Diabetes Care for Kaqchikel Maya

Dear friends, one of the things that amazes me the most about Wuqu' Kawoq's diabetes staff and program is how adaptable and capable they are, and how committed to patient care. This was recently demonstrated to me by two recent cases from last month. 

Since we are largely a referral diabetes program, patients tend to come to us after having failed to achieve adequate treatment for their diabetes elsewhere. As such, most of the time our diabetic patients are really quite sick and require a lot of individualized attention. In fact, many of them end up coming to us because they've been turned away by other clinics that feel they are too advanced in their diabetes to be treatable. 

Recently, two patients had to start peritoneal dialysis, because their diabetes was so long-standing and had caused such damage to their kidneys. This would normally be an insurmountable barrier, both financially and logistically, for the average patient. However, our excellent social work staff guided both patients through the entire process, accompanying them to their medical visits, picking up medication prescriptions, and so on. Our excellent nursing staff taught the patients how to watch their diets, prevent infection, and manage their home dialysis sessions. Our excellent logistics staff made sure that each patient had an appropriate place in the home to initiate dialysis safely. 

All in all, the experience made me feel so proud to be part of this team, which is consistently transforming and elevating the quality of care offered to patients with this difficult disease. 

As always, none of this would be possible without your support and encouragement! We ask that you please consider us once again this holiday season in your giving. Don't forget that Global Giving will allow you to give a donation in honor of a loved one!

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