By Frank Peterson | President
We frequently hear from our donors that they are amazed at how much Partner for Surgery has been able to accomplish in Guatemala. And yes, we are very proud of the many thousands of people we have provided with medical care but we have not done it alone. In 2008, Partner for Surgery started a Guatemalan partner organization, Associación Compañero para Cirugía (ACPC), with the intent of Guatemalans eventually leading all the day to day activities. Together, we have now become the pre-eminent organization providing health and medical care in many of the Guatemalan rural communities.
An indicator of success can be seen in the significant increase of government medical personnel and community midwives in the referral of newborns with cleft anomalies to our Cleft Infant Nutrition Program. Several years ago, almost all the infants with clefts were first seen at our rural medical missions. Now, over 85% are referrals, which means the infants remain in better health and can qualify for surgery earlier than before.
We are currently looking for both medical and non-medical volunteers for our week long rural medical missions. During the week we visit four villages, numerous Mayan homes and also include a cultural day in the area. These missions provide a unique personal look into the life of rural Mayan communities which have a cultural history of almost 3,500 years. Please let us know if you have an interest in more information such as activities, dates and costs.
Below we would like to share a couple of patient stories and how with the help of proper medical care we were able to change their lives.
PATIENT STORIES
Juan
Three years ago, Juan looked for help from the national health system after a mass began to form on his neck and face, however he was told that nothing could be done. Living in a very hot area, he would wear a hoodie everyday in order to cover the mass, but he would still get bullied, significantly lowering his self-steem.
In June 2016, we identified him during one of our rural missions, and a surgery was scheduled with a neck specialist from Cape Breton. In the following surgical mission in February 2017, Juan's mass was removed, and so was his hoodie.
Juan simply could not believe the before and after pictures we showed him. A few weeks later, he called us and told us how much we were able to change his life. He found himself a job and a girlfriend.
All he needed for a life change was the opportunity to receive proper health care.
Sandra
Sandra visited us because she felt several lumps on her breasts. Before visiting us, she was scared after she was told she could have breast cancer, and her mind was set that she would not be able to overcome this.
We encouraged her during her visit and asked her to let us help her the best way we knew. We had recently started a breast cancer program with a high focus on education and help with surgeries when needed.
Sandra's pathologies were clean and her lumps were removed during our February surgical mission. She thanked us for giving her another chance in life.
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