San Jose de la Cuesta – This community was founded in 1945. The current population is 294 inhabitants living in 63 houses. Sixty percent of these houses have washable latrines outside. All births occur at the hospital or the clinic, and the incidence of teen pregnancy is 4 percent. The community is almost at the end of the mountain, with the school and the church beside each other.
Quote for the day: “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” - Corrie Ten Boom. This quote captured the team’s day. We were very busy. When we should have been packing up to leave for the day, we still had 20 families to see. We had to put our faith in God and keep seeing one family at a time. We set up an additional station and I am happy to report that we were able to see everyone.
Teresa switched from deworming to the eye clinic today. She met an older man who spoke English and asked her a lot of questions. She gave him one of her crosses.
Sharon was the RN in the pharmacy today, and as a result was able to participate in several procedures. She did wound care, asthmatic treatments, and ear cleanings. She commented that it seemed to be a "social status" to get your ears cleaned as the girls were lined up for this procedure. Sharon treated Dixon, a three-year-old boy, suffering an asthma attack. Sharon performed three nebulizer treatments for him, at the end he was feeling much better, talking, eating and playing.
Dale's patients today included a 15-year-old girl who is wheelchair-bound after spinal surgery. The girl’s mother is her primary caregiver with her own health issues. Dale also saw a 69-year-old mother with a 17-year-old son with Down Syndrome.
Carlos observed that it was a busy day with lots of people and interesting cases in the medical clinic. One of his and Jessica’s patients was a lady with a foot ulcer for the last 11 years. He said she reminded him of the woman who touched Jesus’s garment because she had also suffered for a long time. He gave out his cross to her.
Michelle had a patient today with hives. The patient commented that she had started a new blood pressure medicine two weeks ago, and it first thought the hives were an allergic reaction to her new medicine. Dr. Moncada evaluated the patient and discovered that she and her husband had Chikungunya fever two months ago. The hives are a lingering residue from the disease. Michelle did lots of educating today with her patients about the importance of boiling their water to reduce intestinal discomfort.
Yolanda had the pleasure of seeing a 10 year old boy today, in a family with six other children. This boy had the most remarkably clean teeth. She was very impressed and told him he had the best teeth in the community.
