Guatemala tugging at our heart strings. (Our chicken heart that is)

It's only been half a day and our team has been hard at work troubleshooting and repairing a variety of devices in the MPSC operating rooms. But first, a little background, we drove a couple minutes from our hotel to the clinic which was rather hidden from the outside. It was in the middle of a lot of warehouse type buildings but in the inside we encountered a clean and organized clinic with several relatively sophisticated surgical suites. We soon learned that this is where a group of Vanderbilt ophthalmological surgeons performed 65 surgeries in 4 days. Perhaps I should repeat that, 65 surgeries on children in the span of 4 days!
Even though the building was surrounded by razor sharp barb wire, the inside was comfortable and inviting. After a quick tour of the facilities, the team got to work. Ally and Anna tested an anesthesia monitor for use in measuring ECG, temperature and blood pressure. Nate and Miranda opened up a patient vitals monitor in another operating room and tested its ECG and blood pressure readings. Casey and Sara performed surgery on some chicken meat. Just kidding. But they did test the functionality of a recently donated electrosurgical unit (ESU) by making some incisions on a chicken that our driver Israel helped us pick up at a local market.

I'm not sure how I feel about them being this happy after performing surgery on chicken meat.

We ate some pepian and jocon for lunch which wasn't as scary as it sounds. It was some delicious chicken with vegetables and rice. Afterwards we had a quick status meeting. I for one am impressed at all the work the group has done in only 3 hours!

Allow me to brag on them a little more:

• Anna, Ally, Jake, and Mary Kate have successfully assessed the functionality of 3 anesthesia machines. In the future, surgeons and workers will be able to see the detailed notes and instructions our group members leave behind, read the manuals, and use the new cables and parts that we brought over from the states.
• Several patient monitors have been tested by the rest of the group. All with formidable results.
• Sara and Casey have verified the functionality of an electrosurgical unit (ESU).
• Daniel has selflessly sacrificed himself to be tested on to assess the accuracy of the monitors.

Without him we'd be lost.

Flashes, Crashes, and Splashes (potential splashes anyways)

As we finished the final leg of our trip to Guatemala City, the excitement continued to grow as we looked forward commencing with a great week. Reading and naps helped the plane ride pass as we flew over Central America, and before we knew it we were on the ground at the Aeropuerto Internacional de Aurora. Many in the group immediately noticed differences such as the lower lighting in the airport compared to those we’d left in the US, and we also benefitted from the reminder to not flush toilet paper (no plumbing problems to speak of yet ;) ). After a stop at the currency exchange window and quick trip through customs, we were warmly greeted by our hosts Berta and Carty at luggage claim.

House of the Nazarenes. It's like we are in Israel!
Except in Guatemala

The group took a cozy, scenic bus ride to the hotel, courtesy of our driver Israel. After witnessing our first car accident in guatemala we soon made it to our lodging at Casa de Nazarenos. We unloaded our luggage and reconvened for a quick group meeting, enjoying the evening breeze from the comfortable open-air courtyard. Chris managed to get his hands on Sara’s camera and snap some glamour shots of unsuspecting Orlando, and we all successfully avoided taking a swim in the fountain we posed at for our first group photo in Guatemala!

Our group, evidently tired from the trip. Chris managed to keep from falling into the fountain with some impressive straddling skills. Dr. P is taking the picture. Notice the fancy name tags.

Tomorrow's plan is to head over to the Moore Pediatric Surgery Clinic. Here several surgeons from around the world travel to provide their services for the clinic. We will be starting the day off at 8 am with some bread, juice, and refried beans. Let's go! 

Some notable things from the day:

• The turbulence. 
• Subway is a life saver
• Dr. P can speak spanish. Who knew?!
• Chris and Jake are avid wrestlers

Did anyone bring toothpaste??

American Airport Adventures

Chris getting the hang of train surfing through DFW

One flight down and one to go before touchdown in Guatemala City. After a fun day of checking bags full of medical supplies, watching Chris, Casey and Daniel train surf across Dallas Fort Worth Airport and a few rounds of CatchPhrase, we're finally about to board our last plane. We're looking forward to meeting our guides and our co-workers in Guatemala. Now the only thing that stands in our way is 2.5 hours of sitting on a cramped airborne vehicle whilst enduring Orlando's vocal musical talents and affinity for playing hangman.

The team makes the trek to its last Guatemala-bound plane. Jake is a little too excited. He probably should share some excitement with Mary Kate.

And we're off!

In only a few more hours our fearless group of undergraduate engineers (and some non-engineers) will be in the air heading towards the beautiful country of Guatemala. (Cue appropriate dramatic classical music) We will be led by the Intrepid Dr. P and Dr. Walker in our journey to the land of broken medical equipment. We could not be any more excited and nervous at the same time. For some of us this is the first time out of the country, and for others this will be the first time interacting with anything electrical. Fortunately we have spent a lot of time researching and preparing for our various tasks. Strap on your fanny packs we are heading South!

Diligent as always Dr. P and the team are meeting up a couple of hours before the flight leaves. We wouldn’t want to miss our flight, now would we? Updates to come, hopefully we will be able to share with the readers of our great adventure to Guatemala.

Can you believe we're going to Guatemala again?

Dr. P, Dr. Walker, and a new crew of 12 wonderful Vanderbilt students will be headed to Guatemala for spring break 2014 to work in medical facilities.  Check back here later for more info.

Thank You!

On behalf of the students, Thank You! We are so appreciative of all the support we received and all the people who made this experience possible. First and foremost, thank you Dr. P for arranging this experience. This course provided a wonderful capstone for those interested in low-resource healthcare and broadened the perspective of future engineer, doctor, and business person among us. Few and far between are opportunities like this where students can apply and develop skills simultaneously and the fruit of their labor is not a letter on a piece of paper soon to be recycled, but is a new chance at life given to those dependent upon the equipment we serviced. Thank you, Dr. Paschal.

Dr. P was always quick to redirect praise to the Shalom Foundation, so I will follow her lead. Thank you, Tommy Sanders, Kevin McQuaig, Claudia Hurtarte, and the rest of the Shalom Foundation for providing us with a means to accomplish the lofty goals we set before ourselves. We could not have had this experience if it weren't for your experience in logistics, your presence in Nashville and Guatemala, and your support in-country. Your work inspires us to share our skills and passion with our neighbors around the world.

A warm thank you to Dr. Matthew Walker III. As our second faculty advisor and co-leader, Dr. Walker  shared his extensive expertise in medical equipment and treatment. Thank you for sparking great conversations and reflection periods at dinner and sharing your observations on the unique features of low-resource healthcare.

We have a long list of people who made this trip possible. Certainly, this list can be even longer if I could personally thank each of you who read this blog! The value of this experience is greatly amplified by sharing and encouraging others to advocate and serve in the way that suits them best. Thank you for joining us on this adventure.

Warm thanks to:
Our translators Jorge Santizo, Pablo Castaneda, and Juan-Jose
Moore Pediatric Surgical Center
Professor Carlos Esquit
Sergio Perez
Odra Flores
Vanderbilt NICU
Vilma de Perez
Megan Bowles
Avery Dickens de Giron
Center for Latin American Studies
Tina Shaw
Brenda Ellis
Patti Landers
John Dunbar
Ray Erlandson
Steve Wadley
VUSE Dean's Office
Mindray
Smith & Nephew
Radioshak
Datex-Ohmeda
Edwin Garcia and Alfredo Duarte
Stephanie Smith
Michelle Kovash
Becky Spires
F Clark Williams
Amanda Lowery
Kenny Moore
Nina Warnke
Teresa Rogers
Suzanne Thingpen

Saturday 3/10/12

 Waking up at the crack of dawn would have meant sleeping-in today! Indeed, this was the first day none of us were able to catch the sunrise atop our hotel simply because we were already on our way to the Pacaya volcano by 6:00am. A scenic, albeit frighteningly aggressive, drive later, we found ourselves at the base of Pacaya. There we were swarmed by young locals renting out walking sticks and horses for the climb. Accepting the former, we began the hour-and-a-half climb with our guide. The horses we turned down followed closely behind in case we grew weary (the only catch being the gradual increase in price which conveniently matched the difficulty of the hike).


In another life, Dr. P was a volcanic-ash snowboarder



We were struck by the unique beauty of this hike along a path that was made by a volcanic flow in 2010. We roasted marshmallows and hotdogs over a volcanic vent and even burrowed into a cave. We knew we were close to the base when we were again swarmed by kids asking for us to return our hiking sticks.



After mid-day power naps on the drive back to Antigua, we rinsed off, rested, and head to town for some time at the market. There we found countless booths offering similar, beautiful Guatemalan products. We all practiced our bartering skills, but Laynie rose above the ranks by trading a few granola bars for a several friendship bracelets! Dr. P and Dr. Walker then treated the team to a wonderful dinner in town as a capstone to our week.