of missing almost 3 months of school. And now there is talk of more striking. So sad...

We saw a mix of patients, as always:

The old couple who couldn't remember how long they had been together. "Phew..tiene tiempo.." He said, so long ago. The man who received a single ampicillin pill for a UTI, from the govt clinic where they did not even do a urine test. He came to us to see if that was ok. Another gentleman was on the 2nd of 3 antibiotic injections for some unknown condition. And just like at home, some people need reminding not to attend duplicate clinics or doctors. People are trying us out! Many people are returning. They bring their papers from other caravans with them. We are starting to see compliance with patients actually taking their meds, with blood sugars and pressures in control, and pts returning for follow up.

Dr. Gerardo is building up a practice.

We counseled an obese lady, who drank cokes every day. And asked if other drinks (orange, or sugared mixes) were good. She had tremendous varicose veins. Next year Dr. Castillo plans to return to do laser vein procedures on the patients!

We saw a lot of patients with cataracts, for whom our reading glasses are ineffective. Some day maybe we could do cataract surgeries here. As always, the Oculista was busy fitting the reading glasses.

We saw a lady with a wound on the stump of her amputated leg, and another lady with a significant venous stasis ulcer on her lower leg. Of course we saw the gamet of patients with parasites and skin conditions. In carefully interviewing one family, the little boy declared he had not seen any worms in HIS stool, but had certainly seen them in the stool of his little sister. We treated the whole family, of course. We saw the little boy with the osteo chondroma. His abnormal bone growth seems unchanged. .