Partner for Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:05:00 +0000

Guatemala’s Women: Moving Their Country Forward | U.S. Department of State Blog by Melanne Verveer who serves as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.

From the first time I visited with then-First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1998, Guatemala's natural beauty and the warmth of its people, particularly the strength of its women despite many hardships, have left me with a special affinity for this Central American country. However, it has also long been a place rife with challenges. Even after the 1996 peace accords were signed to end the 36-year internal conflict, Guatemala has continued to struggle with malnutrition, poverty, corruption, organized crime, and high rates of violence against women.

Despite these challenges, my recent visit to the country has convinced me that Guatemala is beginning to address them, particularly gender-based violence (GBV) and other crimes. A big part of this change is due to women's leadership in key positions.

After a brief stop in Peru with Secretary Clinton, I had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala City and Antigua, where I met with government and civil society leaders to address GBV and discussed ways we can better collaborate to prevent, respond to and address this global scourge. As part of our efforts to stem GBV in Central America and create a more effective network of women leaders working to prevent and respond to GBV, I was proud to launch the new Mujeres Adelante ("Women Moving Forward") program, a collaboration with the Seattle International Foundation. Mujeres Adelante will bring emerging leaders from Central America to the United States for skill and capacity building. This will enable these leaders to raise awareness of and accountability for responding to GBV.

These networks and initiatives are vital to continuing the fight against GBV. And yet, as we have learned over the years, a strong civil society must be complemented by a government committed to addressing this violence -- from its root causes all the way to its devastating consequences. Under the leadership of women like Vice President Roxana Baldetti, former Supreme Court president Thelma Aldana and Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, as well as strong civil society leaders like Norma Cruz, who won an International Women of Courage award from the State Department in 2009 for her work leading Fundación Sobrevivientes, a shelter that helps rebuild women after brutal attacks, Guatemala is addressing impunity and making justice a reality.

During my visit, I met with Guatemala's president, Otto Perez Molina, who told me about the special courts his government has established to adjudicate cases of femicide -- the act of killing a woman simply because she is a woman -- and the work his government is doing to ensure that GBV is addressed on all fronts. "We can't leave women behind," he told me emphatically.

At Norma Cruz's Fundación Sobrevivientes, I was impressed not only by the facilities, but by the women and families who graciously shared their stories with me. It was a place of angels, they told me, and I agree. Thelma Aldana and Claudia Paz y Paz each told me about fighting to make Guatemala's 2008 laws against femicide real: they will soon inaugurate a brand new 24-hour court specifically for women survivors. A report Ms. Aldana gave me indicates that 46 percent of all 2011 sentences in Guatemala were issued by these courts. In other words, six judicial bodies produced almost the same number of sentences issued by approximately 100 criminal courts across the country. Attorney General Paz y Paz told me both of challenges -- lack of training for judges and police and scarce resources -- but also of the extraordinary progress she and her team are making in bringing perpetrators to justice.

In Antigua, I met with indigenous women artisans who are literally stitching their future, ending malnutrition and bringing income to their communities with the help of one of our WEAmericas cohort women, Lucrecia González. This kind of economic empowerment is crucial to providing women with opportunities to leave abusive situations.

Of course, like many countries all over the world, Guatemala has a long way to go. There was a harsh reminder of this during the launch of Mujeres Adelante itself -- one of our alumni from the first tranche of the initiative, Helen Rojas, was attacked on her way to the event. And yet, unwilling to be silenced, she stood up and spoke about how committed she is to addressing GBV, and how the training we offered her this past year in the United States has fortified that commitment. Like the Vice President, the former Supreme Court president, and the Attorney General, Rojas is a symbol of Guatemala's women, bound and determined to transform their country for the better. As we look ahead to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 and the accompanying 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, we can take inspiration from the women of Guatemala who are on the frontlines, working tirelessly and selflessly to create a world free from the senseless abuse of women and girls.

Visit state.gov/s/gwi/ for more information on the Office of Global Women's Issues at the U.S. Department of State, follow @S_GWI on Twitter, and visit our Facebook page for more pictures from Ambassador Verveer's travels.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Amy Petrocy recently completed her practicum with Partner for Surgery. She is in her second and final year at Ohio State getting my Masters of Public Health.

She was with us for two months this summer, primarily working with our Targeted Infant Nutrition Program (TINP) and and Cervical Cancer Prevention (CCP) program. In this picture, she cradles a child who was born with severe cleft lip and palate, and who was so malnourished he was was unable to be a candidate for corrective surgery. Thanks to the TINP, he has started to grow ad gain weight, and will be able to get the surgery he needs.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:43:00 +0000

Latin America lost nearly 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 square miles) of forest — an area larger than the state of Oregon — between 2001 and 2010, finds a new study that is the first to assess both net forest loss and regrowth across the Caribbean, Central and South America. Guatemala is the second to the worst hit (see chart below).

This disturbing trend can be more closely watched thanks to geo-mapping. Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0819-latin-america-deforestation.html#ixzz246KiAFNS http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0819-latin-america-deforestation.html

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:16:00 +0000

It is hard for most of us to imagine living a life like this:

Was he born this way? No! This happened when he was innocently helping his Mom hang wet clothes on the rooftop of her employer's house. He hung his on a live wire by mistake. His skin melted and fused, and the scar tissue resulted in his arm being like this.

He is lucky to be alive, of course, but unable to do much with his right arm.

See an "after" picture of this young man at our Launch Party for children's surgery on September 11th in Washington DC, and other "before" and "after" pictures of brave young children. This event is FREE.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:21:00 +0000

FREE!!! Spread the word! Ambassador Villagran co-hosts. Join former Peace Corps Volunteers and others who know and love Guatemala, for a launch of a social media campaign to raise money for Maya children ready for surgery.

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 11, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Location: Busboys & Poets Langston Hughes Room, 14th & V St. NW, Washington, DC. Please RSVP on Facebook. Spread the word, share it, add it to your profiles!

Millennials in Our Midst

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:57:00 +0000

There is not much I can add to this great rant by Scott Gerber (brought to me by Beth's Blog), except to say, I hear you brother! Partner for Surgery in the US works with college interns from the Washington metropolitan area, and they are the most driven people I have ever seen. I realize my college years were so relaxed in comparison. My heart goes out to them.

http://www.bethkanter.org/mcon12-keynote/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bethblog+%28Beth%27s+Blog%29

World Bank Promotes Building of Cell Phone Towers in Central America

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:34:00 +0000

Environmental degradation is sure to occur with the building of the towers, but don't people deserve to have a way to communicate?

The World Bank’s private equity investment arm, IFC, is providing US$120mn in financing for Guatemalan mobile infrastructure provider Continental Towers for the building and maintenance of mobile phone towers across Central America, the former said in a release.

Continental Towers was established in Guatemala in 2008 and is the result of an alliance between Terra Towers and investment bank Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), and has since expanded to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama.

According to this article, Continental Towers works to reduce the cost of leasing towers, which gives smaller companies greater access to facilities, and allows larger companies to expand into remote areas which would otherwise be unprofitable.

http://news.co.cr/world-banks-ifc-to-fund-central-american-cell-phone-tower-expansion/10320/

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:34:00 +0000

Johns Hopkins University ( http://bit.ly/TIZqA ) specializes in innovative ways to solve public health problems in developing countries. Partner for Surgery uses the method they developed for detecting and treating pre-cancerous cervical cancer called Visual Inspection by Acetic Acid or VIA http://www.partnerforsurgery.org/cervical_programs.asp. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in Guatemala.

We are thrilled that Johns Hopkins has received yet another huge donation from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Since graduating from Johns Hopkins in 1964, Bloomberg has given $800 million to his alma mater.

Thank you Johns Hopkins for thinking beyond the borders of Maryland, USA, and thank you Mayor Bloomberg for supporting their work.

The picture below shows Ministry of Health nurses in Guatemala learning the VIA method in a week-long training organized by Partner for Surgery. 5,000 women have been screened in just the past few years .....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:01:00 +0000

How do you reconcile helping people outside of your own country? Our donors where this is the case (as opposed to our Guatemalan donors) have a variety of reasons. For some, children are children, wherever they live. For others who travel a great deal, the world is a global community and we learn and suffer together. Some donate to the places they have visited or have some connection. And others choose to diversify their donations just like they diversify their investments-- to balance their portfolio.

Whatever your reasoning, thank you for donating to Partner for Surgery. Your donation goes a long way-- our overhead is only 10%. To see our most recent audit and other financial information, go to http://www.partnerforsurgery.org/Financials/audit-2010.pdf

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:29:00 +0000

People sometimes ask us, "Why Guatemala?" Even without the connection our co-founder had to Guatemala (Todd Peterson lived there as a Peace Corps Volunteer), we would find Guatemala compelling. We urge you to visit and see for yourself. Help us in our work to make all parts of Guatemala livable for its children and future generations.

If you cannot visit, read the work of Nobel Prize–winning Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales, be swept away by the poetry of Otto Rene Castillo, or jump into the novel :The Rest is Silence" by Augusto Monterroso. And of course, there is Nobel-prize winning Rigoberta Menchu....

2012 Program Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:58:00 +0000

It has been a looooong while since we have posted, but we have been busy:

Targeted Infant Nutrition (for children with cleft lip/palate):

In 2012 We are expanding the number of infants served, and exploring alternatives to formula--help expressing milk, breast pumps, preparing local foods--and we are training local Midwives in these new methods.

Challenge Campaign:

The collective challenge we have given ourselves in 2012 is to reach more kids with cleft lip/palate within two days of their birth. The campaign will be rolling out in the next month or two.

Cervical Cancer Prevention:

We have screened 200 women already this year, and continue to train Guatemalan Ministry of Health nurses to detect and treat cervical cancer in its precancerous stages. We are honored to have been asked to present at a Cervical Cancer Conference in Guatemala this June.

Surgical Missions:

For the first time, in 2012 we will be prepositioning surgical supplies for the use of US, and Guatemalan, volunteer doctors. Securing and storing supplies is expensive, but more doctors will be able to volunteer as a result.

Patient records:

We have developed a system for quick retrieval of patient records. It was challenging when so many languages (English, Spanish, Mayan). We will be able to share records with local clinics.

Mobile Medical Missions:

We have already had three missions to remote areas in 2012, and helped 500+ people.

Thank you, all volunteers!

News from Partner for Surgery: July to September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Partner for Surgery) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:20:00 +0000

The summer has been busy... Maynor is a helpful and courageous boy who always has a smile for everyone. As his mobility is restored, Maynor has a lot to smile about.

Read more about Maynor and Partner For Surgery's summer activities..

Mayan Families Family Aid Program: Great News for Cristobalina!!

noreply@blogger.com (Partner for Surgery) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:13:00 +0000

Mayan Families Family Aid Program: Great News for Cristobalina!!Christobalina was brought by Mayan Families Family Aid Program to our July surgical mission with Faces of Hope. The story of a courageous and talented young girl, as she receives some much needed help ...

Ten Years and Growing: March - June 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Partner for Surgery) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:55:00 +0000

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, Partner for Surgery continues to transform lives. The last three months have seen medical missions, surgical teams, a successful fundraiser, new staff and recognition from Rotary International. The work goes on, with our patients providing the inspiration to move forward. Read more...

Medical Triage in El Quiché in May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Partner for Surgery) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 20:36:00 +0000

Partner for Surgery medical triage mission in May 2011.
Destinations are Chupol, San Juan Cotzal, Sacapulas, and Chicaman, all in Department El Quiché.

In Chajul, Volunteer Becky visits with Fredy's sisters. Fredy was a cleft baby who was placed on the Partner for Surgery nutrition program, allowing him to gain weight and thrive with enriched formula and a special nurser designed for babies who cannot suck properly.

Director of Rural Operations Fife Bentley asking about Fredy, a cleft child who was put on the PfS nutrition program, which likely saved his life. Fredy will be programmed for cleft repair surgery once he gains enough weight and is old enough.

Fredy with his grandmother and older sister.

Arriving in Chajul for a home-cooked lunch of Boxboles, squash leaves steamed with corn polenta and served with spicy tomato-based or peanut-based salsa.

The Partner for Surgery triage team awaits instruction on where to setup their examination rooms and equipment just prior to the medical mission in Sacapulas, El Quiché, Guatemala.

Volunteer Becky reading in Spanish to local children outside the medical center in San Juan Cotzal, El Quiché after a successful triage.

Centro de Salud (Local Health Center) in Chupol, El Quiché, Guatemala. Patients have lined up early to be screened for surgery

The Partner for Surgery Triage team visits the Iximche Ruin on their cultural day.

Volunteers Becky and Lynn overlooking La Antigua, Guatemala, from the Cruz del Monte path. Volunteers met up in Antigua for the medical mission.

May Quiche Medical Mission

noreply@blogger.com (LynnS) — Sat, 07 May 2011 16:35:00 +0000

We are awaiting the arrival of the remainder of the team. Dinner with the team this evening. We depart Sunday morning- destinations are Chupol, San Juan Cotzal, Sacapulas, and Chicaman, all in Department El Quiche. We will post updates and photos as we are able.

Frank Peterson awarded Rotary's highest honor -- Service Above Self Award.

noreply@blogger.com (Marybeth Haneline) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 04:26:00 +0000

Frank Peterson, President and Co-Founder of Partner for Surgery, was awarded the Rotary International's highest honor-- Service Above Self Award.

Rotary is a worldwide organization of over 1.2 million members. While many Rotarians distinguish themselves through service; the Service Above Self Award recognizes those outstanding few who have indeed made service a way of life. Only 150 or fewer individuals receive the Service Above Self Award each year.

Read more ...

Partner for Surgery Founder Frank Peterson Honored

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:24:00 +0000

Partner for Surgery founder Frank Peterson was recently named recipient of the Service Above Self Award by the Rotarian International Club. Read more about Frank and the award in the attached McLean Sun Gazette Newspaper article.

Dr. Stolee's Surgical Mission 2010 - A Photo Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Marybeth Haneline) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:25:00 +0000

Dr. Stolee's Surgical Mission 2010
A Photo Journal

Click on Images to Enlarge

Our Perham based surgical mission headed for another mission in Guatemala. We started our planning in February in order to have smooth travels now. We found team members from Fargo, Moorhead, Pelican Rapids, Fergus Falls and Perham.

We drove down to the Twin Cities Wednesday October 20th. We got up at 2:30 am Thursday to get to the airport on time. As usual, we had to pay for every bin over one per person.

We had more than the usual hassles in customs. It took 2 hours for them to look through every bin and check every bottle of meds that we brought. It is very frustrating that people get in the way of helping other people.

We drove to Antigua and checked in to our hotel. We then took a brief walking tour. This gentleman gave us a tour of the original cathedral. The cathedral was first built in 1545 (just 53 years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue). It was destroyed and rebuilt several times over two centuries before the city was abandoned.

We gathered for a meeting and supper at Frida's. Everyone was excited to get going.

Bev Wirth (a member of our team last year who could not make it this year) made scrub caps for us this year including this special one for me that was presented at dinner.

Pat Glynn (our anesthetist from Fergus Falls) made a friend.

We took a tour of Common Hope. For half the team, this was the first time.

Gina Nelson (Pelican Rapids) got to visit her sponsored child.

This is where he normally sleeps. The hole in the wall was created by a boulder rolling down the mountain during the recent heavy rains.

This is the group hiking up to visit Betty's sponsored child.

This is the view from the trail.

Our men's group at church (The Fishermen) sponsors a child. This is the family of Josue. Josue was working in the city and could not attend the visit (this is their summer school break). Josue is 15 years old and going into 9th grade. Most boys in Guatemala don't even finish 6th grade.

This picture of their microwave reminded me of the back of our microwave after we moved from Los Angeles.

This is the contents of the bags of food that we brought to the families on our visits.

We ate lunch at Common Hope. Brenda (nurse from Perham) met this little girl there.

Later, someone in our group saw this group of kids being moved from one school building to another.

Brenda got a kick out of this: she paid for a pop and she was given this bag and a straw and they poured the pop in the bag.

We needed to do some shopping for our lunches for the coming week so we got a taste of Guatemalan grocery shopping.

Saturday morning we headed to San Juan Sacatapequez where our surgical suites are set up. We unpacked the bins and got to work right away.

These are some of the people waiting to be examined by the surgeon. They have been previously checked by triage teams closer to their home towns but need to have their surgery confirmed and scheduled.

Amberlee Jackson is a nurse from New Mexico who volunteered to serve as our translator. Sometimes there was an additional translator from Qi'che to Spanish. I would then approve the surgery and discuss the risks and benefits with the patient or family.

Pam (left) was our administrator. She used the information I gave her from the triage to set up the schedule. She did a great job and tailored a schedule that started ridiculously hard and got progressively better through the week.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team unloaded bins and set up the preop, OR and recovery areas.

This one is not happy to be at the clinic.

This little one has an umbilical hernia. I was showing him how I could make it go away.

Pat Glynn loves the little kids, even when they are scared of him.

He would sing to them as they went off to sleep. Most were soothed by his calming voice.

Every hernia in Guatemala is bigger, more scarred and more difficult than we see in the U.S.

Upon awakening from anesthesia, the kids were usually happy. The parents were always grateful.

I saw all the patients each morning on rounds in the Alberge (patient shelter).

This little girl does not look frightened at all.

Pat is explaining what will happen back in the O.R.

He walks her to the O.R.

Since she sees Pat as kindly, she doesn't mind taking the anesthesia.

After a successful surgery, she is in the able hands of Brenda.

Felipe (right) is the director of Partner for Surgery in Guatemala. He made all the arrangements for our transportation, hotels and food while in country. His wife (Dr. Lopez - left) was the Guatemalan doctor responsible for our patients. The medical school that runs the clinic we were in wants a Guatemalan doctor to supervise all surgical activities. She was very helpful.

At night the clinic has armed guards. They look imposing but Pat was able to make friendly. Note the height difference.

We were doing 10-13 cases per day so I was one tired hombre by the end of the day.

Another cutie at the clinic.

This child is one hour postoperative a hernia repair.

Pat gives the kids a stuffed animal before they go off to sleep and that is the first thing they ask for after they wake up.

Some were entertained by books after surgery.

In attendance of this child are parents and gerentes/promotores (these are part of the Partner for Surgery team - they help the patients get signed up and find their way to the clinic).

Another happy child going off to sleep.

Yes, there was an operating team there.

The whole team worked seamlessly together to provide compassionate care. This is the recovery room team.

Juanita (right - now the manager of environmental services at Perham Memorial) resumed her prior role as our sterilization tech. Rick came along with Pat Heaton and functioned as Juanita's lackey.

Corin Boese and Sara Bergeron are ICU nurses that adapted well to their roles as circulating nurses in the O.R.

Here is the whole team wearing the hats made by Bev (who couldn't make this trip).

Here is the cap in action.

Pat and Pam at the end of a hard day - still smiling.

What do you think has this group so captivated?

They are watching me take this off (sorry to disappoint but I am omitting the gross pictures).

I made sure all the patients were doing well before we left. They departed for home the day before we did. They had up to 17 hours of travels ahead.

We finished the week by packing up the remaining materials and taking inventory.

Our hosts at the clinic put on a short ceremony for us after we packed up. Pat gave a nice toast. They gave us each a small gift to remember Guatemala.

This is the whole team with the Guatemalan nurses and doctors as well.

After closing up shop, the ladies went to the market to shop.

Some rode the Tuk Tuks back to Casa Damasco (the retreat center where we stayed - more or less a hostel).

San Juan Sacatepequez is the center of a large kite festival November 1st. Unfortunately we missed the festival but we got to see lots of people making or flying kites. This one was the cutest.

Right before heading back to Antigua we took one more group shot.

Once back in Antigua, everyone got right to shopping.

Being it was Halloween weekend, a few superheroes turned up.

The colors of the market make an interesting contrast to the colors of the Guatemalan mountains and ruins.

We were invited for drinks to the house of Linda Peterson. She is the wife of Frank Peterson, the founder of Partners for Surgery. We had cheese and crackers on her roof and watched the volcano puff away.

Thar she blows.

We had our last meal together at a nice restaurant called El Arco. We had the best filet mignon ever for the price of regular steak.

Linda Peterson joined us for the dinner.

I will include a couple last miscellaneous photos from the trip. Here Betty gets her brow wiped after heating up in the afternoon.

This would be typical transportation for people (and our patients) in Guatemala except there usually isn't a railing.

Pat Glynn and I have been quite a team the past two missions. It is a lot of stress and time to put together a team like this. Pat is going to take at least a year off to focus on his family.

Goodbye Guatemala for another year.

Changing Lives, One Patient at a Time

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 03:50:00 +0000

Sunday January 10th – Monday, January 11th, 2011. Comunidad de Ruiz, San Juan, Sacatepequez, Guatemala. On Saturday, January 9th, a 17-person team of surgeons, nurses, operating room technicians, translators and support staff - calling themselves Team Renova – walked out of Guatemala City International Airport. Upon arrival, they were met by Partner for Surgery (PfS) staff members Christine Record and Felipe Sutantri and shuttled northwest to the complex of facilities we commonly refer to as the Centro de Salud Bárbara (CSB) – a modern surgical center and a pre- and post-operative residence facility for patients and their families located in this small town on the outskirts of San Juan. PfS jointly shares and operates the surgical center at CSB with our Guatemalan partner organizations Compañero en Salud (CenS) and Asociación Compañro para Cirugía (ACPC). At about the same time as the surgical team was arriving, so too were 67 surgical candidates who had been identified during our rural medical “triage” missions over the last several months. In addition to the patients themselves, in most cases entire families made the journey together in support of their ailing loved one. Men, woman and children of all ages traveled up to eight or more hours in search of the life changing, sometimes life-saving surgery that the volunteer surgical team can provide. Yesterday (Sunday, January 10th), I made the hour long trip from Antigua to the CSB.

One of the patients that immediately caught my eye was Lucia Pop, a 16 year old girl who was here at the CSB for the second time. She’d traveled the over 180 kilometer, eight hour journey with her parents in November 2010, but was turned down because the reconstructive facial surgery she needed was beyond the expertise of the team of volunteer surgeons who staffed that mission. November’s surgical mission had been organized by Dr. Joseph Giordano. Recently retired, Dr. Joe had worked as Emergency Room Director, and more recently Chief of Surgery, at The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC. One of the organizers of Team Renova, Dr. Philip Iorianni had trained under Dr. Giordano, and Doctor Phil was determined to deliver the surgical care that Lucia needed and so desperately desired.
As a result of a condition that first presented when she was a week old, Lucia arrived Saturday with what looked like a severely swollen black left eye. In fact, she had a naturally occurring sac of blood corpuscles under the eye – a disfiguring condition that worsens if untreated, but which could have routinely been corrected when she was a small child. Unfortunately, access to routine medical care for those who live in remote areas of this nation, not to mention the specialized care Lucia needed, is in nearly all instances a non-existent luxury.

While her parents had accompanied her in November, on Saturday, Lucia had to travel the eight hours alone because her mother went into labor as they were preparing to leave. So, unable to speak a word of Spanish (she is from an area where the Mayan dialect of Keachí is spoken) she set off alone, determined to break free of a condition that, according to Lucia, caused great shame, often kept her out of school, and isolated her inside her home and away from friends. Essentially, it was robbing her of the childhood she deserved. Upon her arrival, Lucia reported that her condition made her “feel ugly,” and that she was depressed and sad about the way she looked. “Before I learned I could receive treatment,” she said, “I did not want to go on living with my face like this.”

On Monday morning, I had the privilege of speaking with Lucia, through two interpreters, just a short time after she had been wheeled out of surgery into the recovery room. According to Dr. Iorianni, the surgery was a smashing success. Check back to this site in the coming days to see post-operative pictures of Lucia and an interview with Dr. Iorianni. (Brian Carome is Director of US Operations at Partner for Surgery, a not-for-profit organization based in McLean, VA and operating in Guatemala.)

Let me introduce you to Santiago, age 5-months

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:39:00 +0000

Saturday, January 8th, 2011. Near Chiché, Quiche Guatemala. At 6:20 am on Saturday, Frank and I drove out of Antigua, and began a trek designed to orientate me to our Infant Nutrition Program (INP). At just after 9 am, we arrived in Santa Cruz del Quiché, the bustling commercial capital of the Department (State) of Quiché. Twice along the way the four lane highway was reduced to two where repair work was underway to replace 500 yard stretches of roadway that, following heavy rains, had plummeted into the valleys, and in some instances, the homes below. In Santa Cruz we were joined by Diego Aurelio Cordova Toma, a Guatemalan nursing student who is one of the Rural Coordinators of our INP. It would be Aurelio who would introduce me to the families of two infants – Santiago Isaias (age 5-months, shown at left with his mother Josefa Morales Guarcas) and Mely Tzalam (age 4 months) – both of whom were born with clef lips and palates so severe that their mouths were unable to latch on to their mother’s breast. As a student at Boston College, I had frequently spent long afternoons at the Kennedy Library. There I had seen the archival footage of Bobby Kennedy’s journey into the heart of Appalachia, used to demonstrate his awakening to the shocking condition that some American families lived in. Today, walking into this remote Aldea (small village), I too was startled by the poverty around me. I will write more about Mely in the March 2011 edition of our newsletter. Here I will share a little bit of the Isaias’ story.

The Isaias’ home is five kilometers from the nearest paved road and over 300 yards from the small adobe church where we parked our car. It’s about 300 yards from the well that serves the surrounding area. Their home is constructed of mud, stick, cardboard and plastic. Their “kitchen” consisted of an open fire on the packed mud floor. The Isaias family, like the other families in this tiny rural enclave, are without work because of the dry conditions that currently exist in this agricultural region. I was startled by the poverty. I was also struck by the wealth of spirit, generosity, pride and playfulness I witnessed (pictures of my visit will be posted to this blog upon my return to the states next week).

I was immediately drawn to Santiago, noticing at the same time his beautiful, brightly alert eyes and what looked like the tip of a pinky finger protruding out of his mouth. Often thought of as an unsightly facial deformity, the severe form of clef lip and palate that Santiago was born with can be a death sentence because he cannot latch on to his mother’s breast. The survival rate for children like Santiago is grim. Market rate formula, let alone the supplies needed to prepare and serve it, are financially out of reach. Partner for Surgery’s INP offers Santiago and children like him their only chance for a normal life.

Santiago was born at home with the assistance of a mid-wife. Once he came to the attention of Aurelio in December, when he was four months old, he and his family were entered into our program and immediately brought, for the first time ever, to a hospital where he was evaluated against standards of healthy infant development. He was then sent home with the same chart that parents of children in the U.S. receive during their child’s first healthy-visit to a pediatrician, usually on or around the third day after birth.

The goal of our INP is to perform the facial and respiratory passage surgery needed to close the palate and nasal cavity and construct a full upper lip. Even infants who survive into childhood remain at risk of respiratory infection if the palate is not closed. An underweight child will not survive the reparative surgery that a volunteer surgical team can provide. Aurelio’s job is to work with Santiago’s parents to usher the child toward nutritional stability and normal weight benchmarks, providing them with low or no cost formula and the skills they need to use it effectively.

Aurelio began by teaching Santiago’s parents how to properly prepare and serve the formula. During each return visit – one to two times a month – he’ll weigh Santiago and chart his overall growth. He’ll also continue to instruct the family in safe preparation of the formula. I look forward to the day when I meet the post-surgery Santiago and he returns my smile with one as beautiful as the dark bright eyes that followed me around as he sat peacefully in his mother’s lap on Saturday. In my next posting, I will be sharing my first ever observation of a surgical mission in action. (Brian Carome is Director of US Operations at Partner for Surgery, a not-for-profit organization based in McLean, VA and operating in Guatemala. He will be writing here about his visit to Guatemala through January 12th.)

The Fire is Lit, Now for the Real Guatemala

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:06:00 +0000

Friday, January 7th, 2011, Antigua, Guatemala. I think the legal term for what happened is “spontaneous utterance.” Whatever it’s called, when, with the advantage of sunlight, I was able to take in my immediate surroundings yesterday morning (Thursday, January 7th), I exclaimed “oh, my God” at the spectacular sight of Mount Fuego, one of the many active volcanoes that stand out as exclamation points in this culturally rich and beautiful nation. Spewing ash into the blue sky above, Fuego, I now understand, foretold the fire of passion, respect and awe that would be lit inside of me as the hours of the following two days unfolded.

As you may have come to expect, my days begin with a run. The Antigua morning rush hour I now know is a mix of bicycles, buses, pedestrians, diesel trucks, mopeds, motorcycles and SUV’s. In opting to put in a morning run, the choice is often between glancing downward to navigate the cobblestone streets and rutty paths beside the roadway, or upwards to avoid the rush of oncoming traffic on the paved roads. What’s obvious is that at 6:30 am, this nation and its people are already hard at work.

Since my arrival at Partner for Surgery last November, I’ve developed a growing appreciation for the hard work that our staff here on the ground are engaged in day by day. Yesterday, I spent 9 ½ hours with our leadership team here – Director of Rural Operations Jessica Momberg, outgoing Director of Operations and External Relations Felipe Sutantri and Director of Operations and External Relations (In-Training) Christine Record. With their front-line service and office support staff, these faces of Partner for Surgery blanket a wide swath of this predominantly rural country with the systems, structures and caring expertise needed not only to deliver quality, life-saving medical care, but the training and knowledge that the Guatemalan people need to respond to their own community health care needs. During this all day staff meeting, we evaluated our successes and challenges and created renewed vision for evolving our approach and focus in the hope of expanding our impact in the year that lies ahead. This evening, we met in Guatemala City with the leadership of our Guatemalan partner organization Compañero en Salud, and mapped out an exciting new vision of cooperation between our two organizations to meet even more of the existing need in the years to come.

Tomorrow morning the focus of my orientation switches to what our staff here refer to as the “real Guatemala.” At 6:00 am, Frank and I head out of the city of Antigua into the rural heart of the country where we will visit with some of the families being served by our Infant Nutrition Program. I imagine that the long journey from Arlington, Virginia through Guatemala City to Antigua might in retrospect seem like a scenic stroll once I’ve seen life outside of these two cities. (Brian Carome is Director of US Operations at Partner for Surgery, a not-for-profit organization based in McLean, VA and operating in Guatemala. He will be writing here about his visit to Guatemala through January 12th.)

Meeting Good People Along the Way

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:57:00 +0000

6:00 am, Antigua Guatemala. After yesterday’s pre-sunrise run, I completed some frantic last minute packing and began my journey with cab ride to the McLean, VA home of Partner for Surgery (PfS) founder and President Frank Peterson and his wife Linda -- my seasoned colleagues, travel-mates and guides on this, my first ever trip to Central America. Like the night prior to so many of their previous missions to Guatemala, the Petersons had been kept up Tuesday night deftly squeezing essential medical supplies and equipment – including an Ohmeda Anesthesia Gas Monitor, a sophisticated medical device essential to surgery – into the six oversized suitcases we were transporting down with us. We boarded the first of our two flights for the day at 11:20 am. Skipping forward over a day of both pleasurable and educational conversation for me, at just before 8 pm local time, I was getting my first glimpse from the air of the lights of Guatemala City – a scene not unlike my first-time arrival in other major cities. Temperature on the ground – lower sixties after what the pilot said was sunny afternoon in the mid 70’s. Gracefully we breezed through customs without having to pay any unexpected or burdensome import taxes for the donated medical supplies we were carrying and met our driver Jorge – a Guatemalan citizen who once taught driving lessons in Annandale, VA – at about 8:30 pm. In the airport at baggage claim, the Petersons had an unexpected but welcome meeting with Ricardo Umana, former Chief Justice of the Guatemalan Supreme Court and a longtime friend of the organization. Our bags were quickly thrown on top of Jorge’s tourist van and we joined about seven other international travelers for the one hour drive to Antigua. (La Antigua Guatemala ("The Old Guatemala") served as the capital of all Central America from 1543 until 1773 – source: http://www.mayalandia.com/guatemala/colonial-history.php.

As we approached the center of Antigua, paved roadway turned to cobblestone streets and I got my first quick look at local businesses – restaurants, small hotels, a gym, a sushi bar, a gas station, a local market stocked floor to ceiling with provisions of daily living – in this quant and cosmopolitan small city of 31,000 (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala). I spent the entire drive chatting with two American Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV’s) both of whom were returning from holiday visits home – Alicia Swift from Oregon and Aliyya Shelley from the San Francisco Bay area. Both know Jessica Momberg, PfS’s Director of Rural Operations, a former PCV herself. Alicia talked of her work in the Peace Corps Healthy Schools Program evaluating and monitoring the delivery of curriculum in Guatemalan elementary schools that introduces concepts of everyday best health care practices to school children in rural communities. She also spoke about her familiarity with international volunteer engineer missions working to improve access to affordable, accessible water. Aliyya, a third year PCV, now supports the work of over 30 first and second year volunteers who work with teenage girls and young women to promote behaviors and decision making that create economic opportunity and sustainable family planning. Alicia, a graduate of the University of Oregon, reflected on how her experience in the Peace Corps and rural Guatemala was challenging her to grow personally and professionally, reminding me of the early years of my own career working in a shelter for homeless adults in Washington, DC in the mid 1980’s. Their lives and career choices deeply impacted by the work in Guatemala, both talked about their plans to pursue degrees in public health or a similar field.

Finally, a few minutes before 10 pm, Jorge dropped us and our luggage at the Peterson’s home in Antigua. Just before the van departed with the remaining passengers, Aliyya generously advised me on a suitable route for my Thursday morning constitutional run. At the house, we settled in, Frank orderly arranged the medical supplies we’d brought and, after a quick snack, we said good night and called it a day.

Memories of the journey and the conversations I’d had throughout the day, great wonder about what beauties and treasures that sunrise will reveal, and anticipation for the 8:30 am staff meeting and the new introductions it will offer are the thoughts crowding my mind at the close of this exciting day. During our layover in Dallas, I learned that a last minute glitch was threatening to disrupt our long planned and painstakingly arranged training of Guatemalan Ministry of Health nurses later this week in Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. Trouble shooting? Brainstorming improvisational solutions? Adjusting expectations for this important effort to detect and treat cervical cancer. Which blend of these activities will greet me in the morning? (Brian Carome is Director of US Operations at Partner for Surgery, a not-for-profit organization based in McLean, VA and operating in Guatemala. He will be writing here about his visit to Guatemala through January 12th.)

A World Away or Closer than I Imagine?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:15:00 +0000

6:50 am ET, Arlington, VA. In just a few hours I’ll board a plane at Dulles International Airport and begin my journey to Antigua, Guatemala beginning a new and important phase of my orientation as Director of US Operations at Partner for Surgery, an organization I came to work with on November 1st, 2010. I am just back after my daily morning run along the Custis Trail. The temperature in Arlington this morning was in the mid 30’s. Even at 6 am, the hum of rush hour traffic on I-66 was already buzzing. I wonder how that will compare to rush hour in Guatemala City. Along the run, I tried to assess my expectations for this trip.

I’ll be meeting the staff and leadership of our independent Guatemalan partner organization, Compañero en Salud (CenS), as well as my colleagues at Partner for Surgery’s Guatemalan headquarters in Antigua. There will be lots of new names, faces, stories and languages – both Spanish and the many Mayan dialects spoken by our patients, staff and many translators. I’ll have a chance to see a team of volunteer surgeons and other health professionals from Montgomery County, MD at work in our surgical center in San Juan, Sacatepequez starting next Sunday. And as a husband and father of four daughters, I am particularly interested in hearing about the success and challenges of the training we are sponsoring this week of Guatemalan Ministry of Health nurses in the use of an innovative protocol to detect and treat cervical cancer among women in remote Mayan villages. I am told that during the training we’re expecting upwards of 1000 women, all of whom are coming in to be screened for cervical cancer.

What other images might I encounter as I step off the plane in Guatemala City later this afternoon and head west to Antigua? For the last 25 years, I have worked locally here in the DC metro area with children, adults and families who were homeless. How different will those experiences prove to be when compared to the medical and health education services Partner for Surgery delivers in Guatemala? I am about to find out. (Brian Carome is Director of US Operations at Partner for Surgery, a not-for-profit organization based in McLean, VA and operating in Guatemala. He will be writing here about his visit to Guatemala through January 12th.)

Benefit Opera coming up Friday at 8:00...

noreply@blogger.com (Marybeth Haneline) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:23:00 +0000

Reminder of the Benefit Opera coming up Friday at 8:00. Be sure to stop by and enjoy the music and support Partner For Surgery...

Visit http://www.partnerforsurgery.org/opera-benefit.asp for more information....