VEINTE CAMAS. (20 Beds)

This is what the locals call the new little government hospital.  It is a few miles away from our clinic, on the outskirts,too, on the other side of Ocosingo.  It has no name, and obviously, it has 20 beds.  I was delighted to take a tour with Patricia.  She is a newly graduated physician doing her 1 year of service here.  They do not have internships here, but an obligatory year of service, usually in an impoverished, out of the way facility.  She is about 4 feet tall, very bright, and has a big smile that covers her face.  She also just happens to be the novia, girlfriend, of our own Dr. Gerardo Cruz.  It is wonderful for him to have this medical connection.  Manos de Cristo is an out patient facility, and because of the licensing, can never be a full, inpatient hospital.  So when there are patients who are very ill, or who need emergency care, or surgery, he now can refer those patients. Previously, there was no connection, and the hospital might have rejected especially our Indigenous patients.  

The hospital is clean, with small areas for simple surgeries, deliveries, isolation, emergencies, and the 20 bed inpatient areas, divided for adults, peds, and nursery.  The day I was there we observed 4 day old twins born prematurely, one weighing a mere kilo, 2.2 pounds.  There wasn't a lot of supportive equipment, but the nurse was lovingly stroking his tiny head, filled with black hair, and feeding him drops with a syringe.  

Patricia proudly described all areas and introduced me to the staff.  It felt nice.  There are 4 physicians, one surgeon, one gynecologist, and 2 internists, it seems.  She emphasized that it was a good hospital, just very small and ill equipped to do a lot of things.  It is very busy, and she is learning a lot.  They treat a lot of Tuberculosis, pneumonia, other infections, and burns fron children falling into the open cook fires at their homes.  They cannot set broken bones, diagnose cancers (no mammography), or do any major surgery.  But they CAN do many things, and certainly complement the care we give at our clinic.  

Ultra sound in town.  20 Beds uses this facility as they have no technician to read theirs.

So, another day on the ground.  So much to see, appreciate, understand, and be grateful for.  I try to take my free time to do all of these.  I see God's hand in so many things, even things that seem as if they should be better.  But it is all how you look at things, what your perspective is.  Is the glass half full?  Or half empty?  I like to think of all of life as being very full, even in light of some emptiness.  My mother in law used to say, "It could be worse, better like this."

Bonfire for the young people at our little mission church.  40 attended for singing, prayers, and marshmallows!  

So, it is the last day of January, 2015.  The new year has well begun.  How will you look at the rest of the year?    I say, CELEBRATE, and look at the 1/2 full glass, and maybe work at filling the other half.  

The group arrives late tonight.  I look forward to the camaraderie, the joys, the tears, the questions, the living and learning a new way of life.  The medical decisions we make, are made with care and love.  God's hand is in all we do.  We hope to touch the patients, literally, with medical care and medicine, and with some quiet spiritual inspiration.  PRAY FOR US AS WE DO OUR BEST TO SERVE.

Bagging thousands of meds, lovingly!  

Carolyn